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American Morning
What is Causing Obesity Problem in America?
Aired July 08, 2002 - 08:20 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Studies keep telling us that the number of overweight Americans keeps on getting bigger. But what is causing the problem -- too much fat or too many carbohydrates?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We love to eat. We don't regulate what we eat and we love to eat.
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I think people gain weight because they might like to eat a lot of fast food. I kind of enjoy it myself, but I try not to eat too much of it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Meat's got fat. If you don't burn it off, it's going to add on weight. If you eat too much starch, the same thing, the carbohydrates will add up on your waist.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: Well, for 30 years the medical community has rejected the low carbohydrate, high fat Atkins diet. But in this week's "New York Times" magazine, writer Gary Taubes asks what if Atkins was right all along? What if the medical establishment was actually pushing us toward an unhealthy diet?
Health writer Gary Taubes joins me now.
Welcome.
GARY TAUBES, CONTRIBUTOR, "NEW YORK TIMES" MAGAZINE: Good morning.
ZAHN: So, how many hate letters have you gotten from the pro- carbohydrate people?
TAUBES: Well, it's still early, but I expect to get more than my share of letters disagreeing with what I wrote and perhaps suggesting that it was irresponsible.
ZAHN: So for the folks who haven't had a chance to dive into what you wrote, your conclusion, based on tons of scientific evidence, is what?
TAUBES: Well, basically what you find out, I've been studying this for several years now, and what you found out is that we've been living on this low fat dogma for 25 years, you know, the idea that a low fat diet is a healthy diet, a low fat diet leads to weight loss and if you want to lose weight, you cut back on the fat in your diet and that's going to make the difference. And in that same 25 years, we've had this rampaging epidemic of obesity. We're seeing more Type II diabetes than ever.
And finally, some influential scientists have been sitting back and saying there's something wrong here. We've tested the low fat dogma for 25 years and it looks like it's failed the test. There's not even less heart disease than there used to be. And...
ZAHN: So the little radars went off?
TAUBES: The little radars went off. And for 30 years, Dr. Robert Atkins, author of, you know, "Dr. Atkins' Diet Revolution," has been saying it's the carbs that make you fat and has been advocating these diets that restrict carbohydrates -- no pasta, no rice, no potatoes.
ZAHN: Why don't we take a close-up of this? So in the old low fat diet mode, this would have been considered a healthy choice?
TAUBES: That's, that would be the perfect...
ZAHN: Maybe you would go with whole wheat bread over the toasted white bread, right?
TAUBES: Yes, no butter, though. Definitely no butter.
ZAHN: No butter. Fruit.
TAUBES: Right.
ZAHN: And this over here would be a healthier choice?
TAUBES: This, in the lf dogma, is death personified. This is like, this is going to kill you, OK? And this is going to make you healthier.
ZAHN: And that's about all I eat, thank you very much. I'm dead.
TAUBES: Right.
ZAHN: I'm out of here.
TAUBES: But this is what Atkins said, this was the Atkins' breakfast of choice. So, and what you find out, like I said, is that lf dogma, it's kind of failed the test of time. And we just keep getting fatter.
The public health authorities, the sort of orthodox wisdom is we're getting fatter because we don't exercise enough and where broadcasts like television bombards us with food commercials. There's a McDonald's on every corner. Basically, it's this national lack of will power and inability to be, to exercise.
ZAHN: But you say phooey to that.
TAUBES: There's just no data backing it up.
ZAHN: So the bottom line to folks who love to eat out there is what?
TAUBES: The bottom line is what I was taught growing up, what was the dogma through about the late '70s and, again, the scientists are still, there's still controversy. But it used to be that carbohydrates make you fat, you know?
ZAHN: So go for the hamburger, go for the cheese, go for the steak?
TAUBES: Yes. Skip the buns.
ZAHN: Go for the butter.
TAUBES: Skip the potatoes. Skip the pasta. Skip the rice.
ZAHN: Boy, do I like you.
TAUBES: Skip the bread. Skip the sodas.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right on.
TAUBES: Skip the soft drinks. Skip the sports drinks.
ZAHN: Gary Taubes.
You want to read more about it? Pick up the magazine from over the weekend in the "New York Times."
Thanks for dropping by.
TAUBES: Thank you, Paula.
ZAHN: Appreciate your time.
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