After taking a rather longer than intended hiatus from blogging due to a multitude of reasons, I find myself inspired to write again after attending a lecture on obesity and the impact it has on the economy.
I scribbled some random figures as the talk went on, such as
- how 24% of Britons are presently obese
- it cost the UK’s NHS (National Health Service) some US$5.4m in 2001/2 and the cost is rising every year
- it cost the UK US$4.25 in loss of earnings through obesity related sick absence in the same period
- By 2020, if it carries on spreading as it is now, 25% of the UK’s NHS budget will be spent on treating obesity. That figure will be in the billions, not millions.
One thing I noted throughout the whole talk was that obesity was regarded as a disease. The lecturer spoke about how humans are becoming obese because of our surroundings. My eyebrow raised at both of these suggestions. Is obesity really a disease if it’s (generally) controllable by conscious and deliberate eating? And can we not choose what to eat regardless of where we find ourselves? Where’s the personal responsibility in all of this?
At the end of the lecture there was time for some questions. I had read a few articles relatively recently in the LA Times regarding the fat tax and I asked him for his view on that as a potential solution. The fat tax idea is to basically add more tax to foods with higher fat contents so that they are not so cheap for the consumer to buy and that if you do buy them, you are contributing to the NHS budget for care you’ll supposedly receive at a later date. His response was that the consumer should not pay, the manufacturers should.
As I stood on the tube platform afterward, I thought about whether his response and talk as a whole did or did not make sense. Sure, the manufacturers of unhealthy foodstuffs are maybe misguiding consumers with all their health claims but is it not up to the individual to discern what they want in their bodies? Or maybe just because I have the interest and the time to teach myself about nutrition and how the body deals with certain foods, it doesn’t mean everyone else does.
Take the US Food pyramid for one. I think it’s fair to say that most people interested in food and politics are aware that it was put together with a heavy influence from manufacturers and the dairy industry. But so many people guide their lives by it, trusting that their elected government wouldn’t steer them wrong. If people are eating according to the pyramid and getting some exercise, how can they be getting obese they might well wonder.
I considered the lecturers point on the environment too. That we are now surrounded by so many foodstuffs it gets harder to make the best decisions for ourselves. Generally speaking I disagree on this point. I believe that if you asked someone what was healthier – vegetables or the ready made shepherds pie, say – they would know the correct answer. I am not entirely convinced by my own response here though, as I do have a recollection of it being in the news that a young boy somewhere in middle America did not know what a tomato even looked like in it’s whole form.
I also realize what we’re up against when it comes to making our own choices. For example, when we walked in to a a supermarket this weekend, we had to walk all the way to the back of the store to find the vegetables and fruit. By the entrance were rows of ready meals. It actually felt like a different planet with all the white packaged boxes, on white shelves with the white aisles. I might well have been on a spaceship! However, I did have a choice. I walked straight past these and found the real food, way down the back. For about a fiver you can get a cauliflower, a bag of potatoes, a bag of carrots, a savoy cabbage and a bunch of parsnips, which will feed us far more meals than a couple of the sterile packages sitting down the front. And doesn’t it just feel so obvious that the vegetables would be so much better for our human bodies?
After reflecting some more on this talk I began to think that whilst there may be some people out there who can’t or won’t help themselves, there are sure to be some who could use a little support.
The concluding sentiment of the lecturer is one I am in agreement with: to eradicate obesity we need to find the necessary courage and political will to make the overdue changes to our food production system and our environment.
What do you think? Is obesity really a disease or a condition that leads to the onset of disease? Is it a personal responsibility or one that should be shouldered by all of society? How should we go about educating people if the government is not fit or able to do so for political reasons? It’s a topic I am fascinated with, and one which seems to have a trillion different points of view, emotional reactions and heartfelt individual stories.
Great article Emily.
Unfortunately I think it’s a multitude of factors, most of which outlined above. However whilst it may be easy enough for some of us to personally take responsiblity of (or not so easy, though achievable), because of the staggering growth of obsesity governments do need to do something more than what most are currently doing.
How strange that the fruits and veges are hard to find! They’re in the front in all supermarkets here in New Zealand!
Hope to read more soon,
Kate
Hi Kate!
I agree that the governments need to do more. I read that the UK government first considered the fat tax some 15 or so years ago and have all the research done as to what foods it would go on and by how much. However, it’s just sitting there unimplemented for one reason or another.
Usually here the fruit and veg is the first thing you come to in the supermarkets too, but I wonder whether some supermarkets (such as the upper end ones, which this one was) put them to the back as they don’t add much to their profit levels?
Thank you for coming by,
Emily.
I think obesity is not the root of the problem, but a manifestation of the problem. The problem is that people now are under a LOT of stress, and mental problems, and such. And the easiest thing to turn to is food, which we have plenty of. I think everyone more or less knows what is healthy, and what is not. Obviously everyone knows a carrot is a wiser choice than a brownie. But when we are stressed out and in need of comfort, are we going to stop and think “Gee, I really crave the vitamin A in that carrot”?
Hi Sophia ~
Great point! The lecturer did reference the “abnormal environment” we now find ourselves in.
I also spoke with a friend about how we numb ourselves in different ways – whether that be television,
food or even self help books. Looking at it from this point of view, maybe the solution for obesity
is already arriving, naturally. Every day I notice more and more people are talking about making conscious
decisions and living their lives their own way. However, how do we reach those people who
aren’t reading the plethora of inspiring blogs or getting out there and doing it for themselves?
How can we help?
Thanks again for your comment.
~ Emily.
Definitely agree that this is a fascinating, if sobering, topic and one that makes me feel a little worried for my own future, if that makes sense. Thinking about 25% of the British being overweight (prob higher in USA, am I right?) and thinking how that means 1 OUT OF 4 people are actually certifiably overweight, I just feel freaked out that there’s this looming overweight thing out to get me. It’s not rational, but I know family members and friends who have really battled it. And losing weight? It’s hard, hard work! No real conclusions here, just thoughts. I am glad you posted this because it does motivate me to think about how my food affects my body.
Obesity could never be a problem if we could have discipline on our diets and know which food to eat. It is all about controlling ourselves. I am overweight too and I am working on it now I am on a diet program and I will pst it here if it turns out effective.