Original broadcast date: July 12, 2009

We like to believe that we are a rational species. If, the assumption goes, we are presented with information that is cogent, specific and valid, we will respond by incorporating these ideas for the betterment of our lives. What we decide to eat and drink is a world onto itself. Bombarded daily with dos and don’ts, benefits and health risks, exploding obesity rates and a myriad of eating and body image disorders, we are witness to the 24-hour health and nutrition treadmill that does not allow one to stop and digest the wheat from the chaff.

It comes as no surprise that even the very people who do well constructed and rigorous food psychology and food science research suffer the same travails as the rest of the public. Indeed, we are witness and succumb to the power of the succulent, gooey, warm, soft chocolate chip cookie that we believe we can resist but for a few minutes. Our brains have other ideas.

In his new best-selling book, The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite, Dr. David Kessler investigates how a combination of salt, fat, sugar and umami or food texture are designed to exert tremendous influence on our decision to consume them despite the rational part of our brain that screams “NO!” Why do we behave this way, what is it in our evolutionary biology that makes us ripe for the taking? Can you say no to the chocolate chip cookie or that plate of steaming French Fries?

• Dr. David Kessler, MD, JD, Professor of Pediatrics and Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). He was Dean of the School of Medicine and the Vice Chancellor for Medical Affairs at UCSF from 2003 through 2007 and Dean of the Yale University School of Medicine from 1997 until 2003. He served as Commissioner of the United States Food and Drug Administration from November 1990 until March 1997, was appointed by President George H. Bush and reappointed by President Bill Clinton.

  He is author of A Question of Intent: A Great American Battle With a Deadly Industry about tobacco regulations, The Needs of the Dying , and now The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite

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Original broadcast date: March 29, 2009

If there is one quote that epitomizes the plethora of ideas expressed in physician and Guardian columnist Dr. Ben Goldacre’s book bad science, it is this from paleontologist, evolutionary biologist, and historian of science, Steven Jay Gould: “ When people learn no tools of judgment and merely follow their hopes, the seeds of political manipulation are sown”.

I have talked at length about this book and how well it encapsulates the problems we face today with respect to science reporting, how clinical studies are conducted, the vested interests and machinations that promote treatments, cures, and modes of teaching and thinking. No industry, university or political party is immune to the lack of critical appraisal of claims and research that have sown the seeds of manipulation.

• Dr. Ben Goldacre, physician, award-winning writer, and broadcaster, who has written the weekly Bad Science column in the Guardian since 2003 and is author of the book of the same name.

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Original broadcast date: April 20, 2008

We are the safest and healthiest human beings who ever lived, and yet irrational fear is growing, with deadly consequences — such as the 1,595 Americans killed when they made the mistake of switching from planes to cars after September 11. In part, this irrationality is caused by those — politicians, activists, and the media — who promote fear for their own gain. Culture also matters. But a more fundamental cause is human psychology.

Working with risk science pioneer Paul Slovic, author Dan Gardner, author of his new book Risk: The Science and Politics of Fear, sets out to explain in a compulsively readable fashion just what that statement above means as to how we make decisions and run our lives. We learn that the brain has not one but two systems to analyze risk. One is primitive, unconscious, and intuitive. The other is conscious and rational. The two systems often agree, but occasionally they come to very different conclusions. When that happens, we can find ourselves worrying about what the statistics tell us is a trivial threat — terrorism, child abduction, cancer caused by chemical pollution — or shrugging off serious risks like obesity and smoking.

• Dan Gardner is a columnist and senior writer for the Ottawa Citizen, specializing in criminal justice and other investigative issues. Trained in history and law, Gardner worked as a senior policy adviser to the premier and the minister of education before turning to journalism in 1997. His writing has received numerous awards, including the National Newspaper Award, Amnesty International’s Media Award, and others.
  

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Why do we choose certain foods over others? Why do we overeat when most of the time it is not due to hunger? How does food advertising influence us and does it shape our lifestyle? How many decisions do we make each day with respect to food selection? The actual number may be much greater than what you assume it to be.

In his book Mindless Eating, Dr Brian Wansink discusses and reviews the food science and psychology that lies behind our actions. He discusses the science behind comfort foods, how food companies, restaurants and grocery chains have used his research to influence our behaviour.

Wansink emphasizes that “Most people believe they are Master and Commander of their food choices. I want them to see that they aren’t. But I also want them to see that they can make small changes that can put them back in the driver’s seat. I want people to see that making small changes in their kitchens and routines will make all the difference with no real sacrifice.”

• Dr. Brian Wansink, Director of the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab and Fulbright Senior Specialist in food marketing and nutrition, as well as author of Mindless Eating.

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Originally published in The Ottawa Citizen, May 22, 2005
Originally titled “Too Many Children Suffer in Silence”

Although many people are aware of the effects of alcohol abuse on family and friends, missing from this equation is a child’s reaction to a parent who drinks too much.

Young children have a difficult time understanding why their mother or father’s behaviour and actions can be so hurtful to them. Their questions and concerns often go unanswered because often alcohol abuse remains a family secret that no one wants to talk about.

The child’s fears and worries grow when no answers are forthcoming or the information provided to them is incomplete. The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), affiliated with the University of Toronto, cites research that shows children have many questions about their parents’ substance use or mental health but there is a lack of resources to help explain these problems to them.

