Anthony Bourdain....what?!

For most Americans today the television has become and endless parade of channels to choose from for those average 4 hours a day of stationary boob tube time. Included within that endless supply of television programming are various food channels that allow everyone to salivate away staring at food creations we are dramatically promised are beyond our wildest dreams delicious.

In a country where there exists a literal weight crisis as the great majority of the population, which includes even children, are considered medically overweight or obese, there appears to be no sense of social responsibility when it comes to food indulgent programming that continues to grant continued permission to overeat and eat badly. The weight crisis in the United States is real and its continuation will be more threatening to the general population than sex and violence ever could be. It is no coincidence that pharmaceutical commercial advertising for diabetic supplies is a regular feature on every channel. The fact is that the obesity epidemic is running hand in hand with the diabetic epidemic because the two are interrelated.

But while there are organizations that seek social responsibility standards as to sex and violence in media, and even those who go after television advertisers regarding food marketing to children, there are no organizations that seek social responsibility in national television programming when it comes to the television chefs that forget that their words are being listened to by a national population.

For example, a recent program episode of Anthony Bourdain, where Mr. Bourdain traveled to a fast food style eatery with a female companion, showed the two joyously agreeing while biting into a sandwich that was a heart attack waiting to happen, that the only foods that they like are high fat foods. This statement was made after biting into a meat sandwich that was clearly so high in fat if you ate it daily it would be a greater health disaster exponentially then what we all witnessed in Morgan Spurlock’s documentary contribution of “30 days” where only McDonald meals were eaten.

Would it be asking too much for Mr. Bourdain to throw in a simply quick quip after such a remark such as “By the way eating only high fat foods will kill you”? or, how about a simple “Protect your health and eat this kind of meal only in moderation”? What about Emeril Lagassi, could he maybe throw in the fat and calorie count of these chefly creations to give people the reality on what eating each of these meals will do to your health?

We all know, or if you don’t know you should know, that if you ate at a restaurant, any restaurant, for every meal of your day, your result would be a very very unhealthy one. Restaurant food is not meant to be regular faire but rather a once in a while high calorie high fat palate treat. But when food channels promote that high calorie restaurant faire to Americans and the American kitchen on a regular basis without social responsibility in the delivery of the health information connected to these food masterpieces and worse yet promote unhealthy eating habits, obesity shouldn’t only be considered a possible result it should be considered an expected result.

For those who say that there is no effect on the psyche of the population when it comes to television food programming and who are now jumping up and down regarding free speech liberties, keep your shirt on. This isn’t about stopping anyone from saying anything it is just about adding the health reality to the programming to allow everyone to decide whether this is something they really want to eat once they consider the health consequence.

Commercial food packaging already requires that we all be provided detailed analysis of what is going into our bodies when we eat the food we buy in a market. Why not impose the same requirement on food television programming. Isn’t a national health crisis of obesity enough to justify the addition of simple health truths that balance against the pitch of food indulgence regularly promoted by food programming hosts?

But since it will be likely a very long time before Emeril or Anthony have to add health information to their programming, the next time you are in front of that television watching a food program where indulgence into the high fat food world is encouraged shamelessly, remember that indulgence has a cost. The reality of unchecked high fat, high calorie, food indulgence that causes you to be overweight includes increased risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, some cancers and heart problems.

Better yet, the next time you turn on the television and decide to watch a food program, get up and exercise. Most of these television food programs last about 30 minutes, which is just the right amount of exercise time you need to start getting healthy.

While you are exercising and watching that high calorie food masterpiece being created, consider the fact that your average burn of calories while you are exercising, will only burn off about ¼ of the calories of that the food you are watching being prepared. After the 30 minutes of exercise, you won’t likely put another thought into eating that high calorie high fat faire because you will quickly realize just how much effort it will take to get rid of that one meal to keep it from actually harming your health.

If you regularly exercise and watch what you eat you can improve your health exponentially and will even be able to eat a high calorie high fat creation once in a while without feeling guilt about it.

The time to think about your health is not when your health has finally suffered from the effects of not thinking about it.You can turn your health around by thinking about it regularly and acting on that thinking by eating right and exercising regularly. Everyone can achieve a healthy body and live a healthier life. Isn’t it time?