In seven years as health commissioner in New York City, Thomas Frieden compiled a "questionable" record with no worthwhile achievements, but distinguished by a paternalistic "old guard of public health" approach, writes Dr. David Gratzer in City Journal , a publication of the Manhattan Institute. Gratzer calls Frieden "Dr. Meddlesome" and explains:
Frieden favors small, paternalistic measures, and for cash-strapped cities like New York, such measures seem like an inexpensive way to fight the war on obesity. Unfortunately, there is little evidence that they work. Consider the calorie listings at restaurants. In a study of more than 4,000 people published in The American Journal of Public Health, just 0.1 percent of the subjects actually looked at the calorie counts before deciding what to eat. Does anyone order a chocolate shake at McDonald’s and assume that it’s healthful? Undaunted by the results, researchers suggested that perhaps the signage needed to be larger.
Frieden in fact represents the old guard of public health.
Unmentioned among the "small, paternalistic measures" Frieden initiated was an effort to reduce the sodium content of prepared foods consumed in the Big Apple.
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