Author Archives: Melissa Musiker

Happy Healthy Weight Week?

Melissa MusikerJanuary 20 – 26 was National Healthy Weight week. Strategically positioned to be right in the middle of the post holidays and  New Year’s resolution use-your-gym-membership season, the premise behind Healthy Weight Week is to remind people concerned about their weight to stop fixating on numbers and focus on building healthy habits and a more positive self-image. Recognizing the economic difficulties facing society as a result of rising healthcare costs associated with obesity, and the fact that a winning and innovative strategy to address this crisis is needed, Hastings Center bioethicist emeritus Dr. Daniel Callahan, in a recently released controversial paper,  posits three potential solutions to addressing the obesity epidemic: strong and somewhat coercive public health measures childhood prevention programs and extreme social pressure on the overweight.
Posted on Tuesday, January 29th, 2013 By Melissa Musiker
Catogories  Health Policy Nutrition | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

New investments in prevention and wellness redefine “kid food” in school lunches and on children’s menus

Melissa MusikerThe term “kid food” conjures images of chicken nuggets, hamburgers, pizza, mac and cheese, hot dogs or French fries. “Healthy food,” meanwhile, brings to mind apples, broccoli, kale, fat-free yogurt, steamed chicken or fiber-dense cereal. The imagery is dichotomous, but that may be starting to change. Recent changes to the National School Lunch Program and children’s menus in quick-serve and casual-dining restaurants are likely to have a significant impact on the way we think about kid food in this country.
Posted on Thursday, September 6th, 2012 By Melissa Musiker
Catogories  Nutrition | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Who is responsible for the weight of the nation? Depends on how you vote

Melissa MusikerEarlier this month there was an editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine as a follow up to the Weight of the Nation events that took place in May. It suggested that the public health advocacy community and liberals are ready to take action on obesity, but unfortunately entrenched business interests and conservative politicians are getting in the way. This editorial is largely built around the graph featured below, which is based on public opinion data collected by Bleich and Blendon in 2011.
Posted on Friday, August 10th, 2012 By Melissa Musiker
Catogories  Health Policy Nutrition | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Obesity and the Olympics: Rethinking What it Means to Look Like an Athlete

Melissa MusikerWe live in the age of information, and we are being inundated by a never-ending torrent of information about obesity and health. There is no way to avoid it; it is part of our daily lives. And it is nearly impossible to make sense of it all. The International Food Information Council (IFIC), a repository of fantastic information about food and nutrition, has been keeping tabs on media impressions on obesity for more than a decade. The interest in obesity has been at a sustained and high level for more than two years with no signs of slowing down. Obesity is personal, compelling and complex. New news and new angles on the topic can be found on a daily basis.
Posted on Wednesday, August 1st, 2012 By Melissa Musiker
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Musings from the Summer 2012 Fancy Food Show

Melissa MusikerI recently attended the Summer Fancy Food Show at the DC Convention Center. As an industry watcher and avid foodie, this was a great opportunity to learn about what is happening in the food and beverage industry. Amid the sea of chocolate, cheese and charcuterie, product trends paralleled broader health and wellness trends in food.
Posted on Monday, July 2nd, 2012 By Melissa Musiker
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Small Changes Can Make a Big Impact

Melissa MusikerAll too often we want to see dramatic results. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve vowed to exercise more or eat healthier, only to quickly give up when I don’t see big changes. That’s why it is so refreshing to have a client like Share Our Strength’s Cooking Matters®. Share Our Strength® is a national nonprofit organization whose goal is to end childhood hunger in America. One of their many programs is Cooking Matters, which empowers low-income families with the skills, knowledge and confidence to prepare healthy and affordable meals
Posted on Wednesday, June 27th, 2012 By Melissa Musiker
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A New Look at How We Count Calories

Melissa Musiker is a registered dietician and a member of APCO’s Washington, D.C., health policy team.Last week the American Society for Nutrition released a consensus statement on energy balance and implications for body weight regulation. In general, the statement supports much of the currently held notions about the importance of maintaining appropriate energy balance over [...]
Posted on Monday, April 9th, 2012 By Melissa Musiker
Catogories  Chronic Disease Nutrition | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Food Day in the U.S. Highlights the Hunger-Obesity Paradox

Today is Food Day in the United States. Food Day is an event coordinated by the Center for Science in the Public Interest with the goal of bringing together eaters of all types “to push for healthy, affordable food produced in a sustainable, humane way.” According to its organizers, Food Day is a nationwide grassroots mobilization for healthier diets and improved food policies. With literally thousands of events big and small being planned for today, it is clear that people are thinking about their food more than they ever have before.
Posted on Monday, October 24th, 2011 By Melissa Musiker
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Blog Action Day 2011: We Are All Experts on Food

Today is Blog Action Day. 2250 bloggers from 100 countries have put their hands up to talk about food and take part in a global conversation. The next 24 hours will see a huge global conversation about food from many different perspectives and angles. When I started my career working as a clinical dietitian, someone gave me a great piece of advice that I think is particularly relevant to the theme of Blog Action Day 2011- always remember, everybody is an expert because everybody eats.
Posted on Sunday, October 16th, 2011 By Melissa Musiker
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American Dietetic Association Annual Meeting: Does a new name mean a new direction?

Last week, the American Dietetic Association held their annual Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo (FNCE) in San Diego. The largest conference focused on nutrition, it draws crowds of nearly 15,000 dietitians and nutrition experts from across the United States and abroad. It opened with a major announcement: As of 2012 the group will be known as the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND). The conference was buzzing with talk of what that means in terms of the organization’s future direction and branding. Amidst sessions about gluten-free diets, nutrition message targeting and best practices in infant feeding were sessions that highlighted many of the philosophical debates swirling in the areas of food, nutrition and public policy.
Posted on Thursday, October 6th, 2011 By Melissa Musiker
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