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Globesity: Fats and Figures
B.M.I. Body Mass Index or
Body Mass Inflation?
- The average person in the UK is 28lbs. heavier than the average person
100 years ago.
- In the USA, hospital costs linked to childhood obesity have more
than tripled since 1981, and days spent in hospital for obesity related
diseases have more than doubled.
- The number of overweight children has more than doubled in the past
20 years.
- UCLA researchers found that obesity increased health care costs an
average of US$395 each year, whereas smoking increased health care costs
by US$230. Obesity raises a person's health care costs 36% and their
medication costs by 77%. In dollar terms the consequences of obesity
are more serious than smoking.
The scientific definition of Obesity is a Body Mass Index of 30 and
the definition of Overweight is a Body Mass Index of 25.
- In the past 4 years in the USA the number of men who weigh more than
300lbs. has increased 50% to one in 80, and the number of women over
300lbs. increased 67% to one in 200.
 
- Stomach stapling surgery increased 29% in 2001 at a cost of over
1 billion dollars.
- 300,000 people die annually from obesity related causes and many
more from diseases associated with obesity.
- There is now a special industry making monster beds and wheelchairs
to accommodate huge hospital patients. With cutbacks in staffing many
nurses are suffering back injuries trying to manoeuvre their patients.
- Dr. Rafael Bangoa of the World Health Organization reports that in
an increasing number of areas in Africa including Egypt, Morocco and
Zambia more children are overweight than malnourished in a classic feast
or famine situation.
"Five foot seven, 204 pounds
… I'd say you could put on another five or six pounds."
- Food companies produce 3,800 calories of food a day for every American,
up from 3,300 calories in 1970 (still too much). Chances are many people
are consuming 500 calories a day more than their parents did at a comparable
age. (From Marion Nestle's new book 'Food
Politics.')
Fast Food Industry Growth Since
1980
- More than 11,000 new food products came onto the market in 1998.
More than two thirds of them were candy, snacks, baked goods, soft drinks,
ice creams, and similar items ('Food
Politics')
- The money spent promoting one major new junk food product often exceeds
the total spent in a year to educate the public about healthy eating.
- Portions continue to get bigger. In oxymoron like fashion Lean Cuisine
now offer "Hearty Portions" which are 50% larger and Weight
Watchers have also been advertising larger portions. The latest edition
of the old standby 'The Joy of Cooking' offers the same brownie recipe
and ingredients as it did in the 60's and 70's. Except that now instead
of yielding 30 brownies you only get 16. People just want bigger brownies.
- The common 7-ounce muffin is the caloric equivalent of 7 slices of
bread, plus the added fat and sugar.
- Americans can now get a tax deduction for obesity treatment if they
have been diagnosed by their physicians as 'obese.' It doesn't apply
to diet foods, but you can deduct the cost of joining and attending
approved weight loss programs.
-
The 1990's saw a phenomenal 1,384% increase in exclusive
agreements between schools and soft-drink bottlers in the USA. 240
school districts in 31 states have sold exclusive rights to one of
the big three soda companies (Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper) to push
their products in schools.
- One item of good news is that the promoters of fast food are beginning
to get nervous. There is a group which styles itself The Center for
Consumer Freedom (CCF) representing food outlets and tavern operators
nationwide. The CCF recently spent $200,000 US to run three 60 second
spots on radio stations in the Washington area. The ads directed listeners
to the CCF web-site which essentially suggests that groups like Center
for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI which publishes 'Nutrition
Action') are anti-consumer interest and just want to take your pleasures
away by taxation or other means. There is a full section titled "CSPI
NOT" saying CSPI is "not science in the public interest."
The web-site says, "The anti-consumer crowd may seem to take tiny
footsteps on the way to controlling your food and beverage options but
it's essential to track these 'baby steps'." The web-site is full
of headlines such as "More absurd fat tax proposals" or "Fast
Food Nation Book is Full of Fluff." In their cartoon section they
ridicule the Surgeon General. It's a rather paranoid web-site which
suggests that government organizations are really just there to take
away your freedoms and pleasures. What really scares them is the concept
of taxing junk food, which makes me think it might be a very good idea.
Check out the web-site for yourself at www.consumerfreedom.com/index.cfm
. Here are two examples from the CCF website.
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"You Are Too Stupid... to make your
own food choices." The Center for Consumer Freedom ran this
full-page national ad in U.S. News & World Report to alert
consumers that their freedoms of food choice could be the next
thing to be taken off the menu.
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- It's not surprising that the CCF is concerned about the Center for
Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). The CSPI whose magazine 'Nutrition
Action' we rated so highly in the Spring edition of 'Well' is the
one group which seems to have the resources, knowledge and focus to
actually bring about legislative changes. Currently they are taking
a lead role in proposed changes to food labeling and the taxation of
nutrient poor foods. These are just two of many initiatives they have
for leveling the playing field so that the producers of nutrient poor
foods don't have an overwhelming fiscal advantage. The CSPI places tremendous
importance on creating an environment where it is easier for children
to make healthy choices abut food and physical activity.
- According to the Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute
(CFLRI) only 43% of parents regularly play active games with their children
(2000 survey).
- The CFLRI noted that one in five adolescents aged 13-17 reported having
no physical education at all in school. About half of children aged
5-12 received physical education only once or twice a week.
- Insurance concerns make school playgrounds and gyms increasingly unavailable.
"Where
do the children play?"
Good reading: "Fixing a Fat Nation" by Tom Farley and Deborah
Cohen.
www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2001/0112.farley.cohen
As usual Dave Barry has his own perspective on problems
associated with body image and weight loss. See article 'Never
Turn Your Back'. Some of his books include:
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