Joe Hage from Mitch Zoch - MBA
Western Regional Sales Manager at Lignetics. Inc.

Powerfully disturbing info Joe... though I appreciate you sharing. Most alarmingly is the point that more people will die from the effects of obesity this year than from starvation. I echo Rick Stockton's comments: It is time for us to take responsibility, read the labels in order to make intelligent choices, and cut back the intake.

Joe Hage from Burrell (Bo) Clawson
I research patents & design products to get a patented competitive position: Over 30 patents.

Last I remember from memory, China makes/sells about about 80% of the worlds lecithin. Guess where that product is used. When you read Wikipedia on lecithin and get to the manufacturing processes, you understand there is wide room for contaminants amongst other variables. Like corn syrup, lecithin is used in most pre-manufactured food items.

Tony, it is true labeling ought to be better and more complete, but, as they say, the devil is in the details. Let's just pick the most obvious re-manufactured or re-purposed food item "corn syrup," which is used nearly universally throughout the world now for pre-manufactured products for baking and other food product sweetening because of initial cost and ease of blending. Everyone thinks it is "safe" because it is "approved." Labs have sampled various lots and versions of corn syrup and came up with chemical contaminants from the extensive manufacturing processes that you don't want to eat, like Mercury in varying levels. Some sources from some have more "contaminants" than other countries. Some horrendous food adulteration and contamination has occurred in China, seen from just the local news. Just in the last week or so, DNA testing of food supplements in NY, I recall, showed some products with no or almost none of the ingredient on the label. Finally researchers note a drop in male sperm counts over time. Is it due to "non-natural" things we consume?

Joe Hage from Tony Spadaro
Lic. Real Estate Salesperson at RE/MAX and President of Launch Advisory Team

Great discussion and comments by all. Education and labeling seem to be the consensus on the best ways for individuals to make healthy food choices. With regards to labeling, there are a number of issues that food brands need to address, like what type of information should be on the label, where to put it, and what education level should the label be geared to. Optimizing these attributes on a package can be difficult especially as more information is being required by the FDA. Use of RFID may be away for brands to educate the consumer and promote the brand. Concerned brands could develop cell phone app that can scan the ID located on the package and provide nutritional information and recommendations while the consumer is shopping. All this talk about sugar motivated me to make a batch of brownies from a box mix for my 11 year old last night. Box brownies are another one of those simple joys in life. We loved them. No guilt here. No conspiracy either, just good branding by the box mix.

Joe Hage from Rick Stockton
Product Design (Medical, Scientific, Consumer)

Paul, what a great comment: "The problem with obesity is ignorance (of labels and proper nutrition), laziness (in going for all the prepared junk and not educating oneself), a lack of discipline (in portion control), and sheer gluttony. It's not sugar per se, salt per se, and refined anything per se." - - Managing calories produces a self-correcting process, and gluttony is your greatest enemy. Unless you have an active and transformative disease process, such as advanced diabetes, all of your calories will be converted straight to glucose, no matter their source. Calories not needed will accumulate as glucose in the bloodstream, many of them becoming fat, and the resulting process will drive so many diseases in your body that even chain-smoking is not as physically harmful to you as your chronic obesity.

Joe Hage from Burrell (Bo) Clawson
I research patents & design products to get a patented competitive position: Over 30 patents.

I see no way to avoid more government regs unless states rights are reasserted under the US Constitution. The bureaucracy in WDC expanded by 8.3% last year by what I remember from last weeks news reports in addition to the doubling of US debt in the last 6 years. Meanwhile US adults in the workforce is at the 1972 low in % of workers. By biological standards in the healthcare industry, US government is a cancer. At 8.3% per year expansion, my trusty HP 41cx says that WDC will consume 100% of the output of the country by 2024. I am not a statistician/mathematician, but I can guarantee everyone here that we can NOT sustain 8.3% per year expansion of government. It is basic common sense and yet we have legislators in WDC who see NO PROBLEM. There will be a crunch very soon. It portends great change in a hurry. I hope everyone is protected, but that literally can not be, I know.

Joe Hage from Adam Morris
Director of Transducer and Probe Development, SonaCare
We are over regulated now by BIG government - too big needs to be focused at the home and early learning in school as people are given and have free will to make their own choices NO MORE REGS!

