A dedicated Pop-Tart store joined its candy friends M&Ms and Hershey’s by popping up in Times Square yesterday — but some people aren’t happy about it. Stier appeared on CNBC’s “Power Lunch” to debate anti-obesity crusader MeMe Roth , where he argued that it’s okay to occasionally indulge in a sugary snack as part of an overall balanced diet.
Dr. Whelan says the contretemps reveals some people’s attitudes toward food. “People love to think in these dichotomies — food is either ‘good food’ or ‘bad food.’ ‘We’re fighting obesity, therefore one should never ever eat a Pop-Tart.’ The underlying rationale is that because we’re in a crisis of fighting obesity, Kellogg’s should not be marketing Pop-Tarts in any way.”
Dr. Whelan says the Pop-Tart foes are motivated by the same mentality as people who support soda taxes. “They think there are certain foods that make you fat, and that they should be either prohibited, discouraged, legally controlled or taxed. But that’s a far too simplistic approach to a complex problem. The real goal of those types is to extract funds is to extract tax funds to balance the budget, not to fight obesity.”