Tasia Ochs

Eng. 101
Professor Lohmeyer
May 5, 2016
Word Count: 960
Me:

Good evening! Welcome to the Ochs Report! Tonight we have two special
guests with us, Mary Maxfield and David Zinczenko!
Maxfield is a graduate student in American Studies at Bowling Green State
University. Her academic interests include bodies, gender, sexuality, politics, and
rhetoric.
Zinczenko is the author of numerous best-selling books, including the Eat
This, Not That and the Abs Diet series. He has contributed op-ed essays to the New
York Times, Los Angeles Times, and USA Today.

Maxfield: Thanks for having us on the show tonight Tasia. We are very excited to
answer your questions and talk about our essays with you.

Me:

David, why dont we have you start off by going deeper into your story. How
did you grow up that prompted you to write Dont Blame the Eater?

Zinczenko:I grew up as a typical mid-1980s kid. My parents were split up and

my mom worked long hours to make ends meet and my dad was somewhere trying
to rebuild his life. My lunch and dinner options were choices between: McDonalds,
Taco Bell, KFC, or Pizza Hut. By age 15 I was 212 pounds and was only 5-foot-10.
When I went to college, I joined the Navy Reserves and got involved with health
magazine. Ever since that opportunity I have been focusing on my health and
trying to help other people as well (Zinczenko ).

Me:

That is wonderful David!

Mary can you tell us a little more about Food as Thought: Resisting the
Moralization of Eating?

Maxfield: Of course, I would love to do that for you!

I started it off with a question. How do the French eat so unhealthily,
but stay, on average, healthier than Americans (Maxfield )? I told them to stop
focusing on the French and focus on the French fry!
The problem we all have is that our understanding of health is as much
based in culture as it is in fact. Despite doubt in academic circles over connections
between diet, health, and weight, common-sense reportage continues to presume
that they are directly connected.

I wanted to inform people that eating is as much part of a culture as

anything else. It is important for people to know that everyone is different.

Me: That is a great thing for you to do. It is important for people to know that
everywhere around the world, people are different.

Zinczenko:

That is a great message! Mind if I use some of that in my next

report? It would be wonderful for my readers to read as well! People need to know
about how food can affect their lives and that they need to teach their children the
same things as well.

Maxfield: That would be great for you to use some of what I said in your work! I
would love to read it when you finish! Please contact me if you have any questions!

Me: You guys are getting along so well! David, could you tell us more about
Dont Blame the Eater? Give us an inside scoop on Diabetes and how you tied
that to your story.

Zinczenko:

In 1994, diabetes in children was caused by a genetic disorder.

But only about 5% of cases were obesity related. Now it is up to 30% of Type 2
diabetes cases that are obesity related in children.
Fast food restaurants are marketing to teenagers. Teenagers do not
look at the nutrition facts about food, all they know is that it tastes good.
I added the segment in on diabetes, because I thought it would help
get the point across about obesity and how teenagers are eating 2 meals a day
from fast-food restaurants. Kids need to be more careful about what they are
eating, because it will affect their lives in more ways than they know as they get
older.

Me: That is a good point about the effects of eating too much fast food.
Maxfield: I wrote about a journalist, Michael Pollan, in my essay. He and other
like-minded nutrition hawks consistently back up their claims with concerns about
American health. Were a nation stricken by heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

Zinczenko:

There was a lot of money spent to treat diabetes recently. The

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that diabetes accounted for
$2.6 billion in health care costs since 1969.

Maxfield: How has your research shown the cost of different types of diseases?
Did you do much research for other diseases?

Zinczenko:

My research has shown that heart disease and stroke hold the
highest with $315.4 billion. Of this amount $193.4 billion was for direct medical
costs, not including costs of nursing home care.

Maxfield: When I researched about Pollan, I found that cancer care cost about
$157 billion in 2010. I found this on The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

as well. I also found that medical costs linked to obesity were estimated to be $147
billion in 2008 from the same sight.

Zinczenko:

Annual medical costs for people who are obese were $1,429
higher than someone of normal weight.

Me: That is such an interesting topic to research. I think I will do more research
about costs for certain diseases. I have some diseases that are very prominent in
my family that I should research more about. Diabetes, heart disease, and cancer
being a select few.
That is all we have for you today! Thanks for watching, I hope you have a
wonderful night!

Maxfield: Thank you for having us on the show to talk about our research and
allowing us to inform your viewers with the information we found!

Zinczenko:

I had a wonderful time. We should do it again sometime soon!