Joe Hage from Paul M. Stein
Chief Scientist, Inventor, and Entrepreneur - Dedicated to the Treatment of Critical Unmet Medical Needs
As a nation, we are, for the most part, less educated than we were a generation ago. Because of that, we have dumped our guidance responsibilities onto other "highly knowledgeable" authorities, the Government primarily. And, because Big Money gets thrown into the politics of that, the result becomes predictably obvious...poor guidance. The food industry, logically, took advantage. Smart people have used their intelligence to make smart choices, and have remained, for the most part, obesity-free. The rest, obtaining their ad hoc "education" from multimedia commercials...not so much. Now that we are a nation fatter than ever, the food industry, noting its role in that, is making slight advances towards marketing a healthier lifestyle...with MORE products, and American are scarfing those down too. The food industry, again, is only out there to make a buck, but Americans need to understand that eating ANY of that crap, "original" products or the "new, improved, healthier with lower this or that and added omega whozits", NEED TO BE TOTALLY AVOIDED. That stuff needs to BE KEPT ON THE STORE SHELVES WHERE THEY BELONG.

Joe Hage from Burrell (Bo) Clawson
I research patents & design products to get a patented competitive position: Over 30 patents.
Paul, the whole discussion of diabetes and blood sugar is an education for people on the how and why of proper foods & quantities are essential for long healthy life. To get back to the starting point from Joe Hage; "The question is whether our government has been complicit with this food debacle." My answer is unequivocally Yes! Food companies do intense chemical research & consumer studies on pre-made food items to determine what contents will sell the most at the highest price. Then food companies lobby Congress, USDA, FDA and other departments to get approvals & limit laws on what they can do. To the extent that the US Dept. of Education does NOT insist on better grade & high school "Health Education," the US government is definitely complicit in health problems for kids later in life. But before school age, kids need both parents teaching their kids how to eat right and why. When you read of the history of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) production (started in 1970s), you quickly find that HFCS is not just "squeezed out of corn." It results from a complex series of industrial chemical reactions to get to HFCS. In other words, HFCS is not a naturally occuring sugar (it is a fructose and glucose mix), though producers call it "corn syrup" to give the impression it is 'natural.' The 'why' is because the pre-packaged food industries want an easier and lower cost form of sugar to manufacture food products with than "Real can sugar from Hawaii." HFCS is not something humans evolved with over their primate history. There is good reason to question if HFCS results in undesirable changes in the digestive & other organ systems over time & with high quantities.

Joe Hage from Paul M. Stein
Chief Scientist, Inventor, and Entrepreneur - Dedicated to the Treatment of Critical Unmet Medical Needs
Bo, correct, with direct blood glucose monitoring, these have the greatest possibility of tightest glucose control. Closing the loop with insulin pumps, these systems have been described as "artificial pancreases". The other Paul, above, describes the issue of glycemic index of various foods. He also points out how other foods eaten can markedly alter those glycemic indices when eaten concurrently by affecting stomach emptying. Most diabetics are educated on these.

Joe Hage from Burrell (Bo) Clawson
I research patents & design products to get a patented competitive position: Over 30 patents.
Paul, I do know that there are companies out there developing under-the-skin devices to do continuous blood sugar monitoring & I think 3 companies have FDA clearance. The FDA has approved CGM systems made by Abbott, DexCom, and Medtronic. You need a prescription from your doctor to get one.

Joe Hage from Paul M. Stein
Chief Scientist, Inventor, and Entrepreneur - Dedicated to the Treatment of Critical Unmet Medical Needs
Bo, I think Joe is talking about those wearables that magically calculate calories eaten and calories burned based non-invasively only on time of day, sensed heart rate, and an activity sensor data plowed through an algorithm. It most likely uses the scientific fact that heart rate increases following eating. So, if around breakfast time, lunch time, and dinner time, the heart rate goes up but the "exercise" rate from the activity sensor doesn't, then one had to have been eating. And, the more it goes up, the more one ate. Simple. Then, it bases calories burned on exercise and a person's hypothetical basal metabolic rate. Unfortunately, all of these contain major, major assumptions, and in the end, an approximate 20% error is logical. Is any of this of clinical utility? Hell no. That much of an error can cause a life-or-death decision, or, at best, cause one to bug ones primary care physician on a daily basis for no good reason. The iontophoretic system described above uses another scientific fact called co-transport, where glucose follows sodium movement. With iontophoresis, one creates an electrical field on the skin that causes positive sodium ions to flow from the skin's interstitial space to the skin surface to one of the electrodes. Glucose co-transports, and when it reaches the electrode, the glucose oxidase in the unit then figures out the glucose concentration. Yes, it does work, but, again, there are a few assumptions relating to skin interstitial space glucose and blood glucose, and the other limitation are described in the article above. Also, iontophoretic units sometimes are a bit painful. It's a whole lot more accurate than the magic wearables, but direct measurements of blood glucose are so much more reliable. 

