APA Media Advisory

August 8, 2008
Contact: Pam Willenz
APA Public Affairs Office
(202) 336-5707
(617) 954-3992 (between 8/14-8/17)
(703) 403-7026 (cell)

WORLD'S OBESITY EPIDEMIC: PSYCHOLOGIST OFFERS REASONS FOR GLOBAL OBESITY EPIDEMIC, SOLUTIONS FOR EATING BETTER AND AVOIDING HEALTH CONSEQUENCES

Economic Situation Both Good and Bad for Nation's Eating, Brownell Says

WHO: Kelly Brownell, PhD, professor of psychology and epidemiology and public health at Yale University. He is also director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity.

WHAT: Presentation will look at the obesity epidemic around the world. Brownell will discuss how popular processed foods are making us fat and offer reasons why it so difficult to avoid these foods. He will also talk about how psychologists can contribute to the prevention of these problems.

WHERE: American Psychological Association's 116th Annual Convention Boston Convention and Exhibition Center
415 Summer Street
Boston, MA 02210
Meeting Level 2, Meeting Room 210A

WHEN: Friday, Aug. 15. Session 2198, 1:00 – 1:50 PM

BACKGROUND: What's making us fat? According to psychologist Kelly Brownell, PhD, the cost of food (healthy food costs more), relentless marketing of unhealthy foods, and a possible addictive process triggered by foods all play into the surge of unhealthy eating and the obesity epidemic. The costs of food and limited access to healthy foods are especially detrimental for the poor.

“Nearly every nation in the world is having problems with increases in obesity and weight-related diseases (such as diabetes and heart disease) as indigenous foods are replaced by highly processed, nutrient-poor and calorie-dense foods,” Brownell says. “Physical activity declines due to technology advances, and energy-saving devices are also contributing to peoples' weight problems.”

For the last 50 years, humanity has hoped for some medical or psychological miracle to wipe out obesity, said Brownell. “A more sensible approach is to focus on prevention and to address why it so difficult to get people to eat better.”

Brownell will discuss what psychologists can do to help stop the bad food/bad health cycle, looking at the role marketing plays in eating and understanding whether certain foods can trigger an addictive process. Brownell also suggests working with schools to encourage healthier food choices, encouraging legislators to support walking and bike paths and limiting the growth of fast food around schools and in urban neighborhoods.

The American Psychological Association (APA), in Washington, DC, is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States and is the world's largest association of psychologists. APA's membership includes more than 148,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 54 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance psychology as a science, as a profession and as a means of promoting health, education and human welfare.