Joan Ifland is a pioneer in the field of food-addiction recognition, and in using Facebook to help food addicts recover. We talked about several topics, most relating to food addicts and food addiction.

Dan Witters is research director of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. Since 1993 as a consultant and analyst, he has directed more than $100 million in research for some of the world’s best-managed companies better understand their marketplace, customers, and employees. 

Welcome to another episode of “10 Words or Less,” in which I ask brief questions of interesting people and request brief answers in return. Today’s participant has a remarkable path of success that began on a dairy farm north of Toronto and hasn’t reached its end yet. She’s the founder and CEO of Wellcoaches, which teaches coaching, a co-founder of the Institute of Coaching at McLean Hospital, a treatment center affiliated with Harvard.

Moore is a primary force in the world of coaching. She’s the founder and CEO of Wellcoaches, which teaches coaching, a co-founder of the Institute of Coaching at McLean Hospital, a treatment center affiliated with Harvard. She helped develop what led to the Institute of Lifestyle Medicine at Joslin Diabetes Center, where she’s an adviser. Most recently, she’s the co-founder of the National Consortium for Credentialing Health and Wellness Coaches.

Welcome to another episode of “10 Words or Less,” in which I ask brief questions of interesting people and request brief answers in return. Today’s participant is a professor at Tufts University in the subjects of nutrition and psychiatry, and director of the university’s Energy Metabolism Laboratory.

Dr. Susan Roberts is a Tufts professor of nutrition and psychiatry and a researcher focused on obesity. She is the intellectual force behind the iDiet, which New York Times health writer Jane Brody called “perhaps the most comprehensive approach to eating for effective weight control."

Welcome to another text installment of “10 Words or Less,” in which I ask brief questions of interesting people and request brief answers in return. (Previously, I posted the video of our chat; this is the edited transcript, for those who prefer text.) Today’s participant is a food-safety advocate and college instructor in regulatory affairs who formerly operated a nuclear reactor. (I can’t count how many of my friends can say that!) Please remember that “10 Words” is an ethic, not a rule, so please, no counting. If you think it’s easy, let’s see you do it.
 
Name Darin Detwiler (right)
Born when, where May 19, 1968, San Francisco
Resides "Salem, Mass., known for the Salem Witch Trials, which are allegedly tied to food-borne illness, as the source of the deliria that was perceived as witchcraft."
Job "I have two jobs: Adjunct professor at Northeastern University, where I teach in regulatory affairs of food and food industry. Also, I’m the senior policy coordinator at Stop Foodborne Illness, a national nonprofit that supports victims and their families."
What you wanted to be when you grew up "Actually, two things. I wanted to be a musician, and I wanted to be a seismologist. I really wanted to shake, rattle, and roll."
Your first paying job "When I was in high school, I played a Santa Claus at a mall. [Pause.] It wasn’t that paying."
Wisdom you retain from that experience "Never say to a kid, or ask a kid, about their parents, Mom or Dad. Always say ‘folks,’ because folks is generic, and can apply to adopted or grandparents or foster parents. We go through life thinking everyone had to fit into a cookie cutter, but there are many children who have different family situations."

Darin Detwiler and I conducted this interview on Thursday. Detwiler is the senior policy coordinator for Stop Foodborne Illness and an instructor on regulatory affairs and food industries at Northeastern University. As I do, he has a deeply personal motivation to be in his line of work: His son was one of four young people who died in the 1993 E. coli outbreak at Jack in the Box restaurants in the Northwest. He tells that heartbreaking story in the interview, while also sharing vital information of use to anyone who eats.

Welcome to today’s installment of “10 Words or Less,” in which I ask brief questions of interesting people and ask for brief answers in return. In 2009, today’s participant became the youngest member of the Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons to run an independent research laboratory, and he’s published more than 20 peer-reviewed articles since. He’s often quoted on matters related to obesity, which is how I learned about him. Please remember: “10 words” is a goal, not a rule, so please no counting at home.

Welcome to another version of "10 Words of Less," in which I ask brief questions of interesting people and ask for brief answers in return. Today's participant is a researcher on obesity and related topics on the faculty of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York City. He said a few things I think are worth writing about further, but for today, please enjoy the interview. An edited transcript will follow in a separate post, and then maybe a little more after that.