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Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Chow Another Abstinence-Only Failure

Posted by Dan Savage on Wed, Jul 29, 2009 at 1:15 PM

Don't know if this got posted or not...

Study: Abstinence-Only Lunch Programs Ineffective At Combating Teen Obesity

WASHINGTON—According to the findings of a recent Department of Health and Human Services study, school lunch programs that teach children to avoid all contact with food may not be an effective method of reducing teen obesity rates.

Despite the popularity of abstinence-only meal programs in schools across the country, the study found that children who were provided with no food at lunch and cautioned against eating at an early age were no less likely to become overweight than those who were provided with a well-rounded nutritional education.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said the findings could adversely affect federal funding for all programs that tell kids "lunch is worth waiting for."

"There's no evidence to suggest that instructing teens not to chew, swallow, or even think about food is actually going to stop them from eating," Sebelius told reporters. "Let's face it: Kids are already eating. And not only during lunchtime. They're eating after school, at the mall, in their parents' basements. Pretending like it's not happening isn't going to make it go away."

More here.

Comments (16) RSS

Oldest First Unregistered On Registered On Add a comment

Brilliant.

Posted by Dougsf on July 29, 2009 at 1:22 PM

I'm saving myself for dessert.

Posted by Sargon Bighorn on July 29, 2009 at 1:23 PM

I'm not some piece of meat, you know!

Posted by The Amazing Jim

on July 29, 2009 at 1:24 PM

Want to reduce teen obesity?

Get rid of all tariff and tax subsidies for corn and corn syrup.

Problem solved.

Posted by Will in Seattle

on July 29, 2009 at 1:30 PM

I still remember my first meal, and now when I have lunch, it is often hard to recapture the magic.

Posted by Joe M on July 29, 2009 at 1:32 PM

That's a funny article, but sex education and nutrition education are really very analogous. Right now, public nutrition education basically says "eat less!" Well, duh, but just like sexual abstinence messages of "have less sex", it just doesn't work from a public health standpoint.

Poor nutrition education leads directly to obesity and chronic diseases, just like poor sex education leads to unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. We need to demand medically accurate nutrition education, just like we demand medically accurate sex education.

Schools need to teach about how to avoid dangerous foods (beef, pork, dairy, trans fat, and sweetened beverages), just like schools need to teach about how to avoid dangerous unprotected sex. You don't need to stop eating or stop having sex, just practice safer eating and safer sex.

Posted by lizzie on July 29, 2009 at 1:33 PM

What about the pit bulls? Won't anybody please think about the pit bulls?

Posted by john t on July 29, 2009 at 1:43 PM

I think my favourite part of the Canada Food Guide is the section entitled "Enjoy Eating."

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/food-guide-…

Posted by Gloria on July 29, 2009 at 1:44 PM

@ 6, I agree with you completely, except (natch) for your classification of animal-based foods as inherently dangerous. But people definitely need to be educated so that they eat a lot less of it.

Posted by Matt from Denver on July 29, 2009 at 1:45 PM