Why Are Americans so Fat?

Federal Health Officials warn us that obesity is our #1 killer. But did you know that our being fat as a society is a side-effect of progress? The Washington Post article, "Why America Has to be Fat" by Michael S. Rosenwald dated January 22, 2006 explains how Americans used to provide for their families through more physical labor. The men did jobs that today are more technologically advanced, and the women spent time doing more physically demanding domestic chores, such as cooking and baking, ironing, scrubbing floors, or hauling baskets of wet clothes to hang on clotheslines.

What Has Made Obesity an Epidemic in the U.S.?

Rosenwald quotes Tomas J. Philipson, an economics professor who studies obesity at the University of Chicago, as saying, "The obesity problem is really a side effect of things that are good for the economy, but we would rather take improvements in technology and agriculture than go back to the way we lived in the 1950s when everyone was thin."

What Businesses Want us Fat?

He also tells us that obesity has actually fattened the wallets of many corporations and doctors alike (Pun intended). He provides data that the "obesity industry" was estimated to make in excess of $315Billion in 2006. He included in this industry fast food chains, medical treatments, and books about dieting.

He goes on to list a few of the food companies that thrive on bad food choices, stating that in 2004 Kraft Foods made more than $244Million on Oreo cookies!

In addition to the companies who are profiting from the junk food we eat, there is the "fat-cure" industry that depends on us getting fat to make their money such as Jenny Craig, Nutri-system, Weight Watchers, and Physicians who perform weight-loss and cosmetic surgeries. We sit smack dab in the middle of two hungry industries, out to make a profit.

How do We Stop the Flab Attack? Eat Less and Move More!

We drive everywhere, we sit most of our days at computers, our kids don't have physical education classes, and everyone's lives are so busy, a drive into the fast food lane is hard to avoid. We don't even burn as many calories to eat as we once did. We used to have to peel, slice and fry our french fries...now we simply drive through and stuff them down!

The only way we can stop the spiral is to face the facts; our lives are easier, but this "easy life" is making us fat! We can't turn back the hands of time to when everyone worked on their feet in factories or in the fields, or when everything we ate took at least an hour's preparation in the kitchen and then another half-hour washing all the dishes by hand!. (Caloriecount.com estimates total calories burned in food prepartion at 145 per hour.) So, we have to realize that we need to adjust our eating habits to match our lifestyle. If we aren't living a caveman lifestyle, we can't eat like we do!

In order to keep the extra pounds off, we all have to figure out how to get back to basics: eating healthier and burning off the calories we eat. It's really as simple as that. No matter how successful we are in every other aspect of our lives, if we keep taking in more calories than we burn up, we will get fatter and more unhealthy every year. And the obesity industry will just get richer.

Related Reading:
"A Guide to Fast Food Calories and Carbs"
"Losing Weight One Pound at a Time"
"How to Burn Bonus Calories"
"Fun Indoor Exercise Ideas: DDA and Wii"

Resources:
Washington Post