The Modern Obesity Epidemic

About one third of the global population is overweight or obese₂. It's more serious than simply being overweight and causes a range of systemic health conditions including the development of Type 2 diabetes_3,4, muscle and bone degradation including osteoarthritis₃, cardiovascular disease (i.e. heart disease)₃, substantial disability₃, cancers (endometrial, breast and colon)₃, the acceleration of the ageing process₅ and decreased life expectancy_3,5. Health systems have to routinely cope with resultant complications, and cultural changes are having to be made₆, impacting on transport, resources and workplaces, with measurable effects on national economies, diverting time and resources away from other issues. In 2000, it was the world's most costly epidemic₆, and has continued to get worse in every region of the world every decade since.

The causes are lifestyle and culture_7,3, not genetics₈. Causes are processed foods, low levels of physical exercise, over-indulgence, poor choices in food products and poor knowledge of nutrition. Health experts have warned that there is no medical solution: prevention is the only possible route to reduce the cost of obesity₉ but the situation is made much worse by well-funded advertising campaigns by food manufacturers selling cheap mass-produced food. Even many so-called "health foods" contain well over recommended limits of fat, salt and sugar₁₀ and a range of popular fad diets capitalize on miseducated consumers to buy into costly and nonsensical schemes that falsely promise quick results₁₁.

1. Obesity by Regions of the World
2. The Damage Obesity Does
3. Causes of the Western Obesity Pandemic
   1. Related to Lifestyle and Culture, Not Genetics
   2. Poor Diets
   3. The Rise of Processed Foods
   4. Child Obesity
4. Corporate Abuse of Customers
   1. Abusing News Outlets With Fake Science and Fake Lobby Groups
   2. Manipulating Clothes Sizes to Hide Growth
   3. Selling Fad Diets
5. The Advantages of Keeping Fit
6. Links

1. Obesity by Regions of the World

#health #obesity

The progression from overweight to obese populations across the major continents is consistent, with only a few minor dents. The largest of these is Europe, which during the 2010s halved the rate of its progression. The most worrying trend is Australasia, which started from an unhealthy position in the 1990s, and yet still maintained a strong upwards curve in obesity every decade since.

For other international comparisons, see:

• Compare International Statistics by Region and Continent.
• Countries With the Healthiest Cultures and Health Policies.

2. The Damage Obesity Does

#health #obesity #public_health

One of the most well known risks associated with obesity is the development of diabetes₄. But many other physiological injuries are also made more likely through over-eating. "Being overweight increases your chances of injuries particularly to your knees, ankles and back. [...] By losing weight you could reduce injuries such as persistent knee pain, shin splints, hip and lower back pain"₁₂.

“Being overweight or obese can have a serious impact on health. Carrying extra fat leads to serious health consequences such as cardiovascular disease (mainly heart disease and stroke), type 2 diabetes, musculoskeletal disorders like osteoarthritis, and some cancers (endometrial, breast and colon). These conditions cause premature death and substantial disability.

What is not widely known is that the risk of health problems starts when someone is only very slightly overweight, and that the likelihood of problems increases as someone becomes more and more overweight. Many of these conditions cause long-term suffering for individuals and families. In addition, the costs for the health care system can be extremely high.”

World Health Organisation (2024)₃

“Smoking and obesity accelerate people's biological ageing processes as well as shortening their lives, researchers suggested last night. Tobacco and having too much fat speed up the rate of DNA damage so that being obese adds nearly nine years to a person's age while smoking a pack of cigarettes a day for 40 years adds more than seven, according to Tim Spector of St Thomas's hospital, London. "We have shown someone who smokes and is obese at 30 can look and feel like someone who is 40."”

The Guardian (2005)

“Diabetes is the world's most costly epidemic. Over the next ten years there will be an increasing number of technical solutions to help manage the condition but few expect this to counter its growth, particularly the escalation of type 2 diabetes, which is mostly caused by a high-calorie diet and sedentary lifestyle. If governments and public healthcare systems are to manage the direct and indirect costs, significant action to change behaviour is critical.”

