Ah, summer. I know I write about summer often, but after a very long winter and torrential spring, nice weather is very welcome. And all of the things that summer brings.
One of the best parts about summer is the food. While Thanksgiving and Christmas get a lot of attention for their food. But summer has the best food: corn on the cob, watermelon and ……potato chips?
While I do not automatically associate potato chips with my summer time food, a bag of potato chips is the easiest and quickest item to bring to a barbecue. So many pounds of chips are ingested at countless numbers of barbecues all summer long.
The troubles? Potato chips make you fat. Or at least that is what a “new” study from the FDA states. But are potato chips really problem? I think the FDA was wrong to single out potato chips.
Let’s review the facts before the potato chip industry starts a public relations campaign to restore their “good name.” Potato chips have a lot of grease and fat. Grease and saturated fat leads to body fat. So therefore potato chips are evil. Just kidding. (Well, on the last one at least.) That is how the study about FDA felt– that potato chips were the ultimate evil.
Sure, potato chips are delicious. The combination of the salt and grease make it difficult to stop at just one. Are they addictive? Sure. The potato chip industry thrives on that, using “One pop and you can’t stop” as a popular catch phrase.
But one thing should be clear. There is not an addictive chemical in potato chips, so is that really the problem? The big issue is not the potato chip industry, it is the will power of the people who are eating them.
The biggest problem with the FDA study is that, well, duh. Of course potato chips make you fat. So do all of the other junk foods people eat. So it seems unfair that the FDA would single out potato chips, making people think they are the root of all evil, instead of taking responsibility for their own actions.
So with this recent study, do you think your health insurance will cover any obesity related costs, think again.
Obesity affects almost half of Americans, which will help skyrocket health care costs. Those who are obese suffer from shortness of breath, heart problems and an increased risk of diseases like stroke and heart attack. These problems continue throughout life making it difficult to keep up with health care costs. The weight can be debilitating, putting pressure and strain on joints and bones.
So who should be to blame? The potato chip company or those who buy and consume potato chips? One could argue that if there was no one to buy the potato chips, the chip industry would buckle and cease to exist. That is not realistic. What is realistic is the need to teach children healthy eating techniques so they know that it is ok to stop, even after you pop.