Don't Play The Numbers Game

The article points out that "although obesity is the greater concern numerically, anorexia is the psychiatric illness with the highest mortality rate." The Times piece notes similar efforts elsewhere in the United States, including "Go Girls," a media literacy program developed in Seattle by Eating Disorders Awareness and Prevention, Inc., and "Free to Be Me," a course developed in the St. Paul area by epidemiologist Dr. Diane Neumark-Sztainer.

Americans, in particular, have become a nation obsessed with figures, and food is only one of many casualties. Consider our recent presidential politics. During the debates, the candidates wrangled endlessly over statistics on Medicare, Social Security, and projected budget surpluses. Now we have a dead-heat election with interminable recounts and related media analysis. If you're as sick of it as I am, apply that attitude toward your eating habits. Stop the numbers game and start living.

ENDNOTES

1. Gorman, Christine. "Food for the Heart", Time, October 16, 2000, p.137.
2. Berger, Leslie. "A New Body Politic: Learning to Like the Way We Look", The New York Times, July 18, 2000, Health and Fitness Section.

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