Industry, advocates can promote balanced eating

Nation's Restaurant News,  Feb 25, 2008  by Buddy Howard

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My 18-year-old daughter told me the other night that she was giving up fast food for 2008. I had no idea how to respond. I felt sucker punched. I thought about her as a little girl in the good old days when the "fast" in fast food wasn't a bad word. My mind conjured up images of her mouth stuffed with chicken nuggets, of her digging through a Happy Meal to discover what toy she had received, of a little white mustache from the remnants of an ice cream cone. Where, oh innocence, have you gone?

She was 11 when she nearly died from an eating disorder that seemed to come from nowhere. There were no obvious explanations. She was hospitalized twice, once in 2001 and once in 2002, each time for about two months. The disorder held her hostage for four years, during which time our home became the site of a vicious battle between our family and the disorder. We all saw sides of one another we had never seen. An eating disorder does that to a family.

In 2005, she decided to kick the eating disorder out of her life. Since then, every day that she casually has consumed something sweet and gooey has been like Christmas morning for my wife and me. When my daughter told me recently that she loved Quarter Pounders, I was very proud, which is why I now feel sucker punched. The wrong message, that foods are "good" or "bad," had worked its way into her mind again.

Before 2001, I used to be as guilty as anyone at categorizing foods as good or bad. I was a devoted label checker. But I became enlightened when my daughter became ill. I came to understand that balance is the key. Consuming fried chicken or a hamburger and fries every now and then won't kill you. On the other hand, too much of anything is bad, whether it's broccoli, pomegranate juice or blueberries. Frankly, the 2004 documentary,"Super Size Me," makes the case for balance much more convincingly than any other message it may have intended.

Did labeling foods as good or bad cause my daughter's eating disorder? No. But it did contribute to her distorted perception of food and made her more vulnerable to one. Those well-meaning "healthy" messages about only eating "good" foods--she took those to heart, as do the 8 million to 10 million people who currently struggle with eating disorders in the United States. The fact that eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any psychological disorder elevates this issue to one that no responsible adult should ignore.

I don't believe my daughter is slipping back into her eating disorder. She's far stronger now. But her comments are a grim reminder of the distorted perception of food that some well-intentioned people unwittingly perpetuate. The message of balanced eating is appropriate for every man, woman and child in this nation, from the obese to the anorexic, while the messages of restriction, elimination of fats and avoidance of certain types of restaurants is not.

I would like to propose a form of partnership. Let me, or organizations like the National Eating Disorders Association, of which I am a board member, make some of the arguments about balanced eating for you. You help supply the platform, and we will help provide the voice. Sure, as restaurant operators, you can keep making the point yourself. But many people will discount your message as selfserving. For you, the message has economic implications; for us, it's purely personal. Still, the message is the same. There are countless ways we could work together for a common good. All you have to do is to make the contact. The public would take notice, in part due to our unlikely alliance.

I recently went into a quickservice restaurant and saw a father eating with his two young daughters, who giggled and beamed at their dad. I recognized that innocent look in their eyes. For them, it was just food. Not fast, not slow, not good, not bad. Just food. I thought about my daughter and wondered where those little girls would be in another 10 years.

Buddy Howard is on the board of the National Eating Disorders Association. He can reached at buddyhoward2007@yahoo.com. He welcomes any opportunity to combat eating disorders and is available as a speaker. Information about the NEDA can be found at www.national eatingdisorders.org.

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