I loved Karen Ravn's piece on obesity ["We're Fat Because . . . ," July 14]. There is one additional theory which many non-scientists (and some scientists) believe that would have been worth exploring: Hormones such as growth hormone and other anabolic hormones are given to dairy cows and cattle to improve their meat and milk production.
Our children (and adults) who eat this "excessively hormonal" meat and drink the "excessively hormonal" milk are plumping up just as the dairy cows and beef cattle do. These practices have risen greatly over the last 25 years, and that's why obesity is so high.
Interestingly, such hormones tend to create an excessive insulin response. It could be the link to why so many children and young adults are developing Type 2 diabetes as well as obesity.
Dr. Ravi Rao
Victorville
Trace quantities of hormones in food are a lot more suspect as a cause of obesity in the general population than most of the theories in the article.
Articles that discuss the issue: www.sustainabletable.org /issues/hormones/ and www.checnet.org/healthehouse/education/articles-detail.asp?Main_ID=127.
Roger Rusch
Palos Verdes
Even though, as senior Tufts University researcher Susan Roberts puts it, "there is no definitive answer on 'what went wrong' " with Americans' weight, lawmakers seem to have already formed a very defined focus in terms of fixing it. In the last year alone, state and local politicians in California pushed countless food-focused, obesity policies: fast food moratoriums, menu labeling laws, soda taxes, etc.
But, as The Times' obesity feature demonstrates, they may be way off target.
Health officials shouldn't be so quick to vilify our diets. "Healthy" doesn't mean giving up a certain food or drastically slashing our calorie intake.
It's about all of our small, daily choices: turning off the TV, climbing the stairs and taking that extra step.
Trice Whitefield
Senior research analyst, Center for Consumer Freedom
Washington, D.C.
Kids and statins and side effects
In regard to your two July 14 articles ["For Kids, Statins Are but One Path" and "For Some, Statins Are the Best Remedy"]: Before we start shoveling statins down the throats of our kids, I'd like to point out a very serious side effect that I suffered at two different times from two different statins.
