According to ABC News.com http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=5393222 Today, our Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger sign legislation banning trans fats from restaurants in California. On the face of it this sounds good it might help the people; However it won’t change behavior.
“Perhaps the biggest issue,” said Keith-Thomas Ayoob, associate professor in the Pediatrics Department at Pediatrics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, “is how much of the foods do we even need to be eating? Is this going to change obesity? No, because you’re swapping out one fat for another, the calories are the same. Would it be more beneficial for our hearts? Maybe.”
Professor Madelyn Fernstrom of University of Pittsburgh Weight Management Center agreed,
“A better message is eat less fat of any type, and more fruits and vegetables,” Fernstrom said. But she said she does not think the California ban will have any impact on residents’ health.
But ABC News medical correspondent Dr. David Katz disagrees, believes this is a positive 1st step.
“We don’t ask people to screen their food for lead, or arsenic, or mercury. These are known toxins; we should be able to assume that known poisons are not put into our food,” said Dr. Katz.
Dr. Katz maintained that as an artificial and harmful product linked to heart disease and diabetes, trans fats effectively mean slow death. “In this case, government regulation is pretty easy to justify,” Dr. Katz added.
The California Restaurants Association is against the legislation and lobbied against the bill. and I agree this smells like the nanny state to me. Full disclosure I am taking meds for High Blood Pressure and Cholesterol. This could help me but its what I eat and how much I exercise that changes behavior.
When I was a kid I tried cigarettes but I did not like the taste and today I can’t stand cancer sticks. Government intervention helped somewhat to change our behavior by banning cigarette advertising on Television but it was people choices whether or not to smoke.
California have more important issues on its plate to worry about including the State Budget that has not passed. Priorities people Priorities !
Smart and silly 