Balance of Food

How big is David Hasselhoff's head?

How big is a burger if it's bigger than your head? I confess I was curious how big this burger was, even if it did involved David Hasselhoff.

Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas won the Big Daddy Burger Competition as she finished a nine pound burger in only 27 minutes. The International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFOCE) sponsored the event. Thomas won $4,000 for her effort.

The difficult part was determining how big Hasselhoff's head is. Hasselhoff rejected the opportunity to participate in a non-surgical/non-invasive weighing of his head.

The average head apparently weights between 9.9 and 10.23 pounds, give or take. Given that Hasselhoff is reportedly 6'4", his head may weigh more, but hey who knows. Heads don’t seem that big until you truly measure it.

Still, I'm impressed with anyone finishing a 9-pound burger in any time limit.

Kristof looks at obesity

If you wonder about whether obesity is getting serious, Nicholas D. Kristof of The New York Times wrote about it on Sunday.

His piece entitled "Mike Huckabee Lost 110 Pounds. Ask Him How" talks about Huckabee (current governor of Arkansas) and his large weight loss.

Kristof says that obesity is reducing "not only the quality of life of Americans, but also the fiscal soundness of our government and the competitiveness of our businesses."

(Since Kristof and the op-ed columnists are under the TimesSelect umbrella, anyone even quoting much more than this will be dealt with in a unfavorable way. Perhaps tortured by being forced to read the New York Post.)

Obesity and Kristof wouldn't normally cross paths. Kristof talks about how obesity is spreading into areas of concern beyond health and food.

This will only become a "bigger" story.

New OTC drug for obesity

You could argue that the news about the FDA panel approving an OTC drug for obesity is good. But I am a little cynical.

The drug, known as orlistat, is already sold in prescription form as Xenical.

It sounds like olestra in how it works. It absorbs fat, but also vitamins, and causes gastrointestinal problems such as diarrhea and "oily stools."

Besides the fact that the pill is rather expensive, it's not clear how much good it does. It works best on high-fat situations (because of the fat absorption). But if you stop eating those high-fat items, eat better, and get more exercise, the pill won't help that be much greater.

Still, it is "progress."

Boondocks honors the Luther

Aaron McGruder, creator of "The Boondocks," defines the "Luther" as one full pound burger patty, covered in cheese, grilled onions, and 5 strips of bacon, sandwiched between two full Krispy Kreme donuts.

The basics of the Luther involve a bacon cheeseburger and Krispy Kreme donuts for the bun. But McGruder’s view of it sounds more dangerous than any other version I’ve seen.

The Luther came up in the TV episode "The Itis" that aired last night on Adult Swim on the Cartoon Network. The premise of the episode is that Grandpa gets to run a soul food restaurant filled with artery-clogging recipes.

To give you a good visual, imagine a menu with “sausage and waffle and fried chicken breakfast lasagna” and "bacon-wrapped chitlin-stuffed catfish." As Huey says in the episode, "Granddad, you can’t serve this kind of food to people. It’ll cause death."

The premise of the restaurant is that beds are placed next to the tables so the patrons can nap after dinner. (The “Itis” is the sleepy feeling you get after you’ve had a huge meal.)

I do have relatives in the South that have eaten some of this soul food. But as they describe the food in the episode (trust me, I spared you the really intense dishes), I am enthralled and disgusted at the same time.

The rebroadcast of this episode airs Saturday at 11p and 2a (Eastern).

Wonder goes whole wheat

Whole grain must mean something if even Wonder Bread takes the plunge. Wonder Bread's baker, the bankrupt Interstate Bakeries Corp. — also the maker of Hostess Twinkies, has unveiled two whole wheat versions intended to look, taste and feel just like the original.

The new breads include Wonder White Bread Fans, which is 100 percent whole grain, and Wonder Made With Whole Grain White, which is part whole grain, part white flour.

Since taste is so important, the true judges are snarling 8-year-old kids who won't like something different because it's, well, different.

Read trans fat labels carefully

The hot new issue food-wise is the labeling of trans fats. Even my milk says "0g trans fat." I would hope so!!

