Time to Limit the Food Porn

The American Institute for Cancer Research yesterday released a report linking excess weight to a higher incidence of cancer. Since I'm obsessed with obesity, I'm hardly surprised by the findings. I had long ago been informed by my doctor that my obesity might be influencing the growth of a huge uterine fibroid that I had as fat cells can produce excess estrogen.
I'm all for healthy living, and I strive for it myself. But some days it's tougher than others as my compulsion to overeat gets triggered without me even being conscious of it. I'm also worried that now that obesity has had the last nail put in its coffin to lay it beside smoking as a health risk, obese people will be subjected to even more judgemental scorn than ever, without getting the help that they need. Unfortunately, despite the fact that we know it's bad for us, we still don't have a cure for obesity.

Meanwhile, we are surrounded by constant images of what I heard a person in an OA meeting call "Food Porn". It's all those lovely tempting images of food that surround us from the front of magazines, and particularly in ads for prepared foods and restaurants. And it's the cooking shows. When we moved and ordered satellite tv, I made a conscious channel not to subscribe to the Food Network. My bete noir is cookbooks. I have cut back considerably in recent years, but I still have a small bookcase full of cookbooks, and I love to cook. I think I sublimate all sorts of emotions in cooking and eating. Despite my conflicted family life growing up, it was one thing we could actually find some common ground on, for better or worse.

I wonder if we are now going to start looking at all this food stuff like we now view smoking. Smoking ads are pretty well totally banned, and I haven't seen any smoking shows lately. And with the exception of that cigar magazine (is it even still around?), I haven't seen any ciggie mags. In my province it will soon be law that visible cigarette counter displays disappear. What would happen if they did that to the rafts of junk food in the convenience stores and you had to ask to get a big bag of cheesies? What if you had to be 21 to buy potato chips?

I know I'm pushing the metaphor here, but I think it's started to turn in that direction. Schools have started looking at their sales of soda, and last year my niece's grade 2 teacher asked parents not to bring candy or cake to the class.