I think the sudden rise of obesity rates, on a societal-wide level, points to additional systemic factors and cannot be purely focused on individual self control. Multiple factors including policy, socio-economic trends and bad nutritional research all combined to create a perfect force for the rise of obesity:
- Govt subsidization of corn and soy and the use of the processed versions in all forms of processed foods
- Nutritional policy which incorrectly demonized fats which led food producers and the population to move away from fats and increase the consumption of refined carbohydrates including sugar
- The rise of the two working parents which outsourced the feeding of their families to big corporations (Kraft, General Mills et al) who in turn use refined, processed ingredients like corn syrup, soy and unpronounceable ingredients in pretty much all of their products
- The influence of Big Food over Americans consumption habits...the billions spent on getting the best chemists researching and engineering the most flavourful, addictive foods and the billions spent on advertising said food is difficult to counteract by ordinary citizens. The responsibility of govt to regulate and have some semblance of protecting citizens is negligible especially since agencies like the FDA are captured by the companies they are supposed to regulate.
- Illustrating the control of Big Food over citizens' consumption habits, consider the concept of snacking. How many people here recall going out with your parents for several hours and NOT EATING anything until you got back home? If you were hungry you were told to wait until the appropriate meal. That concept is gone now. You are now considered a bad parent if you don't carry snacks with you for a 30 minute car ride. Again, this eating in between meals is a relatively new phenomenon. Most of these snacks tend to be refined processed foods as well. Rarely veggies and fruits.
I understand the concept of personal responsibility and I do see individuals taking control of their weight by educating themselves. However, to have an entire society get fat within the span of 30 years and blame it all on self control is unrealistic. It behooves us to identify the problem so we can at least figure out solutions. After reading Gary Taubes and Michael Moss, I cut out all refined foods from my diet (including so-called healthy grains like oatmeal and beans), focused on protein from healthy sources, and upped my good fats intake substantially (butter, coconut oil, lard, etc). Since my family is pre-disposed to chronic diseases like diabetes I educated them on my findings....took a while but several of them made the changes as well and the results have been astounding. I've had family get off diabetes medication, had their cholesterol levels improve, have had their aches and pain that they attributed to old age disappear. And my family was not one that ate a lot of packaged foods but they did follow the govt's nutritional policy which is very refined carb heavy due to their deference/capture by Big Agra. We ignored the food pyramid completely but we would not have done so had I not educated myself.
Anyone who has traveled to another country and found themselves losing weight effortlessly without changing their food consumption patterns or vice-versa, people who immigrate or arrive from other countries to the US and Canada and find themselves packing on the pounds fast leads to the conclusion that there are other factors besides self-control that point to the obesity crisis.
This article is what got the ball rolling for me:
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/07/magazi...t-lie.html
It was the beginning of my paradigm shift. I highly recommend the author's book "Good Calories, Bad Calories". It's not a diet book but rather reviews and insights on the science and govt policy that led us to the obesity crisis.
Highly recommend this article as well:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/24/magazi...-food.html
- Govt subsidization of corn and soy and the use of the processed versions in all forms of processed foods
- Nutritional policy which incorrectly demonized fats which led food producers and the population to move away from fats and increase the consumption of refined carbohydrates including sugar
- The rise of the two working parents which outsourced the feeding of their families to big corporations (Kraft, General Mills et al) who in turn use refined, processed ingredients like corn syrup, soy and unpronounceable ingredients in pretty much all of their products
- The influence of Big Food over Americans consumption habits...the billions spent on getting the best chemists researching and engineering the most flavourful, addictive foods and the billions spent on advertising said food is difficult to counteract by ordinary citizens. The responsibility of govt to regulate and have some semblance of protecting citizens is negligible especially since agencies like the FDA are captured by the companies they are supposed to regulate.
- Illustrating the control of Big Food over citizens' consumption habits, consider the concept of snacking. How many people here recall going out with your parents for several hours and NOT EATING anything until you got back home? If you were hungry you were told to wait until the appropriate meal. That concept is gone now. You are now considered a bad parent if you don't carry snacks with you for a 30 minute car ride. Again, this eating in between meals is a relatively new phenomenon. Most of these snacks tend to be refined processed foods as well. Rarely veggies and fruits.
I understand the concept of personal responsibility and I do see individuals taking control of their weight by educating themselves. However, to have an entire society get fat within the span of 30 years and blame it all on self control is unrealistic. It behooves us to identify the problem so we can at least figure out solutions. After reading Gary Taubes and Michael Moss, I cut out all refined foods from my diet (including so-called healthy grains like oatmeal and beans), focused on protein from healthy sources, and upped my good fats intake substantially (butter, coconut oil, lard, etc). Since my family is pre-disposed to chronic diseases like diabetes I educated them on my findings....took a while but several of them made the changes as well and the results have been astounding. I've had family get off diabetes medication, had their cholesterol levels improve, have had their aches and pain that they attributed to old age disappear. And my family was not one that ate a lot of packaged foods but they did follow the govt's nutritional policy which is very refined carb heavy due to their deference/capture by Big Agra. We ignored the food pyramid completely but we would not have done so had I not educated myself.
Anyone who has traveled to another country and found themselves losing weight effortlessly without changing their food consumption patterns or vice-versa, people who immigrate or arrive from other countries to the US and Canada and find themselves packing on the pounds fast leads to the conclusion that there are other factors besides self-control that point to the obesity crisis.
This article is what got the ball rolling for me:
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/07/magazi...t-lie.html
It was the beginning of my paradigm shift. I highly recommend the author's book "Good Calories, Bad Calories". It's not a diet book but rather reviews and insights on the science and govt policy that led us to the obesity crisis.
Highly recommend this article as well:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/24/magazi...-food.html