The one thing about Americans is that they often don’t want to blame themselves for much of anything, that goes wrong, even when it has to do with their own body. In today’s America, our eyes do not deceive us, as never have so many been so obese, of which, as reported by usafacts.org, “Obesity hasn’t doubled. It’s nearly tripled in the United States over the last fifty years.” Perhaps that might be okay, if obesity, didn’t often lend itself to a variety of health problems, for, in fact, people that are obese, are prone to also developing heart disease, diabetes, cancer, ambulatory issues, and assorted other bodily malfunctions.
For those that like to watch old movies, from decades upon decades ago, the biggest disconnect for those watching such, is the fact that those people acting in the movies, seem far smaller and thinner than what we so see represented in the here and now. Perhaps this is the case, because as a nation we do far less labor with pure brawn and much more through office work and the like, or perhaps it’s because we exercise less, or perhaps because of automobiles and things of that sort we no longer are required to walk to get to where we desire to go, or perhaps those bad fat genes have led us to a propensity to becoming fat, or perhaps it’s because grocery and convenience stores are so prevalent and well stocked, with something for everyone at a price-point that meets a given person’s budget, that we simply have more food to eat and to enjoy.
While each of those things certainly have merit, and may well be contributing to the cause of obesity; the elephant in the room, is the fact that our eating habits, as well as the foods so provided to us, have materially changed over the ensuing decades. The biggest change we now face has been the increase in the amount of junk and pre-processed foods and soda, which are so prevalent in our stores and often are at a price that is very affordable. That is to say, there is loads upon loads of food items, or items that are labeled as food or considered to be so, that are cheap, and require no or minimal cooking or preparation from the consumer’s part, and are simply consumed by us, far too often, which is the biggest contributing factor to our obesity.
Of course, it has to be understood, that those big conglomerates that sell junk and pre-processed food, are multibillion dollar enterprises, and certainly are not going to desire to do anything to sabotage their own very profitable business enterprise; so then, they try to obfuscate the obvious by misdirection and by stating somewhere that moderation in the consumption of what they are so selling is recommended. That though, hasn’t change a thing, for when food is constructed, that looks appealing, and tastes good, many a consumer can’t resist eating much more than they should eat of it, nor does it ever occur to many a person, that what they are so eating, is harmful to their body, though they might so admit, that perhaps it isn’t the best thing for them.
The obesity that we so have in America, has an awful lot to do with the food that we so eat, and those that consume far too many calories that have no good nutritional purpose for their body, are going to ultimately pay the price, first by the sheer weight that they gain, and secondly by the inevitable health problems that they will thereby eventually suffer from.