Arya M. Sharma, MD

Last night I had a chance to catch up with the first episode of Village on a Diet, a new CBC “reality show” that documents the efforts of the inhabitants of Taylor, a small village in British Columbia, to lose 1 ton in 10 weeks.

Frankly, I found the 45 minutes painful to watch. Not because of the magnitude of the obesity problem in this little town or because of the evidently appalling lifestyles of its inhabitants, but rather, because the approach to tackling obesity (as far as I can tell from watching one episode) appears to be entirely based on the overly simplistic formula of “eat-less-move-more” (ELMM), which we know simply does not work for the majority of people with excess weight.

While the boot-camp drill-sergeant approach to chastising and chasing the unfortunate participants across fields and up hill slopes or cleaning out “junk food” from pantries and refrigerators may provide cheap voyeuristic entertainment, I have little hope that any of this will result in lasting success as far as long-term weight management is concerned.

Rather than launching into a point-by-point criticism of this episode of Village on a Diet, I would like to simply refer my readers to yesterday’s scathing review by my colleague Yoni Freedhoff on his blog Weighty Matters.

As one of the commenters on Freedhoff’s post so rightly points out:

“Honestly, it seems like this show would actually contribute to the obesogenic environment by perpetuating the idea that exercise = pain, weight loss = deprivation, and motivation = yelling. If I was on the fence about becoming more active, imagery of a couple of buff folks yelling at me to work ’til I vomit would dissuade me right quick.“

Perhaps the show will get better - I guess we’ll see.

Nevertheless, I’d certainly love to hear what my readers have to say about this show so far.

If you’ve missed the episode, Canadian readers can view it here.

AMS
Edmonton, Alberta

Last night, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation launched Live Right Now, a national 6-month, multi-platform initiative to inspire Canadians to get healthier.

According to an exclusive CBC poll, Canadians say obesity is the country’s number one health issue, rating higher than any other concern-including nutrition and the state of our health care system.

According to a report aired on last night’s The National, the average Canadian may well consume a whole extra meal a day in calories (not surprising, given that the vast majority of Canadians have absolutely no clue about the “currency” of body weight). You can watch the report, which features Yoni Freedhoff by clicking here.

Live Right Now will be supported across all of CBC’s platforms - on radio, television and online with programs such as the following:

Monday, January 3
On The National, Kelly Crowe meets a man who is striving to lose 70 pounds by his wedding in October. And Reg Sherren extends a personal challenge to a group of Canadians to get active.

Tuesday, January 4
World Report on CBC Radio One, and The National look at the role sleep deprivation may or may not play in the obesity epidemic.

Wednesday, January 5
CBC News Network’s Colleen Jones tells her very personal story about a recent online quest she took to diagnose a life-threatening virus.

Thursday, January 6
World Report, on CBC Radio One, asks the question - Is sugar the new hidden poison? And Village on a Diet’s Dr. Ali Zentner goes grocery shopping with CBC News Network hosts Heather Hiscox and Suhana Meharchand to evaluate their food choices.

At the heart of Live Right Now is an interactive online community, LiveRightNow.ca, with tips, tools, challenges and support to guide Canadians on their journey to better health.

Live Right Now will also include programming such as

VILLAGE ON A DIET: An 11-part television series, which follows residents of Taylor B.C. as they commit to shedding one ton of collective weight in just three months. Village On A Diet premieres Jan. 3 and airs Mondays at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT) on CBC-TV.

THE MILLION POUND CHALLENGE - A national call-to-action, housed on LiveRightNow.ca, that will encourage Canadians to lose one million pounds of collective weight in 6 months. Canadians can pledge to lose weight, track their progress and motivate others to participate via LiveRightNow.ca.

RUN RUN REVOLUTION - An experiential television and online documentary series that will follow a group of middle school-aged children as they prepare for the youth section of the Boston Marathon. The docu-style special will not only transform the lives of the runners, it will bring together families and communities and highlight the importance of raising a healthy generation.

Activities and programming will end in a celebration on CANADA DAY (July 1).

As one of the advisors to the CBC (representing the Canadian Obesity Network), I sincerely hope that Live Right Now will go well beyond simply promoting the “eat less - move more” platitude and truly address the “root causes” of the obesity epidemic including stress, lack of time, sleep deprivation, trauma, mental health problems, and poor caloric awareness and literacy.

I certainly look forward to the many comments from my readers, who I am sure will have plenty to say about this initiative.

AMS
Berlin, Germany

This morning, I am moderating a debate (or rather a discussion) on whether or not the obesity epidemic and its impacts have been exaggerated.

This topic is of particular interest to the attendees of this year’s annual meeting of the Eating Disorders Association of Canada, who normally deal with the other end of the weight spectrum, i.e. anorexia and bulimia.

The discussants are Glenn Gaesser, Director, Healthy Lifestyles Research Center, Arizona State University College of Nursing and Health Innovation and author of Big Fat Lies, who will argue that the health risks of treating obesity should not be taken lightly.

The co-discussant is Jennifer Kuk, Assistant Professor at York University, who will argue that the obesity epidemic does have some very real health consequences for the majority of people with excess weight and therefore, all this talk about obesity prevention and weight loss does address an important health issue.

