Obesity is plaguing
this country at an alarming rate. It
seems everyone is concerned but there does not seem to be any real change to
help prevent or reduce this trend. I
thought I would provide some commentary based on what I have learned in my
journey to good health.
The individual? Of course, it is easy to blame the individual
for gluttony and sloth; we are a county that believes in taking care of
ourself and being responsible for our own behavior. I firmly believe we have the power to
change. Our challenge is there is so
much misinformation out there that people do not really understand why they are
overweight, and in some cases, being fat is less of a burden than changing. When I talk to people and share my story, it
is really sad that individuals do not truly make a connection between the kinds
of food they eat and their own health and weight. There needs to be a way of properly educating
the consumer. We can do this in school,
public announcements, health care professionals and through government food
programs. I do believe that individuals
are ultimately responsible but they must have the knowledge to make good
choices.
Food companies? Where do I begin here, food companies for
years have been driven by profits and growth and they will do almost anything
to get our attention and money! They
market really bad foods to kids to such a level that kids will drive parents
crazy until they get what they want. Several
of the food giants are owned by big tobacco, does it concern anyone that a
company that made billions selling us an extremely addictive products could also
do the same with food! When food
companies try to do better, they realize there is not as much money in truly
healthy food. They hire specialist and
spend million developing products that provide foods that we crave and this
creates a viscous cycle that is hard to break.
Their goal is to make the cheapest product that sells the most. Do you think this is conducive to high
quality nutrition? They make food that
is so devoid of nutrition that they have to fortify the foods so that they have
some nutrients. Over 80% of the foods
sold today are highly processed and refined, this means it has been transformed
from a natural substance in to a product that that is dead and will sit on the
grocery shelf for months or even years!
If your food will last for more than a few weeks, then is it really good
for you! Food has been so chemically
modified that food labels today contain over 20 ingredients! Why do they need all these ingredients? In addition, do we even know what some of these
ingredients are?
The Government? Our government is huge source of the problem
because while they are saying we need to become healthier and take better care
of our kids, they subsidized food to the point that junk food is cheaper and
more available than real food. They take
excess food that has been subsidized and give it to the largest institutions
such as schools, medical facilities and the poor. If the government would get out of the food
business and quit supporting the industries that are contributing to the issue then
it might help level the playing field.
When the beef and dairy industry have more say in Washington than fruit
and vegetable growers, who do you think is going to win in congress! We cannot even get huge companies like
Monsanto to properly label their GMO products (genetically modified organism).
Farmers? Our farmers
today are almost completely monopolized and controlled by big food and government
subsidies. Because the market is so
manipulated by how subsidies are controlled, the farmer is left to grow as much
product they can sell to make money.
They have industrialized to the point that the food we get is lacking in quality
due to the demand for more. Also, as big
food dictates what the farmers can do and grow (or raise in the form of
animals) it is very hard for the farmer to be the independent business person
they used to be.
Doctors and Health care?
Our health care system is being crushed literally by the weight of Americans. Obesity and the diseases caused by it are
rising at such as rate that the Doctors are doing what they can to prescribe a
drug and move on to the next patient.
What is also very alarming is the typical health care professional has
very little training in diet and nutrition.
Our health care system is awesome at fixing patients, creating the latest
technology to diagnose and treat ailments; however there is very
little attention given to prevention. If
Doctors truly came out and said we will not treat this patient until they make
lifestyle changes to improve their health, then they would be sued! Do you think the obese person will visit a
Doctor if he is scolded for his eating habits and bad health? The health care profession must make a profit and rarely would they turn away patients.
There are no easier answers and there are a lot of opinions
about how we change this alarming trend.
As consumers we must make our choices heard at the cash register. If we keep doing what we have done for the
last 20 years then the current trend will continue and more and more people will
be comes sicker and sicker! I encourage
any one that reads this to learn more about how to take care of yourself. That does not mean read the latest diet
book, but it does mean eating a more whole natural foods that have note been
altered and transformed into something that will ultimately kill you!
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