IRONMAN and Little Debbie Join to Market Junk Food to Kids

Big news came out of Tennessee yesterday that I absolutely had to post about -- IRONMAN was "proud to announce" Little Debbie as the title sponsor of IRONMAN Chattanooga through 2016.

Yes, I understand the partnership from a purely business perspective, since McKee Foods, the parent company of Little Debbie, is headquartered in Tennessee. My issues relate to public health, and what this partnership says about where health falls on the spectrum of priorities.

The biggest disappointment, in my opinion, is that race weekend festivities include a IRONKIDS Fun Run. As described on the IRONMAN website, the race "offers young athletes the unique opportunity to feel the excitement of competition while enjoying the outdoors and promoting healthy living."

Here's my big question. How does a race promote healthy living when its title sponsor is a company that manufactures products that contain substances known to HARM health, such a partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (i.e. trans fat) and artificial flavors. Here are the nutrition facts and ingredients from the Little Debbies Fudge Brownies:

Ingredients: Enriched bleached flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate [vitamin B1], riboflavin [vitamin B2], folic acid), corn syrup, partially hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oil with TBHQ to preserve flavor, sugar, dextrose, water, cocoa, walnuts, high fructose corn syrup, whey (milk), eggs, soy lecithin (emulsifier), corn starch, salt, leavening (sodium aluminum phosphate, baking soda), colors (caramel color, red 40), natural and artificial flavors, egg whites, citric acid, sorbic acid (to retain freshness), almonds.

What's more, a number of major food and beverage companies have voluntarily committed to stop marketing unhealthy food and drinks to kids under the age of 12. And yes, sponsorships are a form of food marketing (just ask big tobacco). Unfortunately, McKee Foods, is not one of the 17 companies to make this marketing pledge. IRONKIDS events are open to kids as young as 3 years old and up to 15.

Regardless, food marketing to children is deceptive and, unfortunately, ubiquitous. It's well-known how this type of marketing influences children's behavior and preferences. My biggest issue is for the World Triathlon Corporation, which owns the IRONMAN brand, to say it's trying to promote healthy living while at the same time partnering with companies whose products clearly don't align with that goal.

The other ironic twist to this partnership is that IRONMAN Chattanooga is also "benefiting the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America." This certainly sounds admirable, but let's dig a bit into the science. Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are inflammatory bowel diseases. According to the Mayo Clinic, Crohn's disease "causes inflammation of the lining of your digestive tract, which can lead to abdominal pain, severe diarrhea and even malnutrition." One of the most pro-inflammatory foods overly consumed in the average American diet today are vegetable oils (partly because of their extremely high omega-6 fatty acid content). However, the biggest problem comes when vegetable oils are hydrogenated. Enter, trans fats, which research has shown to be associated with the development of ulcerative colitis.

One study, in particular, published in 2013 in the journal Gut, tracked more 170,805 women enrolled in the Nurses' Health Study over 26 years and found that "long-term intake of total fat, saturated fats, unsaturated fats (mono or polyunsaturated) were not associated with risk of CD (Crohn's disease) or UC (ulcerative colitis)." Now, before we exonerate all fat, there was one important exception to this conclusion. They found a "trend towards increased risk of UC (ulcerative colitis) associated with high intake of trans-unsaturated fatty acids."

The takeaway from this: long-term intake of trans fat is associated with the development of inflammatory bowel diseases such as ulcerative colitis. So, doesn't it seem ironic that the race is promoting a product that contributes to the same health conditions it's also trying to prevent indirectly through its partnership with the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America?

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IRONMAN has done a lot to grow the sport of triathlon, and I'm thankful for that. In fact, I'm registered to race in IRONMAN events this year. Triathlon is a sport I love and will continue to compete in. Just don't expect to see me at the start line in Chattanooga in the foreseeable future.

What do other countries think is American food?

My wife and I spent the past week on vacation in Europe, splitting our time between Paris and Rome. One of the most fascinating parts about the trip came on our third day in Paris, and I had to share.

The French are, of course, known for their delectable food: freshly-baked croissants and bread, cheese, and meats. So, we thought it would be interesting to check out a well-known grocery store in Paris. We strolled past the bakery with all the deliscious breads, macaroons, and pastries on display. We checked out the meat counter, the wine, and the cheese.

But, we also took a quick look at some of the international sections of the store, including one shelf of "USA" food. In this case, this picture says a 1,000 words.

It's almost embarrassing to think that this is the kind of food that other countries really think of when they think of American food -- processed junk! Shelves filled with mac 'n' cheese, salad dressings (in Italy they serve extra virgin olive oil and vinegar - that's it!), canned soups, beef jerky, roasted nuts, and all sorts of condiments, many with sugar as the first or second ingredient.

Is this the food culture we want to be perceived as having in the United States? I sure don't!