Joe Hage from Burrell (Bo) Clawson
I research patents & design products to get a patented competitive position: Over 30 patents.
Joe, I'm certainly not an expert in blood sugar, but searching for non-invasive blood sugar monitoring will turn up hits. I think these newer test methods are just starting to come to market. [http://www.med.umich.edu/pediatrics/ebm/cats/glucmon.htm|leo://plh/http%3A*3*3www%2Emed%2Eumich%2Eedu*3pediatrics*3ebm*3cats*3glucmon%2Ehtm/1t3Z?_t=tracking_disc]

Joe Hage from Paul van Saarloos
Medical Devices Professional
Hi Joe. I am not the Paul you are referring to. I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes a few years ago, and now have it fully controlled through diet alone. I worked out what every food, drug and exercise level did to my blood glucose level. This is perhaps not the "sugar monitoring device" you are referring to (I used a standard pin prick method). The result was complicated. Combinations of food mattered. Exercising before or after eating mattered. Eating a pizza in Italy usually had little effect, but eating a similar pizza in USA caused by glucose levels to fly. Eating certain good quality fruits after a bad meal resulted in lower glucose levels, despite the added sugar load. Bread, instant noodles and rice were amongst the worst offenders. I believe I now have a good understanding of what is happening when I eat various combinations of foods. I applied my knowledge to a friend, who had the same results (n=2). Anyone can do these measurements. The multivariable analysis is non-trivial (and complicated by exercise having an effect that can go on up to 6 days), but I am most of this group could cope. For processed foods, do the tests to a particular brand. The same food and ingredient list from a different brand can have significantly different results. I strongly believe that keeping lower blood glucose levels is important for long life. So there should be a good return on this effort.  

Joe Hage 🔥 Find me at MedicalDevicesGroup.net 🔥

Bo, tell us more about the new sugar monitoring devices? Paul, I'll be interested in your perspective on these, given our offline conversation a few weeks back.

Joe Hage from Burrell (Bo) Clawson
I research patents & design products to get a patented competitive position: Over 30 patents.
"Is bad food a given?" Short answer is Yes. Commercial food providers deliberately add sugar to earn more income when they can get away with it. It is unlikely government can force people to eat less of certain items just by labeling of warnings from the NIH/CDC/surgeon general. Robyn Barnes, above, noted the only good solution I think that works and that is raising kids with good habits and knowledge. The human body did not evolve to deal with huge amounts of sucrose/fructose sugars. We are only a bit over 100 years into sugars available for over consumption. It is not surprising that metabolic problems occur with overconsumption. Education is the only answer I see. New personal sugar monitoring devices coming on the market might help some people alter habits. That may be the only good thing I've heard recently.  

Joe Hage from Eric Young
Seeking medical sales position in Seattle or San Diego
Just a couple additional things to consider as I read the majority of the posts. Todays grains are not the same as several decades ago. They are more complex on a cellular level and produce new proteins that may be harful (i.e. gluten and glutenin.) Not all the sugar is fruit is the same and beneficial. Fruits contain glucose and fructose; glucose is absorbed by the bodies muscles and other systems before going to the liver and then off to storage,fructose goes entirely to the liver. Sugar that makes it to the liver unleashes a cycle similar if not identical to alcohol. According to "Sugar: The Bitter Truth" the result is that a glass of store bought orange juice as the same health effects as a serving of alcohol. Part of the problem that the video hits that seems to be missed in much of this discussion is the deeper problem of, not only sugar levels, the the alteration of the the food itself on a genetic level in ways that go beyond selective breeding which has already caused problems such as what I just mentioned with wheat. The film also goes to show how small farms can be more productive and better for the globe on an economically level as well.

Joe Hage from Burrell (Bo) Clawson 
 I research patents & design products to get a patented competitive position: Over 30 patents.
Paul, the report I read on the woman was that the condition persisted, resulting in a large amount of added weight which the woman could not get off. The article was just last week. Other articles from lab studies have also shown the opposite in mice where lean mice transplanted to fat mice caused the fat mice to slim down.

