Good eating
Toolbox
Published: July 3, 2009
As the holiday festivities of the Fourth of July weekend approach, it's comforting to note that Vermont is only the 46th fattest state. If you want an extra hot dog, maybe it's all right. But it might be wise to think twice about the chips and Coke.
Colorado is the leanest state. Obesity is most rampant in Mississippi.
In fact, four states in the South have obesity rates topping 30 percent: Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and West Virginia. And obesity is growing. The figures show that in 1991 no state had an obesity rate over 20 percent. Now Colorado is the only state below 20 percent. Vermont's figure is 22.1 percent.
A looming health problem associated with obesity is the bulge of the baby boomers. In every state, adults between 55 and 64 years old are fatter than adults over 65. Another problem is obese children. In Mississippi 44.4 percent of children are obese.
Health officials have been warning us in recent years that obesity is a serious threat to the well-being of the American people. And it is a threat that is woven into our economy and way of life.
Think about that Fourth of July picnic. It is likely to include plenty of soda and chips, as well as fatty meats. The fatty meats may be the least of it. At least they contain protein, although those burgers and hot dogs are not likely to derive from animals raised on a wholesome diet. They are more likely to have been stuffed with corn in massive, industrial-scale feed lots.
The chips and soda, however, are feeding a worsening addiction among many Americans to fat and sugar. In an interview on National Public Radio, David Kessler, former director of the Food and Drug Administration, described how the diet that is creating our epidemic of obesity is the product of food policies that subsidize corn and sugar — in effect, promoting the diet that is making us fat.
It's not the picnic lunch on the Fourth that's the problem. It is the everyday consumption of snacks and soda that we think we have to have in order to be happy. In a previous generation, who ever had Coke for breakfast? Doughnuts were not an everyday food item. Kessler argued that pervasive advertising has created a culture that has convinced people they need to be eating all the time. And much of what they are eating is making them fat. Our brains are become wired for the ingestion of this food, Kessler said. It is becoming an addiction.
The South's high rate of obesity may be due in part to a traditional diet high in fats, but also to greater poverty. Sometimes wholesome foods cost more, which is a crime committed by our economy against the people of our nation.
Much needs to be done to promote healthy eating, including an emphasis on real foods, particularly in schools. It's a fact that a diet consisting of good food, actual food, satisfies the appetite more effectively, blunting the craving for unhealthy snacks. Someone who relies on bad food is likely to be left hungry for more or with that post-carbohydrate craving.
We can enjoy our holiday eating, while thinking twice about the fats and the corn syrup. We'll feel better, and we'll be healthier and slimmer.
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