Then again, the items weren't too far off from what fills the shelves of many convenience stores across the country.

"Food: Transforming the American Table"

Last weekend I was at the National Museum of American History where I toured the new exhibition  "FOOD: Transforming the American Table 1950-2000," which attempts to depict some of the major changes in food production, preparation, and consumption in the United States over the past half century.

The exhibit's website explains that "the public will be invited to take a seat at a large, communal table in the center of the exhibition to share their own thoughts and experiences about food and change in America." The irony, of course, is that the exhibit portrays all the reasons why a communal table isn't necessarily the best symbol for American meals anymore.

But as I strolled through the exhibit, two things really struck me. First, I was curious as to why the focus was only on 1950-2000. This was certainly a period of rapid change within the American food system and particularly with consumer preferences, but I couldn't help but get the sense that the exhibit was trying to convey this transformation as inevitable. Basically that "as a growing, industrialized country, the natural progression (i.e. transformation as the exhibit title says) is towards a system of abundance, convenience, and processed food."

The framing reminded me of a 2011 TED talk by Mehmood Khan, the chief executive officer of PepsiCo's Global Nutrition Group and it's chief scientific officer. His basic argument is that to feed a growing global population, we need food processing. I found it quite a coincidence that when I left the exhibit and took a look at the sign recognizing its primary sponsors, the Land o'Lakes Foundation was listed right there at the top.

I was recently in a media workshop where the facilitator made the important point to distinguish between the facts and the truth. I won't argue with the facts that were presented in the exhibit, but it's important to remember how they are presented.

Which leads me to my second point (and related to twisting the facts). The exhibit was full of fascinating food marketing and advertising.

Consider these two LIFE magazine covers from 1955 and 1962. What I find most interesting is the second of these two covers that prominently features fresh fruit and vegetables with the title "Bounty of Food." The irony of this, of course, is that though we'd certainly characterize the American food system as plentiful, there isn't necessarily a bounty of nutritious foods, like fruits and vegetables. Instead, and in part due to subsidies that incentive production of crops like corn, wheat, and soy, we see a bounty of processed food very different than what's depicted on the cover.

And here's an example of an advertisement for diet soda. It's fascinating to see how current advertising around diet and low calorie soda hasn't really changed all that much. Sure it may only have a few calories, but many diet sodas contain ingredients that really fly under the radar with consumers, including the artificial sweetener aspartame. Aspartame has been shown to cause migraines and a variety of other effects on health. This, of course, often goes unnoticed with a sole focus on calories.

This final picture I found fascinating and mostly because I'm currently in the middle of Waterlogged by Tim Noakes, which really debunks many of the common beliefs and assumptions of hydration. One of his main conclusions (which I won't talk about too much - the subject of a future blog post) is that dehydration isn't actually a bad thing if you're talking about endurance performance. Specifically, there have been countless studies showing a close relationship between change in body weight (i.e. level of dehydration through water loss) and performance. Those who had the highest percent change in body weight were those who performed best. Unfortunately, we've seen companies that produce sports drinks do a very good job of convincing us otherwise.

Overall, I was glad to see the museum take on the issue of food in the United States. Our food system has changed quite dramatically and over a relatively short period of time, and I thoroughly enjoyed how some of these changes were presented. There are some interesting pieces related to local food movements, in particular, that were certainly worth taking a look at. Oh, and if you're a fan of Julia Child, her kitchen that is on display is a big hit.

So, if you're around the National Mall anytime soon, I certainly recommend making a stop in to tour the exhibit.

The latest on GMO crops: how prevalent are they?

The issue of genetically modified crops (or technically genetically modified organisms - GMOs) was front and center last week when the Supreme Court ruled on a case involving an Indiana farmer and Monsanto, the maker and patent-holder of Roundup Ready genetically-modified soybean seeds (Bowman v. Monsanto). Though the court ruled narrowly on the issue and didn't speak much to the broader issue of patent protection for products that might be self-replicating, it was a reminder of how complicated and often contentious the issue of GMOs has become in the United States.

The ruling also coincidentally came just weeks before trade talks between the U.S. and the European Union are set to begin with. And you guessed it, GMOs and differing views on agricultural practices will be a part of the discussion.

But of course the issue of GMOs isn't just in trade talks. Grocery stories like Whole Foods are taking steps to rid their shelves of all GMO products. Earlier this year, they announced mandatory labeling of all GMO foods by 2018. Vermont is going so far as to mandate labeling of products with GMO ingredients.

According to polling conducted earlier this year, the majority of the country agrees. An overwhelming 82 percent of Americans across different demographics think GMO foods should be labeled.

So, should we be concerned about GMOs? A recent series of articles published in the prestigious journal Nature shed some light on the prevalence of GMO crops in the U.S. agricultural market.

Here are a few highlights: