While the United States may be the richest country in the world, it also tops the list as the most extreme when it comes to obesity per capita. Far too often ignorance is regarded as bliss when it comes to food and its effect on the body. Many people adhere to diets and eating patterns that have no positive effect on the body or fail within a few months.
Staying on a diet has become one of the hardest tasks in today’s society, and sometimes it is even harder than maintaining a successful marriage. Many of us in search of the perfect body and perfect health all too often find that the results of our efforts and objectives fall short of our expectations. We try diet after diet only to realize, down the road, that we have spent an average of as much as 20% of our annual budget on the futile pursuit of reaching what we consider to be our ideal weight. Because the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) considers obesity to be a disease, the government is spending roughly $16 million annually on programs that prevent obesity by promoting nutrition and physical activity. In comparison, it spends almost $100 million on programs that control tobacco addiction. Margo Wootan, D.Sc., a nutrition scientist at the Center for Science in the Public Interest in Washington, D.C., claims “Poor diet and inactivity kill as many people as tobacco. The investment in nutrition and physical activity programs pales in comparison to their impact on health”.
According to the CDC, 56.4% of U.S. adults are overweight. Depending on the year being surveyed, a “hefty” 19 - 28% of the population is officially obese. These numbers have jumped by 61% over the past decade, because 27% of us don’t engage in any physical activity and another 28.2% aren’t regularly active.
Can this disease place itself in the ranking alongside the category of HIV-infected people? Obesity, which now is considered a national disease, claims its victims after decades of weakening their hearts, blowing holes in their arteries, suffocating their organs and grinding their joints. Aside from being publicly shunned, many doctors don’t know how to treat obesity. Obesity is not just a national case of bad eating habits; obesity is a real disease and a public health crisis.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) spends approximately 1% of its annual budget on obesity research. In 2001 it designated $226 million for the study of obesity. By comparison, it allotted $2 billion for research concerning cardiovascular disease and diabetes (diseases in which obesity is the major risk factor). So what is it that causes people to become grossly overweight? Is it heredity so that we are destined to be obese for the rest of our lives? Is it a lack of motivation to push ourselves to the gym every morning and eat healthier to reach our ideal weight? “Promoting healthy lifestyles should be a national priority,” declared Frank Vinicor, M.D., and Director of the CDC’s Diabetes Program. These days, public health officials have enough on their plates without having to worry about the junk food on ours.
Obesity (foot notes:Source Self , an enormous challenge for the country, is a deadly disease that must be eradicated. There are a myriad of diets on the market that attempt to inspire individuals and communities to enlist in the fight against fat. In terms of annual costs of this disease for the country, every year an estimated 300,000 Americans die from obesity-related causes. The direct cost of obesity and inactivity accounts for nearly 10% of all healthcare expenses. The “Fat” epidemic has reached such a high level among the U.S. population that obesity now has the potential “to bankrupt our country,” warns John Foreyt, Ph.D., Director of the Nutrition Research Clinic at Houston Baylor College of Medicine. “People are living longer, but we’re living fatter with chronic health problems and reduced quality of life.” If the current trends continue, “half of America will be obese by 2010,” says Todd Whitthorne, producer of the syndicated show Healthy Living with Dr. Cooper. That is eight more years before 150 million Americans are at enormous risk. This is a truly discouraging statistic.
“Obesity levels have increased sixty percent across the nation since 1996 affecting more than seventy million Americans,” reports ABC News. Many blame overeating for this increase but food is only part of the problem. What many don't realize is that the never-ending supply of labor saving and prepared food has greatly attributed to the obesity problem by actually changing the environment (due to increased technology) that we work and live in.
Obesity is such a major problem in the United States that the number of obese Americans is higher than the number who smokes, use illegal drugs, or suffer from physical ailments (foot notes:1.Posner). It has been linked to multiple health issues that plague our nation such as diabetes and heart problems. Not only have machinery and labor saving devices changed the work environment, more Americans than ever work in offices or other sedentary settings where employees do not have time for physical activity throughout the day due to their work environment.
Along with the lack of physical activity at work, technology has also led to decreased levels of physical activity in our leisure time. Many Americans work so many hours each week that they prefer spending their limited time off relaxing.
One way of relaxing is taking the shortcuts that technology offers us. These shortcuts appear all through our lives and we may not even know it. If you pay attention, you will notice that many Americans choose to use an escalator or elevator instead of using the stairs. We would rather drive our cars than have to walk or ride a bicycle anywhere. Instead of going outside to play, many children sit at home watching television or playing video games that are available in abundance these days. This lack of enthusiasm for physical activity worries many experts. These experts wonder whether “the simple act of walking will be eliminated by devices that make maneuvering in urban environments easier.” (foot notes:2.Willis)
And of course, technology has changed our environment so much that it affects the food that we eat. Instead of eating the types of food that are part of a balanced diet, many Americans choose to eat unhealthy, cheap, and convenient food. Instead of making a meal at home, we would rather go out to a fast food restaurant where we don't even have to get out of our cars to eat. If we do choose to eat at home, we have the convenience of frozen dinners that we can prepare while watching TV. Or we can have food delivered to us. All around our new environment are vending machines that give us easy access to junk food and candy. It is this easiness of getting food that technology has given us that has greatly attributed to America's obesity problem.

Finally, technology has caused many to believe that actions do not have consequences. If someone is overweight, doctors will be able to fix it with such things as liposuction. There are constant advertisements on TV about new inventions that claim to slim you down in just five minutes a day. People believe that taking certain types of drugs will take off weight without having to exercise. However, this has proven very dangerous with such drugs as Fen-Phen, which causes permanent heart problems. We are programmed to always look for the quick fix in life, and solving a weight problem is not an exception.
Getting fat is deeply ingrained in American culture. Physicians and public advocates have had little to offer overweight Americans but the same “eat less, exercise more” message. The problem is not the message. It is indeed the solution to combating obesity and losing excess pounds. “The average person who is obese knows what they are supposed to eat,” says Charles Billington, M.D., a leading obesity specialist at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. “They can do it conceptually, but they can’t do it for real.”
Portion size contributes as well to the obesity problem in America. More deli’s and fast food restaurants are offering more, for less. The “Big Meal” concept is ingrained in the American culture. The original muffin was 2 oz, now it has increased up to 4 and 5 oz. It seems it (the muffin, of course) had been injected with anabolic steroids.
What is shocking is the fact that hospitals, which are supposed to promote a healthier environment for patients, have opened their doors to fast food joints. In San Diego, St. Louis, and Chicago, you can be admitted for a triple bypass surgery and then, before checking-out of the hospital, can stop by the fast food counter and order a Big Mac. Not a bad strategy for re-clogging your arteries.
The average child is exposed to 10,000 food advertisements a year and spends more time in front of the TV than on any other activity, except sleeping. “We have spent years and years trying to figure out why an individual is overweight and almost no time thinking about why the nation is overweight,” says Kelly D. Brownell, from the Yale Center of Weight and Eating Disorders. His answer: “It’s the environment.”
Corporate America has to get involved. For every dollar spent on the prevention of obesity and the promotion of fitness, corporations will see many more back in reduced healthcare expenses. “Fitness awareness must start in school, not the workplace,” says Foreyt. “We have to help adults, of course, but the future depends on the kids, who now spend more time watching TV than they spend in school.” Kids are the ones who eat the most unhealthy snacks since most of their days are spent in school or an after care program where fatty snacks are readily available. Education is not fulfilling its purpose. We have to teach these kids good eating habits to assure a good future for them. We see academic curricula that include sex education for seventh, eighth and ninth graders. How about more attention to health education, followed by support from the school systems? How about removing all unhealthy snacks in vending machines from schools and other academic institutions? The following study devotes an entire chapter to the vending machine industry as well as the damage done to the health of children. Educating students about healthy eating habits in school will prevent obesity in these children, soon to become adults.
The damage doesn’t stop here though. Processed food also damages your health. All fast food companies are making money by destroying your health. The amazing thing is that people continue ordering the same food day after day for lunch and sometimes even for dinner. Adults are participating and becoming negative role models in this epidemic. We are all very busy with our schedules and are unable to find time to eat properly. This is where education starts. All corporations and academic institutions should offer seminars to their employees or students and take the time to fulfill the needs of the population by helping them understand the importance in becoming, being, or staying healthy.
Nowadays anyone who desires to lose weight to protect his or her health is virtually alone in the process. Doctors, insurance companies and the government don’t offer any help. Here are some statistics that might shock you. Between 1989 and 1996, Americans ate an average of 163 more calories a day and has gained 15 pounds since 1980. Only 1 in 5 adults eats the recommended daily allowance of fruits and vegetables. A total of 22% of Americans get the recommended weekly amount of physical activity. Now the big shocker: 120 million Americans are overweight or obese. With commuting (with cars or public transportation) from home to school or work, more Americans have reduced the trips they take on foot by 42 percent. No wonder their activity levels have dropped drastically. Many people don’t feel the need to lose weight since their doctors have repeatedly mentioned to them that they are in perfect health. If their blood pressure and cholesterol levels are stable, the majority of doctors will not urge patients to lose weight until the patients already have an obesity-related disease. Why are these doctors opting for a reactive instead of a proactive attitude? Why wait for these patients to develop diabetes or worse, medical problems, before reacting to the present situation? “The medical profession has ignored obesity since forever,” says Arthur Frank, M.D., who runs the George Washington University Weight Management Program in Washington, D.C. Most doctors, just like the rest of society, have viewed being overweight as a failure of character, not a medical condition. To them obesity means that people eat too much and have no self-control.
Many doctors nowadays, lack knowledge in the field of nutrition. It seems they never took the time to study this section of their medical textbooks. Where did they go wrong? Are we educating our doctors properly in that field, or is it left to nutritionists and dietitians to take care of obesity in our country? Medical schools should add nutrition classes to their curriculum. Currently only about a third of U.S. medical schools require aspiring physicians to take nutrition classes, even fewer teach students how to help patients lose weight. That’s not to say that there aren’t doctors out there trying to tackle America’s epidemic. However, most of them think the same: “Helping patients lose weight doesn’t pay.” Insurance companies will cover the cost of insulin once your obesity has led to diabetes and they’ll pay the medication for treating your high cholesterol. They’ll even cover the cost of your triple bypass once your arteries are clogged due to the poor diet you’ve maintained for years.
Again, reactive instead of proactive behavior.