If you haven’t read the comments in yesterday’s post about the Hunger Diaries, I suggest you do.
Photo from Stephen Lewis.
Since writing my reaction, I’ve had a chance to read the responses of the girls highlighted in the article, and I’ve come to a firm conclusion on several bases:
1. Yes, blogs about food, eating, or exercise can trigger or encourage unhealthy behaviors.
2. Yes, blogs about food, eating, or exercise, can encourage or inspire healthy behaviors.
3. Lying to your contributors and blatantly ignoring an entire side of a story, and not disclosing your own personal bias, is poor journalism. If you have to get sneaky, you don’t have a good story.
The end.
Yesterday Bess said it’s not the reader’s responsibility to sift through good & bad information; bloggers are viewed as experts, especially those with more than just a blog.
Well I think it is the reader’s responsibility. Even if your doctor tells you something, don’t you weigh the options and decide what’s the right decision for you? (Ahem you should.)
But the more & more I thought about her comment, the more and more I realized she was right- whether they are or not, bloggers are viewed as experts by people that read them.
As I was sitting eating my lunch yesterday, I thought about my nutrition training. In school we learn about each nutrient thoroughly and in depth. We learn how to counsel. We learn how to perform and evaluate research. We learn chemistry. We learn biochemistry. We learn how to treat diseases with nutrients.
And we learn about calories. What they are, how to calculate needs, and how to gain or lose weight. Calories in equals calories out. I’ve talked about disagreeing with this before, but never really thought about it in terms of my education.
If I wrote an essay on an exam that said eating whole foods was a healthier weight loss option than counting calories, I would’ve gotten a big fat F. But I believe it.
What I’m saying is that even the experts may not get it. I could spit out exactly what I learned in school word for word if you wanted me too. But it’s not what I’d tell you if you asked me how I eat or advice I would give you.
I graduated summa cum laude from undergrad, completed a highly competitive internship to become an RD, and am halfway through a Masters degree. And I’ll still tell you my own real life experiences with food are more useful than anything I’ve learned.
I know my education has had an influence on knowing what I’m eating, but I don’t think it’s responsible for my behaviors. I would’ve failed a class or two if I said brownies with real sugar are healthier than using a heap load of Splenda.
Sure, we’re taught healthy fats are good for you, but I don’t remember talking about eating peanut butter by the jar as a healthy behavior. (Ok, you know what I mean.)
I can honestly say I’m 100 times healthier now than I was in college, or even high school. Gosh especially high school. I’m not scared of fat, or sugar, or calories. I eat them with abandon. And if I didn’t have a nutrition degree and told you this, you’d still believe me. [I think].
So what’s the difference between a blogger without a health degree telling you what they do?
So this really has nothing to do with the damn over-discussed article. It’s just a personal revelation. I think it’s why I struggle in loving my profession whole heartedly…
(And I promise I will not write about this again tomorrow. Instead, I will write about something delicious like cinnamon rolls or enchiladas. Yes, enchiladas I believe. :))
And P.S. I don’t give two sh**ts about the food pyramid. In case you cared. 🙂
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