Nutrition, Industry Influence and Separating Exercise From Weight Loss

Karim raises credibility, arguing that health professionals should model the advice they give, and questions food industry sponsorship of organizations such as the British Nutrition Foundation and dietetic and diabetes associations. Companies are obliged to maximize shareholder profit, which he believes shapes the messages these groups promote. He describes the argument that frequent carbohydrate snacks keep insulin raised and favor fat storage, and suggests eating real food, fewer and more separated meals, and what he calls normal rather than excessive carbohydrate intake, not zero. He recommends Nina Teicholz's book The Big Fat Surprise and a talk on reversing type 2 diabetes. The central message is that you cannot run your way out of a bad diet. Exercise reduces the risk of conditions such as cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer's disease, but it is a poor tool for weight loss. Linking exercise to weight loss suits the soft drink industry and leaves people discouraged when the scales do not move after two weeks, even though their health has already improved.