The Broken Bill and how to lower the costs of vegetables.

       Another massive factor in the Obesity rate is a thing called the farm bill. The U.S. government currently spends $60 billion every year on a bill called The Farm Bill. In theory The Farm Bill is a great idea, it is a bill that gives subsidies to struggling farmers. However, today many large and highly successful corn farms receive a large portion of the help. This policy of subsidizing corn farmers is also very poor for our health. Government handouts to corn farmers have driven down the price of corn so far that sugar has been replaced as the means of sweetening our food. Instead, we use high fructose corn syrup, a substance that is much harder for our bodies to break down. The result is that the soda we drink today makes us fatter and more prone to diseases like Diabetes than the same soda made with real sugar. The same goes for any product where “high fructose corn syrup” appears in the list of ingredients (try going to the supermarket and looking at different products, you will be surprised at how many of them contain the substance). If it weren’t for corn subsidies keeping the price of corn artificially low, a purer form of sugar could be used in our foods. (Silva P. 2010) As you can see, the government needs to change its priorities and stop throwing money at big corn farmers; instead the government should start funding small-scale vegetable farms.

       Ever noticed the price of vegetables at a supermarket? That's right, they’re high. The most comprehensive study of its kind indicates that unhealthy food is about $1.50 cheaper per day, or about $550 per year, than healthy food. Junk food being cheaper than real food explains why so many Americans are overweight, particularly those with lower incomes. “I frequently read confident statements like, “when a bag of chips is cheaper than a head of broccoli ...” or “it’s more affordable to feed a family of four at McDonald’s than to cook a healthy meal for them at home.”If we really want to get rid of obesity we should be putting government money towards lowering the prices of healthy foods and discouraging junk foods” (Bittman M. 2011). Bittman is correct, the government needs to put more of an effort to lower the prices of fruits and vegetables not corn. If the government can make it more expensive to eat unhealthy then along with the prices of vegetables, the weight of America will decline leading to a healthier world.

The Link between fast food and weight, its really there

 Countries with the highest density of restaurants per capita were the U.S. and Canada: 7.52 and 7.43 per 100,000 people, respectively. In the U.S. the prevalence of obesity for men and women is about 32%, while in Canada it's about 23%.   Japan, however, has far fewer of the fast-food restaurants, 0.13 per 100,000 people, and a far lower obesity rate: 2.9% for men and 3.3% for women. Similarly, Norway has 0.19 restaurants per 100,000 people and an obesity rate of 6.4% for men and 5.9% for women.

(2012) (2008)

Watch What You Drink!

Food isn’t the only thing that is making America fat; sugary drinks are also a huge source of weight gain.  The role that high sugar drinks have played in our surging obesity rates have recently received special coverage in the news because of former New York Mayor Bloomberg’s passed initiative to ban the sale of 32 ounce beverages or larger.  I think it’s best we all take his advice.  Studies show that about 20% of sugar intake comes from sugary drinks and sugar intake is directly related to weight gain and health problems.  The occasional soft drink isn’t necessarily unhealthy, in fact some sugar intake is beneficial for you. However the problem is that the portions of these unhealthy drinks are becoming larger and larger and it is recommended that we only consume 100-150 calories of sugar, which is only about the size 12 oz coke can.  These dangerous drinks can be just as tremendous of a factor as food.

How do social cues affect our weight?

Everywhere we go we are constantly being bombarded by social cues telling us to eat.  Whether it’s on television, online, or walking within a one block radius to a fast food restaurant:  “...We are swept up in an over-stimulating cultural assault telling us to: consume, consume,consume!  Be it Starbucks or the classic golden arches, or watching commercials on television bombarding us with food and drink, everywhere we turn as Americans, we are assaulted by the overabundance of food” (Aalai A.  2012). It is so easy for Americans to access food that it has become an activity.  All of these cultural changes have altered social cues sending messages to us saying that we should be consuming more and more food.  Many of us are eating on the go, or letting the situation we are in decide whether we consume foods.  In fact, we are turning to outside cues to determine our food consumption instead of the only reliable one: our internal cues.  When you sit down in front of a screen or to read the newspaper with a plate of food and later look down to find there is none left, that's mindless eating.  You are distracted by what you are doing and subconsciously eat, instead of taking the cues from your body that you’re full.  This can be a dangerous game to play and its how many Americans become overweight.  

What will America and the world look like if a change is not made?

The topic of childhood obesity is a very pressing issue in the lives of our generation. The negative effects of obesity are ruling over how we will live in the future. If the current trends continue then catastrophic consequences will show themselves. In the 13 worst states, 60 percent of the residents will be obese in less than two decades and 1/3 of Americans will be obese by 2050 if current trends continue. Statistics like these show that the problem is completely out of hand.