http://www.obesitythunderbay.ning.com is in complete support of response from these trend setting doctors .

Lets build a community based action plan to address obesity. In the pot we can add integrity , dignity , respect, kindness , and some spice called TRUTH.

NOW WE ARE COOKING.

My model is called SHARED ACCOUNTABILITY , and I am confident a community can lead us into a healthier outcome.

We seemed to be lacking in certain ingredients , but thanks to the doctors , we may have stumbled onto it.

Lets raise awareness on Obesity Dignity and lower fat hatred in the media. I am calling for a National Obesity Action Plan, and you can play a key role .
We need to demand a little truth and integrity for the media. Obesity is rolled up into many many parts . Poverty , education,level of income and mood altering with sugar and salt to name but a few.
I am 2fat2fly on twitter and I hope you come by and give me a follow.

Thanks Paul

It is amazing to me that eating healthy in this country is really a counter-cultural act.

Many people look to board certifications as a measure of a doctor’s qualifications in his specialty field(s). A change in health insurance often requires a change in doctors from a list provided by the new insurer.

If a doctor resigns membership in a specialty organization, doesn’t that also mean he loses his board certification — and thereby, credibility with the general public?

I strongly applaud Dr. William Walker and his colleagues at Contra Costa Department of Health Services. As a registered dietitian member and volunteer leader within the American Dietitian Association I am embarrassed to say that our organization, ADA, announced its partnership with The Coco-Cola Company last year. (See the announcement online at: http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs.xsl/media_16174_ENU_HTML.htm.)

I was present when this partnership was announced and the only reason that I did not leave the sponsored luncheon was because I was so curious how Coca-cola expects to help the ADA achieve its goal of optimizing the nation’s health. I heard NOTHING to support that notion.

I am an active volunteer elected leader within the ADA’s Hunger and Environmental Nutrition Dietetic Practice Group. EVERY year for at least the past five, our members have voiced their disapproval of this and other corporate partnerships. We lose members and students new to our professional organization yearly because of their anger about these partnerships. I recently led a meeting with my colleagues within HEN between us and ADA corporate sponsorship staff. Unfortunately, no one could answer for us, “Who makes the decision for these partners?” ADA’s most recent Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo included sponsorship from Monsanto, Pepsi, ConAgra, and many other corporations. While there is a growing contingent of truly healthful products being showcased at the expo, preferred space within the annual conference has traditionally been given to the previous year’s participants – meaning that Coca-cola and others get first pick, leaving little room for others.

My understanding is many of these “strategic” partnerships are the leftover remnants of departed leadership. Now that ADA has changed leadership, I hope that it will seriously and genuinely consider terminating these partnerships that are so obviously contrary to our mission and vision. These partnerships should not be made without approval and direction from our members and our elected leaders. Only 10% of our funding comes from corporate sponsorship – so why partner with them at all when the price – our reputation – is so high? As members of the organization, we must hold our board of directors responsible for fulfilling their obligation to make decisions that will guide us towards, not away, from our mission and vision. Food corporations such as Coca-Cola, are part of a broken agricultural food system that not only threatens our health, it also degrades our environment and is the largest contributor to climate change in the world. That’s not something we as health professionals should support or be associated with.

As Dr. Walker understands, multi-national corporations are interested in ONE thing and one thing only – MONEY. They don’t care that we are facing the first generation in human history whose lifespan is expected to be shorter than that of their parents and grandparents. So, if money talks, in today’s economic times can professional organizations afford to continue to lose our members? No, we cannot. I encourage anyone who is an RD or PhD nutritionist who has left or refused ADA membership to reconsider, to join the Hunger and Environmental Nutrition DPG and help us speed up our revolution from within the ADA. We are one of the fastest growing DPG’s in the organization – speaking to the growing awareness among dietitians that we have to change the way we produce and market food in this world.

Sincerely,
Kelly Horton

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Kelly D. Horton, MS, RD
Health and Aging Policy Fellow/American Political Science Association Congressional Fellow, 2009-2010 – http://www.healthandaging.org
Hunger and Environmental Nutrition DPG Chair, 2009-2010 – http://www.hendpg.org
Owner and Principal Consultant, Connect Nutrition

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