A new storybook produced by CAMH entitled Wishes and Worries: A story to help children understand a parent who drinks too much alcohol, was released in April 2005 and written for five to ten year-old children.

Dr. Bruce Ballon, a psychiatrist in CAMH’s Youth and Addiction program and part of the writing team states that most children think that they cannot talk to anyone about their parent’s drinking problem. However, it is a subject that should be talked about and there is support available.

The storybook’s premise is to help children understand that they are not to blame for their parent’s drinking problem and behaviours. Children, for lack of information and understanding will usually blame themselves for the problem; they must be doing something wrong. They will come to the conclusion that somehow they must have upset their mother or father or that they are unlovable. If left to fester, it can affect their self-esteem and mood potentially leading to other problems later in life.

Indeed, Ballon points out that some may develop problems forging strong and healthy relationships or end up blaming themselves for other people’s actions because of the environment they grew up in. They also may be predisposed either genetically or due to their environment to use drugs or alcohol in response to stressful life events. Early intervention or prevention is the key to address these issues.

Wishes and Worries tells the story of Maggie, an eight year-old girl, who has experienced one disappointment and embarrassment after another because of her father’s drinking. With her ninth birthday coming up, she is worried that he will ruin her party as he did on her eight birthday. She feels quite sad and unsure of what is happening and blames herself for his behaviour. Throughout the story she learns that there are friends, family members and professionals who are available to help her understand her father’s alcohol abuse.

The book is beautifully illustrated and well written. Prior to the story’s introduction there is a page that contains information for parents about the book and they can use it to help their children understand alcoholism. The following page is designed for children and provides information about a parent who drinks and lists the different people they can talk to about their fears and concerns.

It will generate a good discussion between you and your child.

The storybook can be purchased from CAMH by calling 1-800-661-1111 or on-line at www.camh.net.

© Dr. Barry Dworkin 2005

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Originally published in The Ottawa Citizen May 14, 2002
Original Title: Child of Vision

Alex is eight years old. His father, who quit his job from the police department, is depressed. Alex is uncertain what he should do. His father does attend his soccer games and pays little attention to him. Alex wants to quit soccer because he thinks he is no good.

So begins a storybook called “Can I Catch it Like a Cold? A story to help children understand a parent’s depression” newly published by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). The storybook shows how Alex copes with his father’s depression, his mother’s frustration and his own feelings of responsibility and failure.

The storybook is written for children between five and nine years of age but is a valuable resource for parents, extended family, teachers, and health professionals. It provides a good foundation for the kind of vocabulary that works best in communicating complex ideas to children. The illustrations are bright and colourful complementing the story well.

This is the first of a series of storybooks for children from CAMH. CAMH is a teaching hospital fully affiliated with the University of Toronto and is a World Health Organization Centre of Excellence.

Children have many questions about their parents’ depression. CAMH’s research indicated that there are inadequate resources to help children understand the impact of depression. A study in the April issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry found that children of at least one parent with major depression are at greater risk for severe depression, substance abuse and anxiety disorders compared with children of non-depressed parents. Further, the child’s depression tends to be more severe than their parent’s.

Depression can impair a child’s normal social development. The adolescent stages leading to independence, educational pursuits and interpersonal relationships may be forestalled. The study’s authors state, “Specifically, the early detection of mental health problems in offspring of depressed parents seems to be crucial, as this would allow the treatment of early manifestation of mental problems before they cause clinical impairment.”

The study concludes, “ Major depression in parents increases the overall risk in offspring for onset of depressive and other mental disorders and influences patterns of the natural course of depression in the early stages of manifestation.”

In the story, Alex befriends a 12 year-old girl who helps him understand that he is not responsible for his dad’s depression. She encourages him to persevere in soccer noting that he really is quite good at it. He does and eventually scores a goal. The book does not end in Disney-esque fashion. It stays true to the realities of depressive illness.

CAMH compiled a list of questions children frequently want to ask. Many do not have the opportunity to ask them nor do they get satisfactory answers at times. The list does not seem restricted to the queries of children:

• What is depression?
• How does depression work?
• Why does my dad act the way he does?
• How does it feel to be depressed?
• What goes on in my mom’s head when she’s not herself?
• What causes depression? How does it start?
• Will the depression ever be fixed?
• How can my mom or dad get better?
• Is there anything I can do to make my mom or dad better?
• Will it happen to me? Will I get it too?
• Is there anything I can do so that I don’t get depression?
• Can parents give it to other people? Is it like a cold? Can you catch depression?
• Depression is an illness that many continue to find difficult to accept. Despite the stigma, it is imperative that, as a society, it be recognized as is diabetes, heart disease or any other “visible” illness. There are some children in my practice who indeed suffer as the study has elucidated. They feel helpless. They cannot control their parents’ marital conflicts and arguments. Some have told me that they wished their parents divorced to calm the household.

The storybook answers many of these questions. It is slated for release in time for mental Health Awareness Week (May 5th – 12th). It will be made available as of May 6th at local bookstores. It can be ordered direct from CAMH at 1-800-661-1111. Further information is available at their web site www.camh.net.

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