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AirTalk

Is junk food the new tobacco?

Is there a way to reduce the nation's consumption of junk food?
Is there a way to reduce the nation's consumption of junk food?
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Cate Gillon/Getty Images
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Listen 25:08
Is junk food the new tobacco?
Less fat, less salt, more exercise, limit meat and sweets. So says the USDA committee reviewing the agency's dietary guidelines. Exhaustive research and the use of the newly minted Evidence-Based Nutrition Library has yielded… the same advice we’ve heard for 30 years? Why, then, are Americans fatter than ever? Are we obstinately overweight? Given the serious risks associated with obesity, why has policy lagged so far behind nutritionists’ consistent findings? And, if you replace “junk food” with “tobacco” would lawmakers rigorously regulate?

Less fat, less salt, more exercise, limit meat and sweets. So says the USDA committee reviewing the agency's dietary guidelines. Exhaustive research and the use of the newly minted Evidence-Based Nutrition Library has yielded… the same advice we’ve heard for 30 years? Why, then, are Americans fatter than ever? Are we obstinately overweight? Given the serious risks associated with obesity, why has policy lagged so far behind nutritionists’ consistent findings? And, if you replace “junk food” with “tobacco” would lawmakers rigorously regulate?

Guest:

Dr. Francine Kaufman, Pediatric Endocrinologist at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and Chief Medical Officer at Medtronic Diabetes