the unknowing victims

It is one thing, as an adult, to eat unhealthfully.

I figure you are of an age where you can make a decision for yourself on what you choose to put in your body. However, I also believe, by doing so, you give big food companies carte blanche to put whatever they what in that food because.  You are making a ‘vote’ by spending money on a Big Mac or a Coke or Crispy Creme.  If you aren’t going to hold them accountable by not speaking up, that is your choice.  You are an adult human and I trust you to make a decision for yourself.

I do not, and will never, believe the same thing for a child.

A child is completely dependent on its parent to make a wise and safe choice for its well-being.  I also feel it is the responsibility of a company to make good choices when they are creating convenient food, marketed to a parent, for the betterment of their children.

Sadly, a list came out today that makes it seem as though at least some companies have no care for the health of our children.

Dietitians Name Five Worst Packaged Kids Meals via the Cancer Project

The thing that is upsetting is that Lunchables, the dominant force in convenient school kids meals, tops the list.

Lunchables Maxed Out Ham and Cheddar Cracker Combo topped the list because it has 22 grams of fat, 50 milligrams of cholesterol, and 1,600 milligrams of sodium—more salt than younger children should consume in an entire day.

The report found that most packaged lunchbox meals have little or no fiber and are high in fat, sugar, sodium, and cholesterol. Many also contain processed meats, which are linked to increased cancer risk later in life.

And while these foods may be convenient, they are foods that are hard on your child’s body.  Currenty, the United States sees a 60% obesity rate in children and “adult onset diabetes” is being seen in children as young as eight.

I know that it may be hard to find the time to make a lunch.  Or, maybe your child is a picky eater.  I don’t know what the various reason may be.  But, I do know that I find it hard to justify giving your kids a meal that may cause long term health problems.  A parents job is to create an environment where their children are well taken care of, not subjected to disease and malnuriishment for the rest of their lives.

Children are the victims of the bad decisions parents are making, around the country.  I fully believe that if we want to create a sustainable future, we have to stop this behavior of performing a genocide on our youth.  Even if we, as a species, are able to survive and adapt to changes in the weather, are we going to have individuals that are healthy enough to reproduce and provide for the next generations.

by Shelley Boyle

it’s in your food too

Every day more and more information comes out about the negative effects of Bisphenol-A. Yet, everyday, the FDA stands behind its decision in having approved it for use.

An article in The Missourian highlights specifics about Bisphenol-A that are very valuable to the American consumer.  It bears repeating that Bisphenol-A is a chemical used in the synthesis of hard plastic products, as well as, the liner of canned goods and soda.

Bisphenol-A, referred to as BPA, is an estrogen like compound.  Due to its chemical nature, it acts like a hormone mimicker, affecting the body in ways such as high level of cancers and sterility.  What was not known, at least to this publication, is its effects in causing obesity, heart disease and diabetes.

Frederick vom Saal, from Missouri University, has been studying BPA since 1995 and may be the leading researcher on the topic.  The research indicates that we ingest a lot of BPA due to its leaching from the container.  So, the old adage of “you are what you eat” is obsolete and is replaced with “you are what you eat our of.”

Some facts about the affect of BPA:

 - 93 percent of the people tested for BPA exposure had various levels of the chemical in their urine. Those with the highest levels were children.

 - The National Toxicology Program under the National Institutes of Health also concluded that BPA posed some danger. In its September report, it cited “some concern for effects on the brain, behavior and prostate gland in fetuses, infants and children at current human exposures to Bisphenol-A.”

the world is fat

That is the title of a new book that came out, by Barry Popkin.

His theory is that our genetic need and cravings for food to help us survive are in direct conflict with where technology has brought us, i.e. mass manufacturing, which has made us fat. In fact, his latest statistic is that we know have 1.6 billion overweight people. This is TWICE the amount of malnourished people.

So, when you reach for that second helping of pie, you’re doing what nature intended but in a world so radically transformed that nature’s previous dictates no longer make sense. You’re experiencing the disjunction between the rapid pace of technology and culture on the one hand and the slow pace of evolution on the other. Your body hasn’t caught up to your world.

you can find the whole article HERE, via Slate.

I’m going to let this article stand on it’s own….

Study Finds Obese Kids Have Arteries Like 45 year olds, from the LA Times.

Again, how is this NOT child abuse? Find my original post about that question HERE.

but she made me do it

Research from two economists out of England suggests that becoming overweight may be a phenomena associated with “keeping up with the Joneses.”

They acknowledge that in a Darwinian society, in which people compete for status, being overweight carries a stigma. But as more people become obese the perception of what constitutes being overweight changes. ‘Thus when my neighbour gets a little fatter, I … become a little fatter (since it is now not necessary to be so slim in order to compete),’ Blanchflower and Oswald write.

Data suggests that people living in developed countries are approximately 10kg heavier than they were a few decades ago. The two economists found that, among European women, ‘there is evidence that perceptions of being overweight depend not just on a person’s own Body Mass Index, but also on their BMI relative to other people’.