"Future Agenda: The World In 2020" by Tim Jones (2010)₆

3. Causes of the Western Obesity Pandemic

3.1. Related to Lifestyle and Culture, Not Genetics

#japan #UK #USA

Fat is comprised of long carbohydrate chains, which take the body a lot of energy to put together. This energy is an investment made by the body for hard times; by burning fat, that energy is released. The entire system is a balance of inputs and outputs: the inputs are purely through diet, and the outputs are purely through activity (which causes your body to use energy). Based on this, most sensible weight-loss advice falls into either one of two categories: (1) reduce your calories, and (2) increase your daily activity.₁₃. There are also some effects of timing and daily rhythm, making it possible to make improvements by changing the daily routine to avoid encouraging fat-storing.

Some obese people claim that "it is in their genes" and that there are insurmountable biological obstacles involved in their state₁₄ but we know that the rise in obesity is not genetic in nature₈. This is because the increase has taken place within too short a short period of time. As of the first decade of the 21st century, one third of the USA's population was obese but in 1980 this figure was just 15%₁₅. In 29 years (less than a generation) the figure more than doubled. Even the fastest hereditary traits spread much more slowly, over many generations. So unless fat people had all the children in the previous generation, and thin people had none, most of the cause of obesity is to do with personal choice and culture. It is not due to poverty or relative wealth, as some of the world's richest countries are very obese (USA) yet others are not (Japan). More important than that, within towns and cities there are rich and poor folk who are both obese, and, rich and poor folk who are not. It isn't due to wealth, poverty or genetics: it is down to cultural influences and personal choices.

“How people live has an important impact on health. Whether people smoke, whether they are physically active; what and how much they eat and drink [effects] how healthy people are and how long they will live.”

UK Secretary of State for Health (1998)₁₆

Obesity is caused by sedentary lifestyles, hours watching TV and the lack of physical activity and exercise₇. It's not caused by the nature of physical work, as men and women who are manual workers "are generally more likely to be overweight or obese than the non-manual "₇. A hint at its psycho-social nature is that those who have never smoked less likely to be obese₇.

“Recommended interventions to reduce the cost of obesity include portion control in fast food packaged goods; investing in parental education; introducing healthy meals in schools and workplaces; changing the school curriculum to include more physical exercise; and encouraging more physical activities by introducing bicycle lanes.”

McKinsey and Company (consultants)
Reported in The Guardian (2014)₂

3.2. Poor Diets

#food #health #iceland #japan #south_korea #vegetarianism

A number of studies have agreed with each other on the features of a good diet, and, on some of the features that need to be avoided. Fresh food is best, processed food is bad. Balanced diets reign supreme - there's no need to try to cut out major food groups as long as you eat healthily overall. Vegetables, fish and fruit are wonder-foods. Grow your own, and you save money and avoid the preservatives and chemicals (and other tricks) which increase the longevity of food but which can damage nutrients. Meat is fine, however, in the West meat preparations are so processed and adulterated that in effect, vegetarian diets have been found to be overall more healthy₁₄.

Some cultures have better ideas than others. Although it is noted that "adherence to Western-style cuisine significantly reduces the prospect of 'ideal aging,' i.e., remaining free of chronic diseases and retaining high physical, mental, and cognitive functionality"₁₇, it is also worth noting that some Western diets are excellent: Iceland, the Mediterranean₁₈ and Scandinavia do very well in Europe, and Japan and South Korea do well elsewhere.

3.3. The Rise of Processed Foods

#USA

Dr Richard Wrangham, of Harvard University USA, first explains a little on cooking:

“[He says] 'Cooking [...] breaks starch molecules into more digestible fragments. It 'denatures' protein molecules, so that their amino-acid chains unfold and digestive enzymes can attack them more easily. And heat physically softens food. That makes it easier to digest, so even though the stuff is no more calorific, the body uses fewer calories dealing with it. [...] Cooking increases the share of food digested in the stomach and small intestine [...] from 50% to 95%.'

Dr Wrangham suspects the main cause of the modern epidemic of obesity is [the] rise of processed foods. These are softer, because it is what people prefer.”

