Is candy evil or misunderstood?

The New York Times Health section featured the Candy Professor, Samira Kawash, a writer and professor who researches the history of candy, and how it is sometimes vilified. The Candy Professor contends that candy has always been honest about what it is: a processed food, a treat, something for pleasure not for nutrition. But some people have a knee-jerk reaction against eating candy, or feeding their children candy, despite reaching for foods such as fruit juices and granola bars that have just as much sugar. Candy is seen as something forbidden, while those granola bars have a veil of nutrition.

It is an interesting look at how we make decisions about food, perhaps not always rational ones. It is also about communication and the messages we hear about candy and how that influences the decisions we make.

What do you think?

If the result is the one you want, does it matter how you get there?

The New York Times Parenting blog points to an interesting new public service announcement running in New York. The PSA encourages moms to breastfeed. But the enticement is not the health benefits for the baby. The enticement to breastfeed is that many women who breastfeed lose weight.

So the question is whether it is appropriate to entice an audience to engage in a behavior for vanity? It's not unheard of. Anti-smoking campaigns have used the approach. And breastfeeding campaigns might also mention other reasons for breastfeeding that have nothing to do with the baby's health: such as monetary savings. If a health campaign is successful in getting an audience to engage in a health behavior, does the why matter?

Pink fatigue

The New York Times Well blog had an article today about the growing number of voices expressing "pink fatigue." October is breast cancer awareness month and pink is everywhere. but some fear that the emphasis on marketing and cutesy products misses the point. Others feels the money could be better spent on actual breast cancer research rather than "awareness."

I can appreciate that this can be a difficult balance to find. You do want to raise awareness of the disease, especially since early detection can be helpful in treatment. Creative fundraising can bring in a lot of money. And it's nice for people to feel like they are doing something, even if it is just saving yogurt lids. But are we missing the point? At least one group is suggesting we need more than pink, we need a deadline. The National Breast Cancer Coalition has taken the pink gloves off and set a deadline to find a cure: January 1, 2020.

Despite the frustration, it appears the sea of pink is here for now. But let's continue to highlight research efforts as much as we highlight baseball players with pink bats.