Value in Obesity (The Cost of Health)
We are creatures of habit and ritual. Many of us wake up and do the same exact things every morning. Some require that cup of coffee, others immediately head into the shower. Moreover, we tend to do the same things that our parents did. We share the same views and ideals and have the same sensibilities, or lack thereof. We are followers of our piers. In our constant need to not rock the boat, we do as others do, as they have always done. Occasionally we break the mold, but never to any extreme where we stand alone and completely dismissed by our friends and family. We are influenced by exposure. It's the whole reason that commercials are so pivotal in marketing. When you see the same things time and time again, things that are appealing in general, these become ideas and beliefs that we want to embrace. Now this is just a generalization of society, but one that fits the majority of the population. Now lets apply this generality to a specific topic, obesity and food choice. Here are some interesting facts:
This isn't new. We all know that eating junk food with rot your teeth and make you fat, just like we know smoking causes cancer and alcohol kills brain cells. However common knowledge does not mean common sense. We have an inane ability to ignore the facts and make unwise choices. I blame habit, ritual and pure economics.
Many limits placed on us as a society are self imposed. You may decide that you refuse to do or say certain things, out of bad taste or self-conscious, but many of the limits we place on ourselves are more economic based decisions. I've never said that I'll never own a Ferrari because I hate the way they handle. I'll never own a Ferrari because I will never have the economic means to own a Ferrari, or the maintenance and insurance costs of owning a Ferrari. We are limited by our economic backgrounds and these limits often steer us into situations we have little control over, like our fast food menu choices. Almost every fast food chain has a value menu where you can pick from a list of items, giving you some variety of choice for a meal, and every item is about $1 each. So, Burger, Fries, Coke, Three dollars plus tax. What if you would actually like to eat healthy? All the big Fast food chain's sell a variety of salads, but you are going to pay about $5, give or take. Anyone on a budget can't afford to buck up that amount every time they go out, even if they just want to drink water with it. On a side note, most of those salads have about as much fat and calories at the greasy lower prices alternatives anyways.
Lets forget about fast food for a second. Lets say you pack your lunch every day when you go to work so that you can eat better. Even on the foods that you prep at home, you have to pay for the healthy choice. Cheaper meats are processed while full of fat and additives. Deli meats, while better for you, are also many times more expensive than your cheap Oscar Meyer alternative. We see this across the board. Spaghettios are cheaper than making your own spaghetti, if for nothing else, by saving you the prep time, but the fat and caloric content of a can of Spaghettios leads to far more pounds that doing it yourself. "For many households, the lack of money can contribute to both hunger and obesity. This apparent paradox is driven in part by the economics of buying food. Households without money to buy enough food often have to rely on cheaper, high calorie foods to cope with limited money for food and stave off hunger. Families try to maximize caloric intake for each dollar spent, which can lead to over consumption of calories and a less healthful diet." (http://www.frac.org/html/hunger_in_the_us/hunger&obesity.htm)
The American Obesity Association stated that the direct health care costs of obesity were $102.2 billion in 1999. Most of that was for treatments related to health issues brought upon by obesity like Diabetes, Hypertension, and several types of Cancers. (http://www.obesity.org/treatment/cost.shtml) As a society, we are actually paying for the cheaper costs of food in the end. We pay with higher health care costs. We pay with our health.
Of course, I'll admit that fast food, and economic choices aren't the only reason for the rise in obesity in the world. Other reasons include a more sedentary lifestyle of video games, television and creature comforts as well as ethnic and genetic predisposition to weight gain. It is that value that we put on obesity that is important. You assign a value to the choices you make. If you choose to eat garbage food then you value the fat and calories associated with that choice. To solve this problem is a challenge in itself. Just like many problems that plague us, we sometimes have to hit rock bottom to realize that we made a mistake. That may mean health issues are starting to materialize or maybe you just don't look good in certain clothes anymore. I implore you, regardless of how you do it, place a value in your health and do what you have to do to insure you get where you need to be.
- Between 1962 and the year 2000, the number of obese Americans grew from 13% to an alarming 31% of the population.
- 63% of Americans are overweight with a Body Mass Index (BMI) in excess of 25.0.
- 31% are obese with a BMI in excess of 30.0.
- Childhood obesity in the United States has more than tripled in the past two decades.
- According to the U.S. Surgeon General report obesity is responsible for 300,000 deaths every year.
This isn't new. We all know that eating junk food with rot your teeth and make you fat, just like we know smoking causes cancer and alcohol kills brain cells. However common knowledge does not mean common sense. We have an inane ability to ignore the facts and make unwise choices. I blame habit, ritual and pure economics.
Many limits placed on us as a society are self imposed. You may decide that you refuse to do or say certain things, out of bad taste or self-conscious, but many of the limits we place on ourselves are more economic based decisions. I've never said that I'll never own a Ferrari because I hate the way they handle. I'll never own a Ferrari because I will never have the economic means to own a Ferrari, or the maintenance and insurance costs of owning a Ferrari. We are limited by our economic backgrounds and these limits often steer us into situations we have little control over, like our fast food menu choices. Almost every fast food chain has a value menu where you can pick from a list of items, giving you some variety of choice for a meal, and every item is about $1 each. So, Burger, Fries, Coke, Three dollars plus tax. What if you would actually like to eat healthy? All the big Fast food chain's sell a variety of salads, but you are going to pay about $5, give or take. Anyone on a budget can't afford to buck up that amount every time they go out, even if they just want to drink water with it. On a side note, most of those salads have about as much fat and calories at the greasy lower prices alternatives anyways.
Lets forget about fast food for a second. Lets say you pack your lunch every day when you go to work so that you can eat better. Even on the foods that you prep at home, you have to pay for the healthy choice. Cheaper meats are processed while full of fat and additives. Deli meats, while better for you, are also many times more expensive than your cheap Oscar Meyer alternative. We see this across the board. Spaghettios are cheaper than making your own spaghetti, if for nothing else, by saving you the prep time, but the fat and caloric content of a can of Spaghettios leads to far more pounds that doing it yourself. "For many households, the lack of money can contribute to both hunger and obesity. This apparent paradox is driven in part by the economics of buying food. Households without money to buy enough food often have to rely on cheaper, high calorie foods to cope with limited money for food and stave off hunger. Families try to maximize caloric intake for each dollar spent, which can lead to over consumption of calories and a less healthful diet." (http://www.frac.org/html/hunger_in_the_us/hunger&obesity.htm)
The American Obesity Association stated that the direct health care costs of obesity were $102.2 billion in 1999. Most of that was for treatments related to health issues brought upon by obesity like Diabetes, Hypertension, and several types of Cancers. (http://www.obesity.org/treatment/cost.shtml) As a society, we are actually paying for the cheaper costs of food in the end. We pay with higher health care costs. We pay with our health.
Of course, I'll admit that fast food, and economic choices aren't the only reason for the rise in obesity in the world. Other reasons include a more sedentary lifestyle of video games, television and creature comforts as well as ethnic and genetic predisposition to weight gain. It is that value that we put on obesity that is important. You assign a value to the choices you make. If you choose to eat garbage food then you value the fat and calories associated with that choice. To solve this problem is a challenge in itself. Just like many problems that plague us, we sometimes have to hit rock bottom to realize that we made a mistake. That may mean health issues are starting to materialize or maybe you just don't look good in certain clothes anymore. I implore you, regardless of how you do it, place a value in your health and do what you have to do to insure you get where you need to be.
posted by Mikey at 9:58 AM
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