The new requirements call for identifying trans fat on the labels. But don't be fooled. The phrase "0g trans fat" doesn't mean zero trans fats (only in America). If a product contains less than 1/2 gram of trans fat PER SERVING, the label can read "0g trans fat." If it has a 1/3 gram of trans fat per serving, and you eat 3 servings, you have consumed 1 gram of trans fat.

Look for partially hydrogenated oils as a huge clue. If it has these, then you are treading into trans fats land.

And realize that FFR French fries don't have nutrition labeling on its container.

Do it in moderation and you'll be fine. Just be careful.

Wendy's concerned about lack of tomatoes

Finding good tomatoes at a fast-food restaurant is difficult under ideal circumstances. But going without tomatoes is highly unusual. Now, tomatoes are available only by request at Wendy's restaurants, a short-term policy that began in late December because of crop damage from hurricanes in Florida.

The state of Florida supplies more than half of the nation's fresh vegetables between November and February.

"We use larger size tomatoes in sandwiches and haven't been able to secure them with the quality and quantity that we would like," Bob Bertini, spokesperson for Wendy's International, told the press. Signs posted in the restaurants advise customers of the shortage.

McDonald's and Burger King said they don't have similar shortages. In fairness to Wendy's, it is more likely to care about the quality of its tomatoes.

Whenever I go to a certain sandwich-based FFR (the one where the guy lost the weight), I usually bring my own tomato slices since its commitment to tomatoes is as sad as their excuse for tomato slices. Often, they will offer anemic pieces, hulls, or tomatoes that have never seen the color red.

I realize quality tomatoes (and lettuce) would increase the costs of sandwiches, especially in the FFR world. But having good lettuce and tomatoes makes a sandwich so much better, and so much more worth eating.

First the French, now the Japanese

I couldn't help but read over the shoulder of this woman on the train. It looked like a Japanese version of "French Women Don't Get Fat: The Secret of Eating For Pleasure" by Mireille Guiliano.

Turns out her book is called "Japanese Women Don't Get Old or Fat : Secrets of My Mother's Tokyo Kitchen" by Naomi Moriyama, William Doyle.

She had just come back from living in Japan with her husband. She remarked how the book reminded her of her time in Japan. I asked her if she knew the French book. She had no idea what I was talking about.

The premise is similar, though not as pretentious as the French variation. The low obesity rate and high life expectancy make the Japanese lifestyle ideal for women. There is useful eating advice, such as "Hara hachi bunme," or "Eat until you are 80 percent full."

Considering that as Americans, we eat to about 130 percent full, so that's an extra 50 percent. The woman on the train told me that she couldn't believe the portions when she got back to America. How she and her husband could split an entree, and have plenty of food.

I realize Americans don't always know how to learn from other countries, but food might need to be an exception.

How to scare the crap out of you

Motivation is a fun task; you can put up a picture of you in a bikini to keep you from eating the ice cream. Or you can buy something as a "reward" for not buying unhealthy food.

But if you need harder resources to "scare you straight," welcome to The New York Times' series on diabetes. There are several parts to the series.

If you think you might have it and aren't sure, read this series. If you never want it, read this series. If you have it, and don't want to suffer from it, read this series.

I realize people who come here have many health issues involved with extra weight. It's just that diabetes is the "in" thing, and so many who have it don't know it.

We all need motivation. If negative motivation works for you, read this series.

City of Big Shoulders has wide hips

I have never been to Baltimore, so I can't vouch for it being the fittest city in America. However, being based in Chicago, I can say it could be one of the fattest cities.

Chicago actually won the "crown" (maybe a Burger King crown) of fattest city, according to Men's Fitness magazine. The previous champ was Houston.

For those of us who have the love-hate relationship between Illinois and Wisconsin, it is shocking to find Milwaukee finished fifth in the fittest cities. Milwaukee makes Chicagoans look like California residents.

Milwaukee has German food, beer, cheese curds (deep-fried balls of cheese) and custard (think rich ice cream with extra eggs).

Last year, Baltimore was ranked the 25th fattest city in the Men's Fitness tally.

So congrats to Chicago and Baltimore. Enjoy your status while you have them. The way Men's Fitness does its rankings, you will be way down on the list next year.