In my world, walking makes us fat, TV makes us thin

by Beth Teitell
Thursday, April 10, 2003

 

I don't have a fancy doctoral degree, so I'm not really in a position to pick apart the results of a study conducted by Harvard School of Public Health researchers. Yet pick I must, for the public good.

I'd hate for millions of Americans to read the conclusions of a study highlighted in yesterday's issue of the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association and end up actually harming their health, when all they were trying to do was follow doctor's orders.

In case you didn't see it, the latest in the growing field of chub studies reported that:

a) Brisk walking slashes the risk of becoming obese and developing diabetes, and

b) Watching TV drastically increases the risk of both.

(Note: My remarks are strictly targeted toward the obesity part of the study; the diabetes issue I'll leave to the medical experts.)

Sure, on the face of it the recommendations seem to make sense, and yet, as we know from shows like ``Joe Millionaire,'' things aren't always what they appear.

Let's look at brisk walking first. I walk to and from work almost every day, a distance of six miles. Because I'm often running late, I walk briskly. And yet I'm no Kate Moss or Calista Flockhart.

Why? Because my brisk walk takes me past:

  • Dunkin Donuts, which I briskly enter for a daily chocolate Munchkin, which I briskly devour (at 70 calories per, thank you very much);

  • Newbury Pizza, whose steps I briskly descend to buy a slice for the road;

  • J.P. Licks, where I often ask to taste a flavor before making my purchase, on the theory that samples have no calories.

    If I had the guts to tally my caloric intake and pit it against the number of calories burned by the brisk walking, I'm sure I'd start taking the T - or better yet, driving - because knowing me, I'd be underground, trying to keep my weight under control, and end up buying snacks from the trackside kiosks.

    Quick, gimme a bagel with light cream cheese, and one of them doughnuts, the C line is about to arrive.

    Now let's look at the TV part of the study. The study's lead author, one Frank Hu, said watching television for less than 10 hours a week could prevent about 30 percent of new obesity cases.

    Maybe, but doesn't it depend on what kind of TV you watch? Suppose you were to force yourself to watch 15 hours a week of shows featuring thin, attractive people - ``Will & Grace,'' ``Friends,'' anything on the WB network. I don't know about you, but their zero BMI might convince me to lay off the Oreos, if just for a day.

    As long as I don't accidentally flip over to ``My Big Fat Greek Life,'' I'll be fine.