Joe Hage from Burrell (Bo) Clawson  
I research patents & design products to get a patented competitive position: Over 30 patents.
Paul, the question for me, is whether the digestive biota is altered w/conspicuous consumption of fast foods containing this chemical. There are some reports that suggest adverse changes occur with high ingestion. A quote from Wikipedia: "According to the Pesticide Action Network North America, calcium propionate is slightly toxic. This rating is not uncommon for food products; vitamin C is also rated by the same standards as being slightly toxic." I really don't have answers, but I do wonder about these artificial chemicals. Do I have a baked good with calcium propionate in it, probably yes, but certainly in extremely low levels only a couple times a week.

Joe Hage from Paul M. Stein  
Chief Scientist, Inventor, and Entrepreneur - Dedicated to the Treatment of Critical Unmet Medical Needs
Bo, regarding the intestinal microbiome, that is a major conundrum. Those sorts of effects were first shown to occur in laboratory mice. An important question for this case, was the effect permanent, or did it wane after a few weeks or months when the microbiome went back to normal when the mother's diet took over?

Joe Hage from Paul M. Stein  
Chief Scientist, Inventor, and Entrepreneur - Dedicated to the Treatment of Critical Unmet Medical Needs
Bo, calcium propionate is totally safe and has zero side effects. It is calcium, a nutrient, linked to a three-carbon fatty acid. Acetic acid, vinegar, is two carbons. These short-chain fatty acids are absorbed by the body and metabolized as fat. Certainly, there are a few items to be worried about, but this one...no.

Joe Hage from Burrell (Bo) Clawson  
I research patents & design products to get a patented competitive position: Over 30 patents.
Paul, I think you are on the right track on nutritious natural foods. It is the non-natural that do worry me, and even how the non-natural additives interact with the foods and the digestive process. When you start talking about an artificial additive, you can wind up with unintended consequences in the very complex digestive system of humans. An example recently came from a human fecal transplant. It was from a fat daughter to a slim, but colitis suffering mother, resulted in the mother becoming fat. Chemicals which alter the functioning of the digestive tract may indeed be behind the altering of the natural microbes in our digestive tract resulting in "digestive problems."

Joe Hage from Paul M. Stein
Chief Scientist, Inventor, and Entrepreneur - Dedicated to the Treatment of Critical Unmet Medical Needs
A few of the above comments have drifted towards a place where all sugar, salt, and refined flour are poisons. That's causing us all to be a bit crazy...because that idea is crazy. All of these are, in fact, nutritious in that they contain calories to support life or are nutrients necessary to maintain life. The point with labels, for me, is as an avoidance. Everything in moderation, and a don't-buy if certain things are too high, such as too high saturated fat, or too high of a percentage of fat by calories, or way too high sodium or sugar. This leads to certain foods being just permanently dropped off the grocery list, like potato chips, sugared soda and iced tea, some canned chili, and some prepared soups, as examples. The latter three can be made at home from scratch to avoid all the "too-high's", don't take that long to prepare, and are a whole lot tastier. The problem with obesity is ignorance (of labels and proper nutrition), laziness (in going for all the prepared junk and not educating oneself), a lack of discipline (in portion control), and sheer gluttony. It's not sugar per se, salt per se, and refined anything per se. 

Joe Hage from Burrell (Bo) Clawson
I research patents & design products to get a patented competitive position: Over 30 patents.
People also think that just because they eat bitter/dark chocolate with minimal sugar, that they are eating "natural" foods. Chocolate is fermented & then highly processed. Chocolate in larger quantities does have adverse health effects.  

Joe Hage from Burrell (Bo) Clawson
I research patents & design products to get a patented competitive position: Over 30 patents.
Robyn, I'll bet your son has also noted all the non-food items added to various processed foods.
  

Joe Hage from Robyn Barnes
Business & Real Estate Writer, Regulated Industry Business Development, GxP Lifeline Media Professional
My son is taking a required nutrition class in his sports medicine program at university. After five weeks of class, he said, "I finally understand why you made me eat all those fruits and vegetables!" Now he's really reduced his hamburger and fries intake and doesn't drink soda at all. Education does help! 

