The Largest Health Crisis in the History of the World

Luke is serious. While the rest of us explored food from around the world–British biscuits, New York’s French restaurants, sushi, Luke considered the health of our relationship with the food we eat.

By Upper-School Blogger Luke Sonderman

“Obesity is the leading cause of death in the United States,” declares The Big Think (bigthink.com). Obesity contributes to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, and gallbladder disease (cdc.gov). In a day and age where acknowledging the dangers of obesity creates labels such as “fatphobic” and “fat shaming,” the rate of obesity exponentially and tragically increases (bluezones.com). 

What is obesity?

According to the World Health Organization, obesity is defined as “abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health” (who.int). Obesity is measured through the Body Mass Index (BMI). BMI is measured by taking a person’s body weight in kilograms, and dividing it by their height squared (cdc.gov). According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), people with a BMI of 30 or more are considered obese (cdc.gov ).

Weight gain is “caused [by] extra calories . . . being stored in the body as fat” (nhs.uk). This being said, the most effective way to lose weight for people with a fast or slow metabolism is eating less food and exercising more, says Harvard Medical School  (harvard.edu). With a caloric deficit and more calories burned, weight can be lost and a normal BMI can be maintained (nhlbi.nih.gov). However, sources like England’s National Health Service says the causes and solutions can be complicated by the particulars of diet, exercise, genetics, and underlying medical conditions (nhs.uk). 

Dangers of Obesity

As of 2020, 41.9% of Americans are obese (cdc.gov). There is a difference between being overweight and obese. On the BMI scale, one must be between 25-30 BMI to be overweight, and 30+ to be obese (who.int). Being overweight simply means that someone weighs more than what is medically recommended for their weight and to get back to their recommended weight it is recommended that they reduce their food intake (as advised by their physician) and exercise more (diffen.com). Obesity is actually a disease which comes with the major health risks mentioned above. Recently, we saw 50.2 percent of hospitalized Covid patients suffered from obesity (beckershospitalreview.com). 

2.8 million people die every year because of obesity (who.int 2021). That is more deaths than four and a half US Civil Wars (nps.gov). According to the World Health Organization, 46% of abdominal obesity in the world could be caused by fast food (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov). In the United States on any given day, ⅓ of adults eat fast food (cdc.gov). According to Harvard University, some common causes of obesity are “the ready availability of food at all hours of the day and in places that once did not sell food, such as gas stations, pharmacies, and office supply stores; a dramatic decrease in physical activity during work, domestic activities, and leisure time, especially among children; increased time spent watching television, using computers, and performing other sedentary activities; the influx of highly processed foods, fast food, and sugar-sweetened beverages, along with the ubiquitous marketing campaigns that promote them” (harvard.edu). 

How does culture in the United States influence the growth of obesity?

According to Dr. Nancy Trout, “[O]ur American culture promotes obesity. Environmental influences steer us to choose unhealthy foods and eat portion sizes that are far too large” (advancingkids.org). Recent “Robert Wood Johnson State of Childhood Obesity data shows that 19.3% of children between the ages of 2-19 in the United States have obesity” (advancingkids.org). Dr. Trout goes on to say that staples of many of her child patients include “hot ranch Cheetos or Doritos, Oreos, sugary cereals such as Frosted Flakes or Fruit Loops, Lunchables, Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, . . . pizza, . . . sweetened iced teas, juices, sports drinks, sodas and chocolate milk” and even says that since the Covid-19 pandemic, many child patients reported that they are “not engaging in any physical activity” (advancingkids.org). Unlike other countries, in the United States, high fructose corn syrup is used in many products such as Heinz Ketchup, Quaker Oatmeal, and soda (ronproject.com). Obesity is affecting children, adults, and senior citizens.

Conclusion

It has become apparent that the Obesity Crisis in the United States is being fueled by American Culture. Physical well being needs to be taught in schools, and parents need to be held accountable for what they feed their children. If people don’t know how to combat the problem, then how are we as a nation supposed to fight the epidemic? We, as a nation, need to educate ourselves on the dangers of being obese and how to maintain a healthy body weight.