Dangerous Headlines

Wall Street Journal headline: “Low-Calorie Diet Can Slow Aging of Heart, Study Shows.” That’s just what we need – a bunch of “newly-educated” people that are starving themselves for the sake of a healthy heart. It goes on to say that a very low calorie diet can slow down the aging process of the heart. So the individual that doesn’t read the entire article (and there are a lot of them…I often find myself not reading complete articles), are convinced that its time to cut calories. This is obviously very dangerous. So the solution is to either have a society that reads only complete articles, or to have more socially responsible headlines.

Further along in the article, the studies author recommends a moderate calorie reduction for normal western consumers. Also, the study was focusing in on people that eat a very Mediterranean diet full of vegetables and olive oil while avoiding empty calories found in soda, deserts, and other processed foods. This diet in itself is obviously conducive to a healthy heart – especially with the benefits to your cholesterol from the olive oil.

But wait, its not that simple. One of the main goals for media is to get people to read, view, and interact with their material. Thus, they need a creative headline or hook to bring the reader in. So I’ll get off my high horse here and say that it is a moral dilemma not unique to this particular situation. Basically we need to assume that our society is full of capable, competent individuals that will not make decisions based upon one sentence. Otherwise we will be paralyzed…incapable of getting anything accomplished because we would first have to okay it with every board, every association, and put warning after warning on whatever it is we are doing.

The moral of the story is that we do not need to starve ourselves to have a healthy heart. We do need a balanced diet, and enjoy food in moderation. A little olive oil never hurts either!