If you've been reading the WHEE Scheduled Diaries list for the past few days, you know tonight's diary was titled "He's the DJ, I'm the Rider." Unfortunately, overtime has soaked up too much of my time this week, so I'm going to delay that diary until next week or later, in order to do a good job of it.
However, I've run across a couple of recent links on the New York Times Web site, one of which relates directly to last week's diary. I've also been grooving on a new book that's definitely going to be added to my WHEE Bookshelf. Follow me across the jump for GeekMyFitness - WHEEloaded. But first, a word of explanation for those just discovering WHEE for the first time:
WHEE (Weight, Health, Eating and Exercise) is a community support diary for Kossacks who are currently or planning to start losing, gaining or maintaining their weight through diet and exercise or fitness. Any supportive comments, suggestions or positive distractions are appreciated. If you are working on your weight or fitness, please -- join us! You can also click the WHEE tag to view all diary posts.
Menu Labeling WHEEloaded:
How Posted Calories Affect Food Orders
Last Saturday, I added a couple paragraphs of non-Kessler commentary to my weekly review of a chapter from The End of Overeating. I'd just discovered the first study of New York City's menu labeling law. The law requires chain restaurants (chains with at least 15 locations nationwide, I believe) to post the calorie counts of their offerings close to the items' prices, in text as large as the prices.
The initial study focused on fast food locations in poorer neighborhoods. If you've seen the initial article, you know the study (published in Health Affairs) found that the law led to a slight RISE in the number of calories purchased by customers, compared to a comparable period before the menu labeling was in effect. A control group of fast food customers in New Jersey showed no change in calories per meal purchased in the same time periods.
The new report comes from New York City health officials. They broadened their field to restaurants outside of the poverty-stricken areas, and found that customers at four restaurants (Au Bon Pain, KFC, McDonald’s and Starbucks) ordered a little bit less. Eight of the thirteen restaurants showed no change in the number of calories per order, and customers at one restaurant - Subway - ordered considerably more.
In Mindless Eating, Brian Wansink detailed a study he'd conducted comparing Subway diners to McDonald's customers. The average McDonald's customer believed he/she had eaten 876 calories, but had actually consumed 1093 calories, a difference of 25%. On the other hand, Subway customers were surrounded by nutritional data on posters, wall menus, and napkins, and most were probably aware of Subway's long-running nutrition-based ad campaign. The Subway customers ate an average of 677 calories - but believed his/her meal had only contained 495 calories - difference of 34%. That is, the Subway customers were eating more healthfully - but they were considerably more inaccurate about estimating their meals.
So what was happening in New York City over the past year? The NYC health officials attributed all the increase to Subway's Five Dollar Footlong promotion, but I'm not sure that explains all of it. For one thing, I don't think that promotion has been running for the entire period since the calorie labeling law went into effect (although it could have started earlier in New York).
In my first End of Overeating review diary, I wrote about the NYC menu labeling law:
...menu calorie counts have been proposed [nationwide] as part of healthcare reform, according to a TIME Magazine article from June.
New York City implemented mandatory menu calorie labeling a year or so ago. When I heard about it, I thought it seemed like a Good Idea - or at least, I thought, It Couldn't Hurt. Since then, however, I've started to wonder.
Why? Well, another audiobook I've been listening to recently is Robert Cialdini's Yes!: 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive. In this latter book, Cialdini and his co-authors discuss the Contrast Principle - the idea that pushing an extreme position can help make less-extreme positions seem more reasonable. Long-time Kossacks may recognize this as "Moving the Overton Window."
Yes! talks about how Williams-Sonoma introduced a super-duper, very expensive breadmaker. This introduction was followed by a large number of sales -- of their previous top-of-the-line breadmaker, not the new one. The Contrast Principle theorizes that the premium price of the new premium breadmaker made the old one seem like a bargain.
