|
HowToPreventHeartDisease.com |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Are Americans Fat Because of Cheap Food? Obesity is a condition that the body has excessively high proportion of body fat. It is linked to elevated risk of certain cancers like breast, colon and rectum, and thyroid cancer. It is also a risk factor for coronary heart disease, Type-2 diabetes, hypertension (high blood pressure), stroke, and other chronic illnesses. Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2009–2010, indicated that more than 2 in 3 adults are considered to be overweight or obese, more than 1 in 3 adults are considered to be obese, and more than 1 in 20 adults are considered to have extreme obesity. Why are Americans so fat? Is it because of the sedentary lifestyle, expensive healthy food, or is it because of socioeconomic status, race or geography? The answer is no, according to researchers from Rand Corporation and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, who denied all these reasons. In their recent study that was published online May 22, 2014 in ‘A Cancer Journal for Clinicians (CA)’, they argued that the main reason why Americans are so fat is because Americans are surrounded by cheap tasty temptations, from fast foods to processed snack foods.
The researchers wanted to look at changes over time for everyone instead of focusing on group differences, for instance, between rich and poor, or between blacks and whites, which other researchers have so far done. After reviewing all the available research, the study concluded that everyone, regardless of race, ethnicity or socio-economic status, is gaining weight at about the same rate. According to the researchers, Americans spent a quarter of their disposable income on food but the most recent data show that it is now fewer than 10 percent. Though it is good to have cheap and convenient food that are mass-produced and are not perishable like potato chips, candy and sugar-sweetened drinks, these foods are unfortunately the main culprits to cause the obesity epidemic. Human beings are driven by survival instinct to eat constantly and that instinct also guides the social norms. Undoubtedly, the portion of disposable income spent on food has reduced significantly in recent decades. Though some researchers had suggested that part of problem is due to the inaccessibility of healthy foods, data clearly showed that fruits and vegetables, for instance, have become increasingly available and affordable over the past decade. Eating more fruits and vegetables would not make Americans become thinner because fruits and vegetables would not replace other less healthy alternatives. Instead, fruits and vegetables would simply be consumed in additional to everything else. These are arguments put forward by the researchers. Nevertheless, the study also highlighted other factors that seem to play a part in the obesity epidemic. These include the rise of electronic entertainment, increased reliance on cars and a shift away from physical jobs to more desk-bound ones. While Americans are not spending more time at work and have more leisure time now, they do spend more of that free time sedentary. A new target might have been offered up by the study. In order to hit that target, the researchers suggested to impose small tweaks to persuade people to make changes, for instance, imposing taxes on unhealthy food choices. In their opinion, policy focusing on positive approaches or messages like increasing fruit and vegetable consumption and increasing physical activity might be a laudable goal for other health reasons, but it is unlikely to be an effective approach to prevent obesity. Not all health professionals fully agree with the study that attributed obesity solely to low food prices. They argued that the study did not discuss relentless marketing of cheap junk foods, nor does it discuss Consumer Price Index data on the relative cost of foods. In fact, the cost of fruits and vegetables has gone up more than the average food cost. People who are obese are often those of lower income and education level and this could explain why they consume more low-cost, high-calorie foods.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Copyright
2007-2012 © HowToPreventHeartDisease.com . All Rights Reserved.d........ |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