Joe Hage from Burrell (Bo) Clawson
I research patents & design products to get a patented competitive position: Over 30 patents.
It is NOT just sugar! A lot of processed foods have preservative chemicals in them so they can stay in the Safeway, Taco Bell or McDonalds warehouses longer, as with Calcium propanoate/propionate and a lot of other substances. You can't tell me that these chemicals are entirely intert in the body. If they stop bacteria from degrading food outside the body, they are going to change/stop some normal digestive bacteria in the body. Will it cause long term harm? Will it have unknown/undetectable harm over 30-50 years? I know of anecdotal evidence that indicates preservatives cause some form of ciliac disease to be more pronounced. "Gut feel" on my part, says the Cargil and Monsanto and other core food and feed producers are going to use PACs to 'donate' their way further into WDC, and there will be few regulations stiffening or limiting antibiotic, anti-bacterial substances. Side Note: When I grew up we had vinegar, salt, sugar and drying as preservative methods and they seemed to work fine for things that needed to be kept in jars (often excluding the oxygen in the air.)  

Joe Hage from Paul van Saarloos
Medical Devices Professional
Beware: "whole grain" bread is likely made with more than 90% highly refined white flour. This is probably worse than all the sugar in the other ingredients. "Whole wheat" is even worse. Perhaps even the educated people struggle to work out what is healthy.

Joe Hage from John Abbott
Consultant, Medical Devices & Regulatory Affairs
Yeah... but those aren't the people we are talking about. And you have a more positive assessment of society as a whole than I do. I DON'T believe that "a semi-educated person could recognize that a vacuum sealed, prepackaged cracker sandwich with an ingredient list a mile long would most likely be less nutritious than a home-made bologna and mayonnaise sandwich on 100% whole wheat or perhaps Wonder bread." An EDUCATED person? Yes. A "semi-educated" person... not so much.  

Joe Hage from James (Jim) Dent, LSSBB, DTM
Manufacturing Validation Engineer at DePuy Synthes Companies
I know many people personally, and I see many people at the grocery store reading the nutritional labels. Even my own kids carefully read the labels to select what to buy - they are interested in sugars, sodium, transfats, chorestoral. Some grocery stores even have special shelving areas with the same products as in regular aisles, but with low sodium, low fat, low sugar foods - separated in their own "healthy foods" aisle. People that really don't care probably don't take notice of these people who do look.  

Joe Hage from Karen Boyd, ASQ CQA
 Owner/Operator at QMS Consulting LLC
Perhaps not, John, but even a semi-educated person could recognize that a vacuum sealed, prepackaged cracker sandwich with an ingredient list a mile long would most likely be less nutritious than a home-made bologna and mayonnaise sandwich on 100% whole wheat or perhaps Wonder bread.

Joe Hage from John Abbott
Consultant, Medical Devices & Regulatory Affairs
A more relevant question is "Even if they had all those data, would they even know what to do with them?". The answer is, without question, a resounding NO!
 

Joe Hage from James (Jim) Dent, LSSBB, DTM
Manufacturing Validation Enginee at DePuy Synthes Companies
How many people know the daily recommended quantity of any of the food items: - Calories per serving (the listed serving size often isn't the normal serving size). - Saturated Fat - Polyunsatuatuated Fats - Monounsaturated Fats - Trans Fat - Cholesoral (there are two kinds of cholestoral, but both aren't listed) - Sodium - Potassium - Carbohydrates from fibers - Carbohydrates from sugars - Added sugars When you eat out at a restaurant, do you know how much fat, sugars, sodium, etc, you're eating. Some restaurants provide calorie data, but you'll also find that sometimes, in small print, the listed calories are prior to cooking or food prep - so it doesn't take into account for what's added during food prep & cooking - such as sugars and sodium added for flavoring and taste. - Protein  

Joe Hage from Karen Boyd, ASQ CQA
Owner / Operator at QMS Consulting LLC
...and fat.
Home-made sandwich vs. Lunchable product... 

Joe Hage from James (Jim) Dent, LSSBB, DTM
Manufacturing Validation Enginee at DePuy Synthes Companies
Joe: Usually when a food is labeled sugar-free; it then contain more fat. However, there are other things than just sugar to worry about. How much sodium is in each slice of your 100% whole grain bread? and how much sodium was in the food that went between the 2 slices of bread. If you used ketchup, how much sugar was in the amount of ketchup you used? etc.

