“Put the fork down.” That use to be my thoughts on food and overweight.

Way before becoming a Registered Dietitian, my attitude was that of what we learned about in school-I was one of those people that thought that overweight people were lazy and had lack of self control and discipline. I thought that peoples weight problems could just be solved with that simple phrase that is the title of this post.

Wow. Nieve, ignorant, insensitive, so on and so on, is what I was by thinking that way. The more I work with patient at my hospital, the more I get into the world of public health, and just meeting more people in general through life, the more my eyes and mind have opened. I see that the obesity epidemic can’t just be solved by putting down the fork.

There are just so many factors that come into play; socioeconomics being a huge part. It’s a public health problem, not just a person problem. People live in areas that a food deserts. No local grocery stores, farmers markets, only the local liquor store. Neighborhoods might be unsafe for just walking around for some physical exercise. Media, advertisements, and environment play roles just as well. Just so many things that have to be addressed and what Dietitian have to take into account when counseling on nutrition.

It starts with the individual, but sometimes we all need help, more than just being told to “put down the fork.”