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--Quote to Note: In public health, "success is not just linked to money, it's linked to setting priorities." Ann Veneman, UNICEF's executive director.
--Today brought good news, as the front page of the New York Times reported a drop in the number of deaths in children under five. For the first time since 1960, when record keeping began, the number of deaths has fallen below 10 million a year .
ACSH's Dr. Elizabeth Whelan said that what she found most interesting about the figures, released by United Nations Children's Fund, is that UNICEF officials attribute the decrease to only a few simple things: the measles vaccine, women breast feeding (instead of mixing formula with dirty water), babies sleeping under mosquito nets, and consuming more vitamin A. ACSH staffers particularly the quote above from UNICEF director Veneman -- ACSH has been saying for years that priorities are the important thing.
--As ACSH staffers perused the paper, though, we saw another disappointing development in the calories-on-menus issue -- news that the fight to post caloric totals may widen. What good does it do if people do not know how many calories they should be eating per day, asked ACSH's Dr. Ruth Kava? Dr. Whelan also questioned the logistical feasibility of such a requirement: what about the restaurants that change their menus daily? Dr. Kava assured Dr. Whelan that while it is labor-intensive, it is doable, although of doubtful utility. Still, the whole mandate is a feel-good ploy for politicians, and in reality won't work to curb the obesity rates.
--As if the misplaced energy of public officials who claim to be waging a "War on Obesity" weren't dispiriting enough, talk at the ACSH table turned to another ineffective policy in the eat-healthy campaign: the ban on trans fats. In actuality, the main thing this ban has created is a boon for food marketers. Any product that boasts a label such as "0 g Trans Fat" can mislead the public into thinking this always translates into healthier eating and lower calories. Kava said many food producers attempted a similar ploy with cholesterol, but the FDA used to crack down on it. Vegetable oils wanted to advertise "No Cholesterol," but the FDA wisely told them no, because while it's a true claim, it's a misleading one -- cholesterol only comes from animals, and therefore no oil could possibly contain cholesterol.
Corrie Driebusch is a research intern at the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH.org, HealthFactsAndFears.com).