Turn the Tide Foundation

By Acknowledging the Crisis:
More than 65% of adults in the US are overweight, and that figure continues to rise. The rate of childhood obesity has tripled in the past two decades. As a result, type 2 diabetes- formerly 'adult onset diabetes'- is at epidemic levels in adults and children alike! Less than a generation ago, type 2 diabetes in children was all but unknown. Because diabetes is a potent risk factor for cardiovascular disease, the occurrence of 'adult-onset' diabetes prior to age 10 portends the development of heart disease at an ever-earlier age, too. Already, children growing up in the United States will suffer more chronic disease and premature death over the course of their lives from eating poorly and lack of physical activity than from exposure to alcohol, tobacco, and drugs- combined. Our children may be headed toward life spans shorter than ours.

By Seeing the Simplicity:
Obesity is fundamentally simple. We gain weight when too many calories in exceed too few calories out. We know what causes it, and we know what fixes it. And we know what factors in our society make obesity epidemic.

Fast food, junk food, vending machines and portion distortion
Food processing
Aggressive, deception, persuasive and ubiquitous food marketing
Technology that replaces everything muscles used to do at work, at home, and at play
Schedules that squeeze out food preparation, and physical activity.

Radical changes in the environment - that have taken us from a world of no cars to one with rovers on the surface of Mars in less than a century- have turned the native traits and tendencies of human beings into liabilities, and risk factors for obesity. We are as out of place in this modern environment awash in calories as polar bears would be in the Sahara Desert! Polar bears soak up and retain heat, and thus thrive where heat is scarce. But they would continue to soak up heat- and overheat- if suddenly transported to an environment where heat was abundant. That is, in essence, just what has happened to us. We are a fuel efficient species. We soak up and retain food energy well. We suddenly find ourselves floating in a sea of calories- and, of course, continue to soak up food energy. We overeat in this modern world for all the same reasons polar bears would overheat in the desert. We gain weight, in other words, because doing so is the past of least resistance. Our leaner ancestors did not have will power that we lack; they lacked the vending machines and video games that we have. Quite simply, we get fat -- because we can.

By Being Creative:
Listed in our Programs are practical solutions to turn the tide. These programs combine creativity, common sense and rigorous science, and represent Turn the Tide’s commitment to providing practical strategies for real world settings.

There is an opportunity for us in viewing our plight this way. Because we are smarter than the average bear! And empowered with the right knowledge, skills, and strategies, we can overcome the obesigenic (i.e., obesity causing) element in our environment, and reclaim our health.

Dr. David L. Katz, founder and president of Turn the Tide Foundation, is a prominent and highly successful researcher in the fields of chronic disease prevention, health promotion, and weight control.
Dr. Katz is nationally recognized as an expert on health related issues and nutrition. His position as ABC News Medical Consultantand columnist for the New York Times Syndicate, provide him with unique reach and influence.
Our programs focus on providing practical solutions that reconcile science to real world constraints
Dr. Katz has unique credibility among scientists and the general public alike. He is the author of a nutrition textbook widely used in medical education and by clinicians in practice, as well as books on nutrition and health promotion for the public at large.
With funding from the CDC, Dr. Katz is the principal investigator of a systematic review of the obesity prevention control literature. He thus has a privileged, "bird's eye view" of obesity prevention strategies, effective and otherwise.
Superior resources are available to support Turn the Tide programs. This foundation is affiliated with the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center, one of 33 centers funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

How will the Obesity Epidemic End …..
Using multiple strategies to combat obesity is akin to stacking sandbags against a flood-tide. No one sandbag, however well made, can stop a flood. But stack enough sandbags, and you have a formidable protective barrier. An array of thoughtful, practical and well-placed programs, such as those highlighted in our Programs section can help to ….Turn the Tide.

Turn the Tide Foundation, Inc.
130 Division Street; 2nd floor
Derby, CT 06488
203.732.1265, ext 224