This “debate” is more than timely as the discussion around healthy weights and lifestyles is just about to be kicked up a couple of notches by a multi-platform “Live Right Now” campaign, that was was yesterday formally announced by Canada’s national public broadcaster, the CBC.

Starting on January 3, 2011, the CBC will launch a six-month national program supported across all of its media platforms - CBC Television, CBC Radio and cbc.ca - designed to “ignite a movement of Canadians making small, manageable changes that will have a lasting impact on their health”.

The ambitious Live Right Now initiative includes an interactive website, The Million Pound Challenge, Village on a Diet, and the Run Run Revolution.

As Scientific Director of the Canadian Obesity Network, I have the privilege of being one of the advisors of this national campaign, which is also supported by a number of other leading Canadian health organisations including the Canadian Diabetes Association, Dietitians of Canada, ParticipACTION, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, Breakfast for Learning, HALO and YMCA Canada.

I very much look forward to the launch of this initiative, which will likely spawn an even greater interest in and (hopefully) understanding of the many issues related to living healthy (at both ends of the weight spectrum).

AMS
Toronto, Ontario

Pick up almost any weekend newspaper and turn to the health pages, where you will find at least one story about someone who has lost an enormous amount of weight by making radical changes to their diet and/or taking up a vigorous and daunting exercise program - often literally going from “couch potatoe” to “body builder”. (click here for some bizarre success stories)

The articles will often include mention of the disastrous state before weight loss, the immense changes and efforts made, and the remarkable improvement in every aspect of life - truly inspirational it seems - or not?

There is no doubt that every year 1000s of people turn around their lifestyles by changing their diets and increasing their physical activity levels - not seldom in response to specific events or encounters (e.g. “When my doctor told me I have diabetes, I decided enough is enough!”).

We also know from the National Weight Control Registry and other sources that it is indeed possible for some people to make “permanent” lifestyle changes that will result in long-term weight-loss maintenance.

But how “inspirational” are these stories really? How many people actually read an article in the newspaper about the 35 year old former fast-food junkie, who lost 240 lbs after deciding to take on a 2 hr paper route before work everyday or about the formerly 350 lb 45 year old mother of four, who just participated in her first Iron (Wo)Man competition, and decide to simply emulate these “exemplary” individuals to conquer their own weight problems?

Not too many I would guess.

On the other hand, how many people struggling with excess weight read these stories and recognize, given their own personal situations, the sheer impossibility of making similar changes for themselves. How many readers simply throw up their hands in despair: “if that’s what it’s gonna take - I may as well give up!”

I also wonder just how many overweight people are sick and tired of having these “inspirational” articles rubbed under their noses by “well-meaning” friends and family? “After all if so-and-so decided to give up all white foods and become a marathon runner to solve their weight problem, why can’t you?”

I am sure that there is probably research data on these questions but I’d really like to hear from my own readers: who actually finds these weight-loss success stories inspirational?

I’d certainly love to hear from anyone who as a result of reading such a story was inspired enough to do the same. Let me include in this question anyone who after watching X-Weighted or The Biggest Loser decided to hire their own personal trainer and lose those pounds ‘forever’.

From those readers, who don’t find these stories helpful, I’d also definitely like to hear what you’d rather like to be reading.

AMS
Edmonton, Alberta

Over the past three days, newspapers across Canada have been publishing a three-part series on obesity by CanWest’s Sharon Kirkey.

For this mini-series, Sharon spoke to many prominent and outspoken Canadian Obesity Network members including Valerie Taylor (McMaster), Eric Doucet (Ottawa), Nikolas Christou (McGill), Robert Ross (Queens), Yoni Freedhoff (Ottawa) and researchers from the US on a wide range of subjects relevant to this topic. She also interviewed a number of people who have struggled with obesity and its many physical and psychosocial consequences.

As expected, not all experts agree on every aspect of the debate and some statements are clearly more controversial than others. Nevertheless, I would certainly view the articles as a balanced and insightful view of the true causes of the obesity epidemic and the possible solutions (or rather the barriers to solutions).

For those who missed the series, here are the links:

Part 1: The exercise myth: Physical activity plays an important role in healthy living, but it’s not enough to make you lose weight.

Part 2: The trouble with food: A look at the science and psychology of overeating.

Part 3: Fighting an epidemic: A search for the solution.

While readers may criticize that many topics relevant to the obesity discussion were not mentioned (e.g. gut bacteria, genetic programing, sleep deprivation, etc.), remember, this was a three-part not a ten-part series on this topic. 

Noticeably, the same articles appeared under different headings in different papers, in some with more controversial titles than in others (I guess the local editors wanted to add their own spin to attract readers).

Although, I believe that the articles do discuss both sides of the debate on each of the topics,  I am sure that the critics will find their pet-topic under- or mis-represented.  Indeed, I am convinced that many readers, especially those with their usual grudge and bias against obese people as well as those who have all the (simple) answers, will probably be unhappy.

I can only commend the editors of these papers (and of course Sharon) for taking on this important topic and not shying away from controversy, which I know these articles will provoke.

The more open debate we have on this subject, the better.

Appreciate views from any of my readers, who have read these articles.

AMS
Edmonton, Alberta