Joe Hage 🔥 Find me at MedicalDevicesGroup.net 🔥

I just made a sandwich for my son. The good-parent, wholesome, 100% whole grain bread has 3g of sugar per slice. Sugar is unavoidable in processed food.

Joe Hage from John Abbott
Consultant, Medical Devices & Regulatory Affairs
I agree. If I bought burgers, fries, pizza and pre-processed frozen meals every day I would be spending SIGNIFICANTLY more than what I presently spend for fresh components (by a couple of factors probably). I also agree that there is no conspiracy in the food business (real conspiracies are VERY hard and expensive to initiate and maintain). Today's food companies are a by-product of our (read: society's) desires in that they exist to fulfill the wants of the market. If all people wanted was fresh fruits, vegetables and assorted wholesome foods, they would sell only fresh fruits, vegetables and assorted wholesome foods. "We" are responsible, not some vast commercial conglomerate. No one is forcing us to eat poorly. The good stuff is out there right in front of our faces. Making people "eat right" through legislation or other external means is a strategy that has failed in the past and will continue to fail in the future. The trick to this kind of "negotiation" is to get people to do what you want and have them think they came up with it. That's where education comes in - both in the home AND in the school systems. That said, it doesn't help that we as a society have abdicated our responsibilities by defunding the school systems so badly that their cafeterias are little more than shopping mall fast food courts. But that is another rant...  

Joe Hage from Paul M. Stein
Chief Scientist, Inventor, and Entrepreneur - Dedicated to the Treatment of Critical Unmet Medical Needs
Tony, I truly appreciate the fact that you are taking the time and responsibility when many don't. I disagree, however, that it costs any more money to eat well than poorly. When the junk food is never purchased and volumes of the good stuff also decrease, overall costs are affordable. Our parents fed us well on what they could afford, which, oftentimes, wasn't a whole lot, so we can all do the same.  

Joe Hage from Marlon Burgess
CEO at MDG Health Solutions
Here in South Africa, Professor Tim Noakes has faced a similar backlash because of his "Banting" diet.
 

Joe Hage from Tony Spadaro
Lic. Real Estate Salesperson at RE/MAX and President of Launch Advisory Team
I do not believe in a conspiracy theory here. As a concerned parent of an 11 year old, I know that the health of my child is related to what my wife and I put on the table, and what we allow her to eat. Obesity is within our power as individuals to eliminate. Burgers, Pizza, Fries and a coke are among the really affordable pleasures in life, just not every day. For many of us eating well is a choice that can and should made, and not forced on us by government or any other group or organization. What concerns me most is the fact that it costs money to eat well and that many can not afford the kinds of food that promote health living. This and education is where we should placing our focus to combat obesity. Tony

Joe Hage from Paul M. Stein
Chief Scientist, Inventor, and Entrepreneur - Dedicated to the Treatment of Critical Unmet Medical Needs
People need to realize that the food industry is no different than any other. They are only out to make a buck, and if that means federal subsidies, then fine. Most industries in the past got them too. The food industry, also, should not be viewed as inherently evil. I don't think that they could have envisioned the obesity epidemic three or four decades out. At issue is the population's wholesale acceptance of the lifestyle of massive ingestion of crap all day long. Hence, as many above have stated, food choice education and a move away from food preparation laziness need to be constantly instilled to reverse those decades of damage.  

Joe Hage from Paul van Saarloos
Medical Devices Professional
Sugar in fruit is not bad. It is a complex mixture of sugars that digest at different rates, do not stress the body in any way, and come with many important nutrients. Sugar that comes in processed form is all the same, and hits the blood stream all at once. Processed carbohydrates are just as bad. They digest quickly and stress the body with a large glucose hit, in the same way as processed sugars. Fat is only stored, and becomes a problem, if it is consumed with sugars and processed carbohydrates. It is not sugar that is bad. It is processed food (and perhaps the industry that pushes it on us). 

