Feeding the obesity epidemic

David Zinczenko thinks we need more information about the calories in restaurant meals. USAToday Opinion, Mar 25, 2008 Sorry. I don't believe it. I don't know anyone who doesn't know there are more calories in Aussie cheese fries with ranch dressing (2900 cal, Outback) than in a baked potato with sour cream (150 cal), or that there aren't more calories in a Starbucks Venti strawberries and creme Frappucino (about 750 cal) than in a coffee with cream (about 35 cal). There are a lot of reasons people over eat, but lack of information is probably at the bottom of the list.

Russia in transition

Obesity is on the increase as Russia transitions to more freedom, a market economy, and choices. The calories seem to remain the same, but are coming from less healthy sources--alcohol, sweets, etc. The authors are from Iowa State University and University of Dublin, and guessing from their names, I'm guessing they are former citizens of the USSR.

Huffman, Sonya Kostova and Rizov, Marian, "The Rise of Obesity in Transition Economies: Theory and Evidence from the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey" . Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1106102

Charting obesity

The Bureau of Labor chart showing restaurant growth with the advent of women working outside the home shown in the March 14 WSJ (p. B2) seems to parallel the rise in obesity.

The article also reports that with a recent flattening of growth in restaurant sales by women with families, restaurants are adding features to attract women with children--books, etch-a-sketch and video games.