Author Archive

Nature v. nurture is an important debate in both psychology and adoption, my two careers. I think it can be pretty big in discussing weight gain and weight loss as well. Is our body shape pre-determined by our genes or a result of the environment in which we are raised? I have generally taken the stance that we have certain genetic pre-dispositions; however, those can be altered through our behavior and environment. Apparently the relationship between genetics and environment is even more complicated than that.

Americans should be thrilled that Jamie Oliver has skipped the pond, but not everyone seems to be. After using one of his television series to reshape the school lunch program in the United Kingdom, the celebrity chef is coming stateside to help change what has been deemed the unhealthiest city in America, according to governmental surveys, in a new series on ABC called “Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution.” Huntington, West Virginia (population 50,000) has an adult obesity rate of 50% and leads the nation in incidences of diabetes and heart disease.

There is yet another story of a celebrity chef losing weight after seeing themselves in the media. Although 49-year-old Mario Batali does want to look better, it’s not all vanity. He also says he wants to have a longer life with his family. Portion control and some light exercise have helped him lose 45 pounds thus far. His goal is to get down to 200, from the 280 pounds he weighed before he started this journey.

So how is Batali doing it when it is his job to surround himself with wonderful food all day long? He has made statements about caloric balance that suggest that he understands that food is the body’s fuel primarily, even though it can be enjoyed. Despite common weight loss advice, Mario is not eating breakfast, but finding energy in the morning from espresso. Throughout the day, he says that he tries to eat salads and vegetables, only adding protein in the evening. He states that he also eats only half portions when eating at restaurants.

It seems like Haiti is on everyone’s hearts and minds at the moment. Such events reach us at a level where we change behavior. I doubt that many of the people texting donations to the Red Cross had never sent a non-personal text message before; I wonder how many had never previously sent a text message. I know a six-year-old child who was doing extra chores to earn money to give to his school’s fundraiser. Big events impact our thinking and our priorities. In these cases, we are driven by compassion and concern. Sometimes it takes big events to break us out of focusing only on our own concerns and daily stressors.

Has Haiti been on your heart or mind? Have you done anything differently as a result? Has the Haitian earthquake changed your eating habits?

Addiction has been on my mind between watching Confessions of a Shopaholic for the first (and last) time and reading Vaughn Bell’s article on the subject. I absolutely agree that the word addiction has been loosely applied to a plethora of enjoyable activities in common culture. I am hopeful that these so-called addictions will not be added to the new Diagnostic and Statistics Manual, which is to be published May 2012; however, Vaughn Bell’s article informed me about a treatment facility that has opened to treat “internet addiction.” The article does a great job of explaining what defines an addiction both technically and in popular culture.

As a therapist, I stick to the DSM to determine if something truly qualifies as a disorder. There is no diagnostic criteria for eating addiction. However, I also consider how helpful it is or is not to think about overeating in terms of an addiction. It could be beneficial to consider overeating an “addiction” if it helps someone take this behavior seriously.