Joe Hage from John Abbott
Consultant, Medical Devices & Regulatory Affairs
Labeling is not the answer. Why? Because nobody will read it - at least not those that should read it. Do you really believe someone stopping at the McDonalds drive-thru will take the time to read the nutritional contents of their Big Mac before ordering? Or that Joe Couchpotato will read the ingredients on the box of pizza rolls he just tossed in the microwave before heading back to the couch for the big game? Of course not. Add to that the relatively recent phenomenon of people summarily rejecting any science that does not line up with their personal/political beliefs - because, as we all know, personal belief trumps science (sigh...). So, not only will the people who need to read labels not read them, they wouldn't believe (or know what to do with) the information if they did. I apologize for my cynicism but the existing generations as a group may be a lost cause (what's that line about teaching old dogs...?). Those that catch on will (on average) live longer, those that don't will (on average) die sooner. Natural selection at it's finest! The only real long term solution I see is education... early and often. And even that will be a significant struggle.

Joe Hage from Karen Boyd, ASQ CQA
Owner / Operator at QMS Consulting LLC
(Joe - appropriate topic, by the way, as today is "Fat Tuesday"!)  

Joe Hage from Karen Boyd, ASQ CQA
Owner / Operator at QMS Consulting LLC
Adding to that, Andrea, some in the medical field giving patients what "they" (greed-driven providers) want as $$$ making / cost saving procedures, treatments, or lack thereof...

Joe Hage from Andrea Niccoli
Small Business Manager
Societal changes take place slowly. Education is always key. Every physician needs to take the opportunity to educate their patients in the advantages of eating less and being more active. Unfortunately the medical field has been conditioned to give patients what they want- a prescription or surgical procedure to fix an unhealthy lifestyle.
  

Joe Hage from James (Jim) Dent, LSSBB, DTM
Manufacturing Validation Engineer at DePuy Synthes Companies
How does the average public family member make good healthy choices when the min/max recommended daily allowance of sugar is not listed anywhere conveniently, such as on food packages? This is definitely probably political in nature. Cutting sugar will impact sugar growers, processors, distribution, etc. - a major business. You can write all the articles and advice you want about consuming too much sugar, but if the recommended limits are not published on the packages; the general public will not take heed. The most likely reason, the limits are not listed, is the amount of sugars are probably generally far exceeding the recommended limits.

Joe Hage from Karen Boyd, ASQ CQA
Owner / Operator at QMS Consulting LLC
I understand what you're saying, John, but in many ways, "good" food doesn't taste as good as "bad" food (i.e. non-addictive or "crack" effect). :) In this day / age, consumers are looking for fast, easy, and convenient options...unfortunately. It's also too bad food labeling doesn't include photos of ill-health conditions caused by immoderate eating of high fat, sugar, or processed foods.

Joe Hage from John Abbott
Consultant, Medical Devices & Regulatory Affairs
Unfortunately this topic borders on the political so we may (unfortunately) be doomed to a political debate instead of a scientific review. That said, I reject the argument of the first commenter which presumes that because science didn't get fat intake recommendations absolutely perfect 40 years ago, we should reject every other scientific analysis and conclusion. Hey! Nobody's perfect, dude. We learn and improve as we obtain new data. That is the nature of science. Is "bad" food a given? No. Of course not. Unless you only eat at fast food joints and buy pre-processed packaged food at the market. You can buy fresh meats and vegetables and cook them yourselves and so manage your sugar intake that way. And it tends to be cheaper. So, yes, there is an alternative - it just takes a willingness to pursue it. What can we as an industry do to "correct" the situation? Education, education education!! You cannot force people to eat right. But you can educate them about what IS right. Which brings us back to my first point. We can only educate on what we know. As we learn more, we modify as needed. What else can we do? Continue to do research. Expand our knowledge base. Our conclusions are only as good as the data we collect to drive them.

Joe Hage from Greg Ondera
Plexus Surgical Video Productions - Producer, Director, Editor
I very much appreciate this post. There is concern that sugar has become for many people an addictive substance. It is hidden in our foods more so than when I was a child. Taste preference is established at a very young age, and it is sad that studies are showing large numbers of obese children with coronary artery disease, unlike the children just 3 decades ago. Some people today think they are getting their vegetables from the sliver of lettuce on their hamburger. It's also valuable to cite the China Study which is the most comprehensive nutritional survey ever conducted on the planet, which nutritional scientists today conveniently continue to crunch the numbers on. That study too showed how troublesome sugar is, as well as our cultural obsession with shoving too much protein into our gullets.

Joe Hage from Andrea Niccoli
Small Business Manager
why is the government still subsidizing corn sweeteners? Subsidies are put into place at the insistence of lobbyists to "save" industries. This industry no longer needs "saving".

