Montgomery Hasn't Sated Its Appetite for Diet Activism

By Lori Aratani
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, September 24, 2007

It's for your own good, Montgomery County. Really.

The county has banned trans fats in restaurants and is considering mandatory nutrition labels on menus. And now an Obesity Task Force is trying to brainstorm ways to prod residents to make healthier food choices.

Its first targets are kids in child-care centers and county employees. Better informed child-care providers and less-fattening vending machine choices would be the means.

Montgomery may have good reason to take on fat: A recent national survey found that more than half of Montgomery adults are overweight or obese by national standards.

The county is on the leading edge of a growing movement. New York City was the first to ban trans fats. And New York and King County, Wash., where Seattle is located, have adopted food-labeling requirements.

In the Washington area, D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) has proposed a nutrition labeling measure. Arlington County has established the FITArlington program to promote exercise and healthy living. And in May, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments voiced support for a resolution urging communities to rethink their approaches to fitness and nutrition and to better track health data.

One of the driving forces behind the initiatives in Montgomery is County Council member George L. Leventhal (D-At Large). He said government isn't trying to tell people what they can eat. No one is taking away your cheeseburger, he said.

But, he said, "over time, as awareness of public health increases, there is a greater desire for government to play a role in informing consumers. Most people don't know a giant-size shake has more calories than a cheeseburger."

And, officials said, if people know, perhaps they'll opt for the salad instead of the fries. If not, at least they've been warned.

But there are those who disagree.

Trevor Bothwell, author of the Who's Your Nanny? blog, was one of several writers who took aim recently at Montgomery's health initiatives in the blogosphere.

"There are a lot of things that are dangerous -- sweets, staying up too late," said Bothwell, who has blogged about Montgomery's plan even though he lives in Calvert County. "Are we really going to regulate everything?"

Yes, it's up to individuals to decide whether to supersize their meals, but advocates of more government action argue that government might ultimately bear the costs, in higher rates of disease -- including diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease -- and in higher health insurance premiums. It's also a little about image, officials say.

"I'm looking at my locality, where we're going to lose a lot of federal jobs," said J. Walter Tejada, vice chairman of the Arlington County Board, who pushed for FITArlington. "We want to be able to attract good businesses."

Lenora Sherard, the head of Montgomery's Obesity Task Force, said the group is focusing first on children and county employees.

The group is trying to secure grant money to launch a program to educate child-care providers about the importance of good nutrition and physical activity. Sherard said care providers need to be reminded that children should spend more time exercising and less time watching television and playing video games.

She said care providers often don't realize that they can offer better food choices to their clients. For example, some don't realize that water might be a better choice for children than juices, some of which contain a great deal of sugar.

Khadra Ayorinde, a child-care provider in Rockville, said she would like to know more nutrition and exercise routines that she could incorporate into the daily operations of her center. She said that in the past, she and other providers have worked with the school system on those types of issues.

She said that it can be challenging to get children to eat foods that are good for them but that they're more likely to try different foods when they are around other children.

But children aren't the only ones who need to make smart food choices, she said. "My goal is to educate the parents as well as the kids," she said.

The task force is also taking aim at the contents of vending machines in county facilities. The school system has taken steps to limit students' access to junk food and soda during school hours, but such a mandate does not exist in other county buildings.

Mary Anderson, a county spokeswoman, said there are about 185 vending machines spread among 60 county buildings. With the vending contract set to expire in November, task force members are hoping to persuade county officials to follow the lead of the school system and offer healthier food options in the machines. The machines now offer such foods as frosted toaster pastries and candy bars.

Under the school system's guidelines, snack items must contain fewer than seven grams of fat (nuts and seed mixes are exceptions) and fewer than 15 grams of sugar (except in the case of fresh or dried fruit). Beverages must contain a minimum of 50 percent fruit juice.

Some advocates of the health initiatives said they were surprised that Montgomery residents don't have better eating habits.

"In an educated community where half the people have more degrees than the doctors they visit?" said Susan Raskin, director of outreach for the Montgomery County Medical Society. "You think that people should know better."

Raskin, a member of the Obesity Task Force, said the medical society is working on a separate campaign designed to encourage frank conversations between doctors and patients about weight. Raskin said doctors say in surveys that they are sometimes reluctant to tell patients they are overweight because patients get defensive.

If the numbers for Montgomery are troubling, they are slightly better than those for other parts of the area and for the nation. According to 2006 data from the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, 59.2 percent of adults are overweight or obese in an area made up of the District, Arlington, Alexandria and Prince George's County. The proportion was 61.6 percent for adults nationwide.

U.S. researchers predict that if Americans continue to pack on the pounds at the current rate, 75 percent will be considered overweight by 2015.

Montgomery recently unveiled a Web page offering residents and food establishments guidance on the trans-fat ban, which was championed by council member Duchy Trachtenberg (D-At Large). The ban is slated to take effect in January for restaurants and other establishments serving food and in January 2009 for those that sell baked goods.

Prepackaged food made outside the county is not affected. More information is available at http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/transfat. About 2,500 establishments, ranging from restaurants to hospitals, will be affected.

In the meantime, a public hearing on the county's nutritional labeling plan, sponsored by Leventhal and Trachtenberg, was held recently and a committee hearing is scheduled for today.