I found this very interesting, too:
Their findings are supported by similar socio-economic analyses. Studies have suggested that it is psychologically preferable to be jobless in areas where there is significant unemployment. ‘This is presumably for reasons of reduced stigma,’ Blanchflower and Oswald write. ‘For equivalent reasons, it may be easier to be fat in a society that is fat.’ They also suggest an individual’s perception of whether they are overweight depends on their socio-economic characteristics and that ‘highly educated people hold themselves to a thinner standard’.

You can find the whole article HERE

what are we doing to our children

I know that I am going to upset a lot of people with this position. And, I want to be clear that I am saying this from the stand point of having us wake-up and look at what we are doing to our children.

Why is it that over-feeding our children poison in the form of “food” is considered different than other forms of child abuse? Why is ensuring that they have no home (and by that I mean, Earth) to grow up in, any different than abandonment?

A new study has been released that says 6 out of 10 children are now on medication for Type 2 Diabetes, what used to be known as Adult Onset Diabetes. It is estimated that a child born today is going to have a mortality rate 30 years younger then their parents. Yep. A parent may outlive their child simply based on what a child is born into now; obesity, pollution, plastic poisoning, lack of water.

I cannot even imagine the psychological trauma inflicted on a child because they are overweight. I can’t imagine the fear a child lives with wondering if the planet will be here for them. And yet, we allow it as if it is normal and acceptable. If it causes early death and physical harm to your child, is it not abuse?

I really am saying this as an inquiry. And, maybe it is okay if I ruffle your feathers, if it makes you think about this. I do not see the difference in the physical and psychological aspects of the two forms; one may be violent, but don’t they both do equal damage?

You can go HERE for the article that started this inquiry.

cheep, cheep

As I tend to do, I created a new challenge for myself this week.

Let me start by giving you some background information. My cousin, Lauren, and I were having a conversation about food. This subject tends to be one of the most frequent conversations I have. We were talking about it in relation to what we, as Americans, use our money to purchase. I positioned the argument that in order to buy the stuff we buy to define ourselves (houses, cars, watches, clothes), we sacrifice by not buying good healthy food. And that there is a general assumption in this country that it is more expensive and time consuming to buy food and prepare it at home, rather than go to a fast food place and get quick, cheap food. But then I wondered, is that food really cheap? If you are someone, like the average American, who gets 40% of your meals from a fast food place, are you really paying the least you can for food when you consider long term effects of having eaten that food?

Hence, the challenge. I set out to see if I can determine the true cost per meal when you eat out at a fast food place, versus eating a good, healthful meal at home. Why I do this to myself…. I have no clue… hopefully, it is to your benefit.

So first, some data about obesity and the population of the United States and our habits:

Obesity
- Obesity is when the excess of body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it has a negative effect on health. It is defined by Body Mass Index, with anyone being over a value of 30 is obese.
- There are many diseases affiliated with being overweight or obese, specifically defined in two ways; there are diseases based on having fat mass, like osteoarthritis and sleep apnea. And, diseases that occur because of having fat cells which are diabetes, cancers, and fatty liver diseases.
- The United Nations reports that we have more people suffering from over-nutrition (1 billion) than malnutrition (800 million).

U.S. demographics

- There are currently 304,700,881 million people in the United States.
- The United States is the fattest nation in the world with 60% of our population being overweight or obese. (The thinnest nation is Korea at 3%, from the data set given.) The fattest part of our country is the Southern states and the thinnest part is New England.
- Since 1980, our obesity levels have doubled with 32% of adults and 17% of children being obese.
- From 1971 to the present, we have increased out caloric intake by 30%. Interesting, considering the staple meal then was steak and potatoes. And, now we are supposed to be living in the health conscious age of salads and lean meat.

Fast Food and the U.S.

- The average American eats 3,500 calories, a day. The American Medical Association suggest 2,000 for women and 2,500 for men.
- 40% of all our meals are eaten outstide of the home
- 30% of our population visit fast food places everyday. That’s about 91 million people EVERYDAY!!!!!
- 19% of our meals are eaten in the car. According to my math, that is 174 million meals per year that Americans, as a whole, eat in the car.
- On average, the most expensive meal on a typical fast food menu is also the healthiest.
- The caloric intake of an average meal has increased four times in the last 30 years.
- In 1972, we spent $3 billion dollars on fast food. Today we spend $110 billion dollars.
- Fast food companies distribute more toys (read that: plastic) than Toys’R’Us.

This next set of data, I think, is really important.

- On average, we have increased our intake of sugar by 30 pounds per person in 20 years.
- $1 can buy you 1200 calories of fast food, or 210 calories of healthy food
- An average family will consume a total of 5000-6000 calories in one sitting for a fast food meal. Because of the high occurrence of corn derived products in that food, it took 1.3 gallons of oil to make that meal.
- A Happy Meal is 600 calories. The American Medical Association states that children between 0-8 should eat, on average, 1200 calories per day. That one meal just gave them half of their daily calories. The other two meals better be pretty lean!
- The most popular kids choice is the McNugget. It has the largest list of ingredients on the menu with a total of 38. One of the ingredients is butane… you know, LIGHTER FLUID. Thirteen of those 38 ingredients are corn derivatives.