The Economist (2009)₁₉

3.4. Child Obesity

#child_abuse #health #obesity #parenting #UK #USA

The greatest causes of poor health in children in the modern world are obesity, poor diet and lack of exercise_20,21,22. In 1999, the British Medical Journal "found an alarming proportion of preschool children to be overweight and even obese. [... By] age five, 18.7 percent were deemed overweight and 7.2 percent obese" and in the USA between 16 to 33% of 5 year olds are obese, a problem which has got twice as bad since 1980₂₁. A decade later, in 2012, the National Child Measurement Programme (UK) reported that the 5-year-olds figure was now 22% overweight and that over 33% of 11-year-olds were overweight or obese₂₂. The World Health Organisation states that the global numbers of those between 0 to 5 who are overweight increased by 33% between 1990 and 2013 and "without intervention, obese infants and young children will likely continue to be obese during childhood, adolescence and adulthood"₂₃. This isn't just individual parents and families - it is the failure of entire cultures. The problems are largely preventable₂₃, and the solutions are not complicated: a healthy, balanced diet and regular physical activity₂₄. The effects of childhood obesity include persistent long-term ill health, diabetes, heart disease, social stigmatisation which can start from a very early age, and psychological and habitual problems which can make lifestyle recovery very difficult in adulthood.

For more, see:

• "Childhood Obesity is Nearly Always Caused by Poor Parental Choices, Not Genetics" by Vexen Crabtree (2017).

4. Corporate Abuse of Customers

4.1. Abusing News Outlets With Fake Science and Fake Lobby Groups

#alcohol #democracy #democracy_challenges #environmentalism #fake_lobbies #food #health #mass_media #obesity #smoking

Several industries have been caught out producing fake and heavily biased science reports, orchestrating so-called "grass-roots" movements that cast doubt on science, producing endless reams of misleading public-relations material and manipulating news outlets with fake think-tanks. They have well-practised and efficient methods for influencing the news and swaying public opinion, and the money and effort that goes into these channels of deception are great. They produce "manufactured doubt" using scientific-sounding organisations as fronts, to try and discredit the mountains of evidence that stand against them. They are expert at getting their content on to broadcast media. In every success they maintain their own profits, but cause long-term harm.

The worst culprits in spreading mass-lies in this way are: (1) the tobacco and smoke industry_25,26,27, (2) the fast-food and junk food industries₂₈, (3) those who sell most nutritional supplements₁₁ and (4) the petrol and oil industries_25,29,30,31.The worst outlets for promulgating rubbish without checking sources are the sensationalist, downmarket and popularist news bodies.

You cannot trust much of the news when it comes to issues that have commercial impact, not even when it comes to the reporting of scientific studies on nutrition and food. Some of these studies were funded and managed by scientists supplied by the food industry itself!

“The food industry in Europe recently has been funding groups to protect its position against public and government alarm over obesity, junk food, misleading food labelling, diabetes and the advertising of fatty foods to children. British newspapers routinely carry reports and quotes on diet from the Social Issues Research Center, the British Nutrition Foundation and the International Life Sciences Foundations and routinely fail to point out that all three have received significant funding variously from Cadbury Schweppes, Nestlé, Kelloggs, the Dairy Council, Kraft and the Sugar Bureau. In 2003, Fleet Street reported the comments of a nutritionist called Dr Susan Jebb who attacked the Atkins Diet as 'a massive health risk', without explaining that her research into the low-carbohydrate diet had been funded the Flour Advisory Bureau. This kind of research may or may not be accurate; but it is the hidden hand of PR which is paying for it to happen and promoting it into the news.”

"Flat Earth News" by Nick Davies (2008)₂₈

For more, see:

• "Abusing News Outlets With Fake Science and Fake Lobby Groups" by Vexen Crabtree (2017).

4.2. Manipulating Clothes Sizes to Hide Growth

#UK #USA

Clothing companies are partially responsible for hiding the decrease in health; they have been steadily altering the measurements of women's clothes so that bigger and bigger women fit into the same size-rating as before. In the UK since 1975, a "size 14" pair of trousers has grown by 10cm. In 1975 terms, the same pair of trousers should be a size 18; the same trend has been occurring in the USA.

“Fashion firms seem to think that women are more likely to spend if they can happily squeeze into a smaller label size. But when three out of four American adults and three out of five Britons are overweight, the danger is that size inflation reduces women's incentive to eat less [... and] encourages overweight people to dismiss health risks and reduces the incentive to diet. [...] Most women would be shocked to know that they have gone up two whole dress sizes. Such inflation mainly affects women's clothing, since most men's trousers are sized in inches rather than arbitrary units. But men are not immune. Studies in America and Britain have found that some brands of men's trousers labelled waist 36 inches, say, are in fact up to five inches bigger.”

