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In a nation awash in and dazzled by pharmaceutical drugs that we have been taught through clever advertising to be our salvation, why should Tamar Haspel’s May 3 Food column, “Will weight-loss drugs put diet charlatans out of business? I hope so.,” have surprised me?
Ms. Haspel nailed the problem as Americans being conditioned to “cheap, convenient foods, deliberately designed to be overeaten, in our face 24/7” and those along the food chain from bottom to top that “feed” off and conspire to support these industries. (More of this, please!) But her solution? Replace the charlatans with weight-loss drugs! We love our quick drug fixes as the solution for all that ails us and that appear to solve the problems but just cover them up. I get that we might temporarily want pills until we can figure out a weight-loss strategy.
We need reminders for why it is so critical to avoid those damaging foods in the first place. We need to return to basics and support for a healthy way of eating: fresh vegetables and fruits, simple proteins, go easy even on complex carbohydrates and avoid refined sugar. We need to learn how to read grocery store labels and understand the abundance of harmful ingredients.
Ms. Haspel claimed that to solve the obesity crisis, one must have a “flexible schedule, good cooking skills, excellent kitchen, ample grocery money, family appreciation and participation, ninja-level nutrition chops.” That makes it seem undoable. As someone who was grossly overweight in her 20s, I sympathize but I don’t agree. I realize it seems easier to get takeout than make dinner from scratch, but it takes time and gas back and forth, plus waiting in line, driving home and paying 10 times more for that cheeseburger than you would for your home-cooked burger. I also get that we’re stressed and want quick fixes. But it’s sad that we have descended so far that now we’re heralding pills rather than learning good health and nutrition. For good health in the long term, the pathway runs through healthy eating and beats taking a pill any day.
Barbara Elisse Najar, Potomac
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