Joe Hage from Robyn Barnes
Business & Real Estate Writer, Regulated Industry Business Development, GxP Lifeline Media Professional
People can choose to eat at home, where they can choose fresh vegetables and fruit. It may not be as convenient but it is better for the body. We can do this without government intervention. We can pack our children's lunches---I did this for years. It wasn't the popular thing for my son to do but it was the healthy choice. When more of us make healthy choices, the market will respond.
  

Joe Hage from Karen Boyd, ASQ CQA
Owner / Operator at QMS Consulting LLC
I agree that making good choices and moderation should be made a part of the culture. Along with that, however, culture is at a disadvantage when high fat, sugar-laden, and processed foods are more economically available (cheaper) and more readily available options for some. Fast food restaurants should not boast acceptance of state subsidized food programs. (I have seen this advertised on a popular fried chicken franchise window; it's appalling.) Health education and consequences (higher taxing / health insurance premiums) for those who elect to make poor food / dietary choices and necessitate greater health care to treat these diseases could also be a consideration.
  

Joe Hage from Soundharya Nagasubramanian
Director, Software Architecture and Cybersecurity
I don't think bad food is a given. Ultimately it comes down to making good choices and moderation and making that part of the culture. It is sad that greed always gets in the way.
  

Joe Hage from Anthony Wunsh
President/CEO at Welcome Marketing, Inc
While not disputing the facts, I think it prudent to point out that the study done on fat in the diet 40 years ago which changed dietary recommendations was proven false last week. Are we to trust yet another?

Robert Gellibolian, Ph.D

Another subject near and dear to my heart. You know how to pick them Joe 😉.

The old ways of hiding behind lobby groups may be over. As some in the industry may be aware, the FDA mandated labeling added sugar content on all packaged foods and beverages back in 2016, and the rule will go into effect by January 1, 2020 for the biggest food manufacturers, and January 1, 2021 for everyone else.

While many questioned whether this would move the needle much in regards to impact, a new study shows that this small move has far-ranging implications on not only On our health and longevity But also on our wallets.

The study can be found here:
https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.118.036751

Maria Seriakov

Hi Joe, here the opinion from the other side of the big water. The key to changing People to more healthy Habits is education. I live in Austria where obesity is also a big issue. I spend a lot of time traveling for work around Italy too. The observations I make there are quite interesting to share here. The Italians live generally long. A person aged 80 is still considered young. People normally live up to 95 - 100 or more. No matter where they live and what they work, Italians are particularly attentive to what they eat, how and when. It all starts in the family where kids get their healthy eating habits. Labels may or may not Show everything. In a Restaurant we don't know exactly the all ingredients in the food we get. But buying Basics (fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, even the sugar) instead of convenience food and preparing the meals personally gives anyone a much greater control over what we eat and how healths we are. The FDA and the USDA may still take care of regulations. It starts in our own heads first however. There is a saying in German - you are what you eat. It is up to us to decide.

Rick Stockton

To our benefit:
• Labeling is better than ever.
• Information is more available than ever.
• There is more variety of food than ever.
• The choice of instruction, over the internet, is at an all-time high.

Working against our own health.
• The levels of self-control as commonly practiced appear to be at an all-time low.
• Government involvement in food is increasing, but, as with the Food Pyramid, this may not be a good thing.
• People’s ownership of their own future, including their weight and health, appear to be at an all-time low.
• Allowed time for recess in public schools is at an all-time low. (My 2nd grader had 7 minutes!)
• And, unsurprisingly, physical exercise outside of school hours has fallen off significantly.
• People’s dependence on *others* to improve and maintain their lives seem to be on an low.
• Grossly unhealthy lifestyles are almost never up charged in large company insurance plans.

My take?

If the government wants to do anything constructive, it will actively teach, and practice, personal responsibility over dependence on politicians, external controls, or those “in authority” (an ever-growing group). This will do several good things, as people learn to take ownership of their lives:
• The demand for the unhealthy will decrease, and dessert will that tiny thing that we sometimes have, not the whole meal.
• Public schools will have longer recess periods, with available space and playground equipment. (I call that leading by example.)
• One winner would be teaching the constitution actively in primary and secondary schools. Our efforts at government-lead health efforts, have, like the food pyramid, been a real disaster, and were designed for a re-internet America. We have privilege, but our society often dwells on blame, rather than personal responsibility.

Amit Singh Tomar

Thank you so much for such an important article Team!