The game started on a car drive.
Gina Kolata's grandchildren, ages 4 and 2, were buckled in the back seat. Kolata drove past a Burger King, and the 4-year-old spoke up. "I want some fries!"
Kolata, a New York Times reporter who specializes in science and medicine, responded with a question. "What's better for your baby body? Fries or cantaloupe?"
It didn't take much thought from the toddlers. "Cantaloupe!" they said. And from there, it became a game. Whenever confronted with two food options, one healthy, another unhealthy, Kolata would ask the same question, and her grandchildren would respond with the healthy answer.
"They knew," Kolata, 70, said. "Little kids know."
Gina Kolata says it's not easy, but changes in behavior are needed to improve health.
That will be one of her talking points as the keynote speaker for the Healthy City track at this year's Dallas Festival of Ideas. Not that little kids know the difference between healthy and unhealthy foods, but that the answer of how to make Dallas (and ourselves) healthier is sometimes more simple and obvious.
"You're supposed to exercise. You're supposed to keep your blood pressure under control. You're supposed to get a few screening tests. Supposed to, if possible, keep your weight under control. Supposed to avoid junk foods as much as possible," Kolata said.
"It's not like we don't have the message. It's just that changing behavior is not that easy."
Kolata, who's been at The Times since 1987, has researched the topic throughout her career. She's authored six books, including Rethinking Thin: The New Science of Weight Loss -- and the Myths and Realities of Dieting, as well as Ultimate Fitness: The Quest for Truth About Health and Exercise. Her latest book is Mercies in Disguise: A Story of Hope, a Family's Genetic Destiny, and the Science that Saved Them.
At the Festival of Ideas on April 7, Kolata will lead a discussion about how to find the simple answers in making our city a healthier place to live, and what role technology could play in increasing that health and wellness.
"It's not that there are no answers out there, it's that there are a lot of answers out there," she said. "And a lot of them involve changes in behavior, which are not easy for a lot of people."
Like driving past a Burger King. On that day, they skipped the fries, and when they got home, they ate cantaloupe.
The Dallas Festival of Ideas is 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 7 at the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library, 1515 Young St., Dallas. The event is free. To register and for schedule details, go to thedallasfestival.com. It is held in conjunction with the Dallas Book Festival.