There are many things about which Americans can worry. Gluttony is unfortunately one of them. We are getting fatter. The State of Health reports that 15% of high school students are obese and another 15% are overweight. Don't lament just yet, that may be the good news in this paragraph. The same source says that adult obesity exceeds 35% in some (5) states, and 30% in many (25) states.
According to Stanford Health Care, obesity is a "chronic disease." That may assuage us a bit, calling it a "disease" may help us to detach ourselves from the causes. And, undoubtedly there are a myriad of medical and genetic reasons that we each have the shape and proportions that we do. I know people who loudly lament gaining five pounds over the holidays, they diet and exercise for a week and return to their baseline seemingly with little or no effort. I can walk a hundred miles and not lose 5 pounds (I have proven that repeatedly). The point is that we are all different and our personal weight likely includes elements we can control and others that we simply cannot.
Stanford Health says that a third of Americans are "seriously overweight." And, it cautions that we (yes, I am personally seriously overweight) face a significant risk of other health issues that are related to our body habitus. We can look forward to increased risk of diabetes, heart disease, issues with bones and joints, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, and even cancer. All of this is important in workers' compensation. Any of these results, or the obesity itself, can be what doctors call "co-morbidity," which can make recovery from an orthopedic injury more challenging, time-consuming, and expensive.
This discussion is nothing new. We have seen a multitude of news stories about both causes and effects of obesity. US News reports that Americans spend over $60 billion on weight loss every year. According to The State of Obesity, the financial implications in health care are even more pervasive. It estimates that health care costs associated with obesity are between $147 billion to $210 billion per year." This does not include work absence and productivity costs which are also significant. reminds of that old saw, "a billion here, a billion there, pretty soon you are talking about real money."
This subject returned to the front of my brain in the spring when the new menu labeling standards from the Obama administration became effective. This is a portion of the Obamacare legislation, and "requires disclosure of calorie and other nutrition information by restaurants." According to Food Safety Magazine, the requirements were effective May 1, 2018. When that news was pervasive in national media, I wondered aloud if knowing what was in a meal would change behavior.
In July, Forbes reported that Joey Chestnut had won the annual hot dog eating contest at Coney Island. He consumed "an event-record 72 hot dogs and hot dog buns in 10 minutes." I could not eat that many in a month (though I love a good hot dog). Forbes noted that Mr. Chestnut's foray into fame consisted of 11,520 calories, 1,080 grams of fat, 432 grams of saturated fat, 2,160 milligrams of cholesterol, and 39,600 mg of sodium. All of these exceed the recommended daily allowances significantly. That is over 17 day's worth of recommended sodium in one sitting!
Just as that news had slipped my mind, The Center for Science in the Public Interest published its Extreme Eating 2018 awards. This list recognizes some of the more notable outrageous examples of unhealthy eating available in the American restaurant industry. As I read the 2018 list, it occurred to me that perhaps there should be a contest each year to see who could consume the worst of the worst all in one day.
The Center highlighted breakfast at the Cheesecake Factory. The entree is called the Breakfast Burrito filled with eggs, potatoes, black beans, chorizo, and cheese. This provides 2,730 calories, 73 grams of saturated fat, and 4,630 milligrams of sodium (twice the recommended daily allowance). Apparently, this is the equivalent of eating "seven McDonald’s Sausage McMuffins." People need between 2,000 and 2,500 calories per day depending on which gender they identify with, according to Healthline.
For Lunch, how about a Vampire Taco Combo at Yard House. This is two pork tacos that include chorizo sausage, cheese, guacamole, and more. These stack up an impressive 2,040 calories, 27 grams of saturated fat, and 3,829 milligrams of sodium. The recommended daily intake of sodium is 1,500 milligrams.
For a snack, hit the movies and grab a "soft Bavarian-style pretzel, sprinkled with coarse salt and served warm with nacho cheese.” This treat weighs in at about 1.5 pounds. This will provide you about 1,920 calories, 15 grams of saturated fat, and 7,600 milligrams of sodium.
For Dinner, it is off to Chili's for a "creative mashup" called the Honey-Chipotle Crispers & Waffles. This entree is waffles topped with fried chicken, bacon, jalapenos, and ranch dressing sauce. Don't worry, it also comes with fries. This one brings you 2,510 calories, 40 grams of saturated fat, and 4,480 milligrams of sodium. The Center claims this is the equivalent of "five Krispy Kreme glazed doughnuts smothered in 30 McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets and five packets of barbecue sauce."
For dessert, it is on to BJ's for a "Peanut Butter S’mores Pizookie." This is part cookie, part ice cream, and part "vanilla fluff." This little treat will add 1,580 calories, and 31 grams of saturated fat, but surprisingly no significant sodium.
The Center report includes other similarly troubling menu items. The selected combination outlined above provides us 10,780 calories (4 to 5 times the recommendation, depending on which gender is identified), 186 grams of saturated fat, and 20,539 milligrams of sodium. That is all about the same calorie content as Joey's 72 hot dogs, half the saturated fat, but almost ten times the sodium. Of course, this latter plan would be more time-consuming with all that time wasted in driving from trough to trough.
The real point is that perhaps it is not so mysterious why we are fighting an American obesity crisis. The food we consume is loaded with sodium, added sugar, and fat. Perhaps the Obamacare requirements will save us (doubtful), but more likely those menu listings will at least force us to accept the reality of what we are eating. Maybe we will make better choices overall, or at least choose to only eat half of whatever monstrosity they put in front of us (share that entree, take half home for tomorrow, etc.).
The New York Times recently published an opinion article regarding the costs of all this obesity. The author claims that the "total impact of obesity and its related complications on the United States’ economic output has been estimated at between 4 and 8 percent of gross domestic product." That is a significant sum. For clarity, the author equates this to other national expenses, noting that at 4%, "that’s comparable to the 2018 defense budget ($643 billion) and Medicare ($588 billion)." For emphasis, fat is costing us at least the same as defense and Medicare!
A major focus of the Times article is a description of disparate impact. It claims that "as disposable income declines, so too does the ability to afford a nutritious diet." The author also complains of the high cost of medications for ailments like diabetes, of which obesity is a risk factor. The author contends that processed foods are cheap, while nutritious foods are beyond the economic grasp of some. The suggested solutions include the imposition of "a tax on processed foods and use of the proceeds to subsidize whole foods."
Perhaps those who advocate tax plans like that will remember the Federal gas tax. As we drive on crumbling roads and bridges, some may wonder where all that federal gas tax money is. Is it all being devoted to the infrastructure for which it is raised, or is some of that money going elsewhere? Similarly, if there is a tax on cheap food, will all of it be consistently focused on subsidizing "good food?"
So, obesity itself has a financial and personal impact. There are related potential financial personal and financial impacts from disease, social isolation, and more. And, the impacts on American society as a whole are likewise significant. Perhaps what will save us will be awareness. That is the goal of the Obamacare menu information requirements.
And, I have done my part on that front, as have you in reading this post. Perhaps we will all think twice about whether we really need that Pizooki after our Honey-Chipotle Crispers & Waffles? Maybe we will get out and walk a mile or two each day, skip the fries, and substitute water for soda? Maybe we put down the salt shaker, read the menu more carefully, and pay attention?
We have to accept that our DNA and heredity play large roles in our shape, our health, and sometimes even our happiness. But we have to start seriously asking: are we able to affect our own health? What little things can we each do to decrease the risks to our own health despite things like our familial DNA that we cannot change. Obesity is killing some of us, hurting others of us, and costing all of us. Let's figure this out.