In his ("as-told-to") book Dave's Way, Wendy's founder Dave Thomas talked about the Wendy's Triple - three quarter-pound patties stacked on a bun. He noted that not too many people ordered one, but they kept it on the menu for those who wanted something "a little more." I wonder, though, if the real function of the Triples and similar gut-busting menu items at other restaurants is an expression of the Contrast Principle, making menu items that are almost as bad seem healthy by comparison.
If that's the case, those menu calorie counts, by putting that information out where it's harder to ignore, might make customers choose LESS wisely: "Hey, I know the Double Bypass with onion rings probably isn't good for me - but hey, at least I'm not ordering the Triple Bypass. I mean, just look at that calorie count! That would be nuts!"
It seems to me that before we make these menu calorie counts the law of the land, it might be smart to do a bit more research on the effects of the law in New York City. According to the TIME Magazine article, people THINK they're choosing more wisely when they consider calorie counts - but are they really? A bit more study seems like it would be a Good Idea - or at least, It Can't Hurt.
Incidentally, I wrote the above back in August, well before the first of these two recent studies was released at the beginning of October.
Afterburn WHEEloaded:
And speaking of Time Magazine - another NY Times article, in Tara Parker-Pope's Well Blog, asks:
Phys Ed: Why Doesn’t Exercise Lead to Weight Loss?.
This title is reminiscent of the infamous Time Magazine article that I reviewed in early August titled "Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin."
However, Parker-Pope's article deals with the subject of exercise afterburn - that is, whether exercisers burn significant amounts of calories after exercise. The study reviewed in today's NY Times looked for afterburn following aerobic exercise - that is,
...performed at a relatively easy intensity (about 55 percent of each person’s predetermined aerobic capacity).
What were the results?
To their surprise, the researchers found that none of the groups, including the athletes, experienced "afterburn." They did not use additional body fat on the day when they exercised. In fact, most of the subjects burned slightly less fat over the 24-hour study period when they exercised than when they did not.
(emphasis mine)
Back in September, I noted that an hour of anaerobic cardio exercise (specifically, a Spinning class) seemed to induce almost two hours of "afterburn" (as measured by my bodybugg). Last week, I looked at possible afterburn following weightlifting, and found that it provided around 45 minutes of afterburn at best. Now, this new study found that aerobic exercise leads to zero afterburn. It looks like anaerobic exercise - the harder, the better - is the best bet for afterburn. Or, you could just find an aerobic exercise you enjoy, and do it for longer.
Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen
In August (coincidentally, the same day as my 50th birthday), Jon Stewart interviewed
Christopher McDougall on The Daily Show. McDougall has written a book titled Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen. I was fascinated by the interview, and requested the book at the library. The wait for McDougall's book wasn't as long as for Kessler's, but I waited longer to check out Born to Run... than for any other book I've checked out from the Austin Public Library.
A few days ago, my chance came at last, and I've been reading the book whenever I could find the time (whenever I wasn't working overtime at work). What's it about? Well, I don't have the time to write a full review right now, and a short review couldn't possibly beat the summary McDougall gave during Stewart's interview, so I suggest you watch it for yourself:
A fascinating interview, and an even more fascinating book. I'm not finished reading, but I'm wondering if it might be a life-changing book for me (at 50 years old). Get it, read it. It's definitely going on my WHEE Bookshelf.
Scheduled WHEE diaries:
November 5
Thurs AM - cdkipp
Thurs PM - ???
November 6
Fri AM - ???
Fri PM - ??? (louisev BYOG / BYOD / BYOI ???)
November 7
Sat AM - ???
Sat PM - Edward Spurlock (Kessler, Ch. 21)
November 8
Sun AM - louisev Turtle Diary
Sun PM - ???
November 9
Mon AM - NC Dem
Mon PM - ???
November 10
Tues AM - ???
Tues PM - Clio2 (Kessler, Ch. 22)
November 11
Weds AM - ???
Weds PM - Edward Spurlock - Geek My Fitness: "He's the DJ, I'm the Rider"