I know that this is a lot of information, but I really think it is so valuable to have. I think every person needs to know what they are putting in their bodies or their children’s bodies. I think you would be limited in finding a person that doesn’t put the right kind of fuel and oil in their car, to ensure it runs well and for a long time. But, that same person doesn’t have issue with putting unhealthful stuff into their bodies, ensuring early death.

I also wanted to give all of this information in order to accurately juxtapose the difference in my own eating habits. I am a proficient cook. I enjoy being in the kitchen, experimenting with recipes, trying out new foods, and making meals for the ones I care about. This has led me to have the practice where I go to the market once a week, and make every single meal I eat, the occasional dinner at a restaurant, not withstanding. I pride myself on eating healthfully. But what I realized this week is I also eat pretty cheaply. Now, as anyone in my life can tell you, I eat a LOT; three hearty meals and two snacks a day. I don’t eat anything processed, with the exception of a protein powder that goes into a morning smoothly. If I do buy something packaged, my rule is that it has to have no more than five, completely understandable ingredients. I eat 2,000 calories a day and 45.7 g of fiber… I only know this because I just figured out my typical daily food intake and looked up the calories and fiber. I am 5’8”, I weigh 130 and I have a BMI of 19.2. I work out two to three days a week of intense exercise. I don’t have medical insurance, I do see an acupuncturist. I spend $50 a week on food. At 35 meals per week, this means that my cost per meal is $1.42 per meal. I know every single thing I put into my body, and the long term effect is lack of disease (based on diet, environmental factors excluded). If you calculate my annual acupuncture cost into my per meal cost, it is an additional $1.73. My total per meal cost is $3.15.

My approach to figuring out the cost per meal of someone who does not eat my way, was to start with look looking at the cost this country spends per year on obesity, and applying simple math to determine individual financial participation. (All of my references, and links to calculations, can be found at the end of this post.)

So… here is the data. The cost of obesity in the United States is $123 Billion per year. $64 billion of that total is the direct medical cost of being overweight or obese, and 59 billion is the indirect cost like the value of lost wages because of disabilities. Fifty percent of the $123B is paid for by the government either through Medicare or Medicaid (that’s your tax dollars), while the other 50% is paid for by the individuals. For the government to contribute its share, each tax paying American adult (you) contributes $280 per year. So, whether you choose to live healthfully, or not, you contribute that amount as a part of your taxes. As an overweight/obese individual, you pay not only your share of the first half ($280), but also your personal contribution to the second half, which is $945 per person. Which means your grand total is $1226 per year. (Obviously, to make things easy, but to get the point across, I am using an average; some people will pay more, some less.) If you then account for the average number of times individuals get their food at a fast food place, you can assume that each meal is costing an additional $8.40. For example, if you buy a Big Mac Value Meal at $3.99 plus tax, the true price of that meal is $12.72. That is four times the cost of my meal. And, that is only for this week, or this year. This does not account for rising prices, a new disease you may get, or over population, to name a few examples of what’s to come in our future.

This is just food and medical costs. Now, if you add in the fact that airlines charge more because of fuel usage. They estimate it takes an additional 530 million gallons of fuel to cart around our additional weight. This also does not take into consideration the additional fuel costs of your own car. Or, the cost of potential future lost wages because you may lose your job due to your illnesses. It is currently estimated that in the year 2030, about 25 years from now, we will be paying $900 billion per year to account for the obesity epidemic.

The saddest part of this whole thing is the socioeconomic class it affects the most; the poor. Fast food has the lowest cost/calorie ratio; $1 purchases 1200 calories. But these are the same group that cannot afford the associated medical costs. Type 2 Diabetes is the most common ailment that afflicts overweight people. The annual cost of this disease is estimated at $10K. Now, if you have insurance it is an estimated $2K, out of pocket expense. But, what if you don’t? The group with the highest rate of diabetes is in families with a gross income of $35K. That means, even if you have insurance, you are paying $200 per month in medical bills.

I don’t want this to be an essay claiming that I am better than everyone else. I eat what works for me, and I would never assume that it would or should work for everyone else. But, I really need to challenge this notion in society that eating fast food is “cheap”. Because, it is not when you consider the long term impact of what that food is doing to your body. I can’t even imagine the untold cost onto our environment to produce that low quality food. And, I don’t even want to imagine the cost of what it does to our society when families are eating at a fluorescent lit fast food restaurant, instead of being at home, with the TV off, participating and fully engaged in a conversation, caring about what is going on in their lives and what they are putting in their mouths.

Links:
http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/full/hlthaff.w3.219v1/DC1
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/obesity/economic_consequences.htm
http://www.forbes.com/2006/07/19/obesity-fat-costs_cx_mh_0720obesity.html
http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/4-2007/heavy-cost-of-type-2-diabetes-complications.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonald%27s_products
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_United_States
http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2008/08/03/business/03metrics.graphix.ready.html