The Economist (2012)₃₂

4.3. Selling Fad Diets

#bad_science #diet #diets #fads #food #health #pseudoscience

Diet has an impact on health and affects the risk of disease₃₃. Over the last few decades biochemical and other sciences, from neural to gastric, have made impressive contributions to our knowledge₃₄. Never before have scientists known so much about food and nutrition. Unfortunately much of this knowledge is not reported by the popular press and news outlets because it is technical, mundane and statistical in nature. The average consumer mostly hears only the sensational claims of pseudoscientific sham researchers and promoters, which are often paid for and orchestrated by the rich food industry itself. The two most misleading sources of information are reports based on single-studies and TV adverts. Most people are ill-informed about diet and health as a result of this.

Supplement and vitamin pills do not work_35,36,37 outside of a strictly medical context. In total, all studies by 2008 had included 230,000 people, with the results being that vitamin pills in general don't have a health benefit and increase risks₃₇, and risk of earlier death₃₆. The boring truth is that only well-rounded diets are truly effective at long-term health sustenance and weight management with only the very basic advice being effective: cut down on fats and salts, sugary and fizzy drinks, eat plenty of wholegrain food, fruit and vegetables and drink ordinary water._38,39

There have been a long series of temporarily popular fad diets which limit food intake to a specific range of items, sometimes cutting out essential fats and proteins completely. They emphasize rapid short-term change at the expense of medium and long-term issues. Of the independent scientific studies on fad diets, supplements, mega-vitamins and similar highly-hyped abnormal sources of nutrition, all have found them to be useless and sometimes actually harmful. The National Health Service (UK) warns that "many fad diets are based on dodgy science or no research at all, prescribing eating practices that are unhealthy and can make you ill"₃₈.

Fads rely on testimonials and public-relations tricks to make themselves sound effective and claims are often based on (easily biased) single-studies rather than on independently verified and duplicated scientific trials. The mass media love reporting on these single-studies as their claims are often outlandish and celebrity endorsements boost a fad diet from time to time. Fad diets distract people from sensible eating habits. Rather than accept enthusiastic praise from soap stars, models and newspaper advertisements, it is doctors and the medical profession that we should trust to keep us informed. Let's stop falling for these tricks!

For more, see:

• "Fad Diets and Pseudoscience: Let's Stop Falling for These Tricks" by Vexen Crabtree (2014).

Fad diets and extreme diets are very rarely successful - sensible and mild diets are best and most likely to lead to long-term weight loss₄₀. Most of them are dangerous. A steady reduction in body mass of 1 or 1.5 kg per week is more likely to result in permanent weight loss₄.

5. The Advantages of Keeping Fit

#fitness #health #public_health #self_development

Keeping fit can "reduce your risk of developing long-term disease, increase your life expectancy, and improve your quality of life in later years"₃₃. It reduces the risk of coronary heart disease in particular and "can also help to lower your blood pressure, improve your cholesterol level, control your weight and reduce your risk of diabetes. Physical activity is also a good way of relieving stress"₄₁. Keeping fit makes pregnancy easier, and complications less likely₄₂. Exercise also aids mental health_33,43,44. Research is showing that physical exercise allows the brain to retain its effectiveness longer into old age_43,45 and even when starting after a life of sloth, exercise can help rescue the brain from mental decline, stimulating the growth of new neurones₄₆. A healthy lifestyle, including physical fitness and eating sensibly, "can significantly reduce a person's risk of developing dementia"₄₇.

Lack of physical fitness is not just to the individual's detriment, but has a negative impact on national economic efficiency and causes increases in national health costs. A lot of very expensive long-term therapies can be avoided simply by keeping fit in life. Exercise can be done for free in the home, with no equipment at all. Also with access to the Internet, it is easy to find many session videos to provide instruction. Finally, the Family Doctor Home Advisor gives some guidance: "Start by setting realistic goals. If you are not fit, begin exercising slowly and build up gradually"₃₃.₄₈

For more, see:

• "The Advantages of Keeping Physically Fit - Good For You, Good For Your Country" by Vexen Crabtree (2017).