Today's Infographic: USA eating itself into extinction

[baronWastelan]

From zerohedge.com:

A week ago we had the displeasure of reminding America that in 8 years three quarters of the population will be obese. We said that "many forget that a much more serious long term issue for the US (assuming anyone cares what happens in the long run) is a far more ominous secular shift in US population - namely the fact that everyone is getting fatter fast, aka America's "obesity epidemic." And according to a just released analysis by BNY ConvergEx' Nicholas Colas, things are about to get much worse, because as the OECD predicts, by 2020 75% of US the population will be obese. What this implies for the tens of trillions in underfunded healthcare "benefits" in the future is all too clear." Subsequently, The Atlantic decided to do a follow up on what it titled "The True Cost Of Unwalkable Streets" in which author Kain Benfield says: "Perhaps the single most alarming public health trend in the United States today is the dramatic rise in the number of people who are overweight and obese, bringing serious risks of heart disease, diabetes and other consequences leading to life impairment and premature death. This is bad enough as it is, but I contend that it is particularly unfortunate that we do not sufficiently recognize the extent to which these trends are caused by environmental factors, particularly the shape of our built environment."

Alas, resorting to the traditional American pastime of assigning meaningless blame when faced with a probem of epic proportions, instead of attempting to proactively resolve it, is about as expected as that of the four people around you, three will be, quite soon, morbidly fat. Because no matter who, why, when or where the obesity epidemic started, it won't end until the US welfare state is, pardon the pun, sucked dry (see "Welfare - the Great Delusion"). And if ordinary American citizens are shocked by how little Wall Streeters and politicians have changed their behvaiour, they would be speechless if only they looked in the mirror.

So while we don't have quite the suitable reflective device, here is a chart that should do the trick, coming from the same Atlantic piece. If this doesn't get one to rush out and scarf down the local (within 10 kcal or under walking distance) $0.99 McSomthing meal, nothing will.

Lastly, while the partisan bickering over whether Jeff Sessions is right or not in his estimate of a $17 trillion addition of Obamacare to future unfunded liabilities, goes on we wonder... Seriously? Because supposedly while $82 trillion in future unfunded liabilities is perfectly ok, $99 trillion is obviously a partisan hack to derail the great American plot to eat itself to death? Or something.

Instead of encouraging and enabling Americans to believe that any and every health-related issue they develop (of which the bulk originate from simply eating far too much, such as scarfing down on sugar, sugar and more sugar - which just happens to be the topic of tonight's 60 minutes), will be dealt with on someone else's dime, we have another suggestion: offer every American $100 for every pound they lose until they get to just below their ideal weight, and offer them a further $1000 each year to stay below that weight. Total cost: a tiny fraction of whatever Obamacare would cost, and the future benefits to one's credit card, to social healthcare outflows, and to society in general, would be unmeasurable.

[brando]

Fascinating. The "un-walkable streets" connection is cogently put - and the paying for every pound lost solution really does have merit. The hidden costs just in in medical handling: like larger hospital beds; strengthened trolleys; enlarged ambulances; more nurses and so on must surely outweigh (unintended pun) the simplicity of the dieting solution.
I too hope this can get past the party political stage and into mainstream thought.

[SlipBall]

It boils down to what people are eating, and government flawed recommendations of same. I weigh the same as I did in high school, but I have always eaten properly, lots of whole grain foods, vegetables, nuts etc...read this
http://www.sott.net/articles/show/24...-Heart-Disease

[Bewolf]

I am not really sure if you can solve a cultural problem with money, really. You would have to ask, first of all, why the problem came into being, especially compared to other developed countries (which by now are playing catch up with the US in this regard, France, the UK, Germany all show a similiar trend, though still lagging a couple years behind the US).

I think this has more to do with our general system, which in many cases forces people to go for the cheapest or the least time consuming products, which usually are fat and sugar rich.

Trying to cure symptoms instead of going for the root problem usually only delays the problem, or cuases different ones alltogether.

[chantaje]

while on a vast portion of the planet the mayority of people are starving , in other places people eat to death.
we live in a really sick world
ot off

[CWMV]

Don't forget the sedentary lifestyle.
If people would excercise just a little bit they would be in much better shape.

[Igo kyu]

Originally Posted by CWMV

If people would excercise just a little bit they would be in much better shape.

Healthier yes, but thinner? that might actually not be true (I am not a doctor, nor a nutritionist).

There is something going on with diets not working out.

It might be thyroid, it might be a lot of things, and medicine doesn't yet seem to know what.

Some people are blaming carbs, and some blame fats, but it does seem we just don't know what's happening with obesity.

It's all very well saying that all fat people who try to lose weight lie about how much they eat, but if they don't lie, then there is something pretty strange going on.

http://diabetesupdate.blogspot.co.uk...-term-low.html

That's by a diabetic for diabetics, but it describes the sort of diet wall that I have experienced myself (I wasn't diabetic the last time anybody checked, which was within a couple of years).

[baronWastelan]

it does seem we just don't know what's happening with obesity.

I can say what it is not: environment. I've seen thousands of Chinese and Vietnamese in N. America and haven't spotted an obese one yet. Also junk food was just as abundant in the 70's and 80's as it is now, so the main variable here seems to be level of physical activity.

[CWMV]

Well Ive seen plenty of them, so scratch that.
In my job I get to see the whole spectrum of economic classes and the one thing that is striking is how many more people in the lower classes are fatter than those that are better off.
Definitely seems to be a tie to economics here, probably because cheap food=crap.

[MadBlaster]

its about personal responsibility. if you choose to eat crap and sit on your azz all day, fine. don't expect me to pay for it. just as I don't want you to pay for mine. as far as cheap food = crap. i call b.s. on that. you can eat cheap and stay healthy if you choose to do it. actually, it is cheaper to eat healthy. for example, beans/legumes, make your own bread, block cheese, non-fat dry milk, occasional red meat, pasta, canned tomatoes, potatoes...etc. I call it the pioneer diet and you can do it for about $100 a month. today I ran a few miles. tomorrow i'll lift some weights. this is how i roll. it's disgusting what has happened to modern society. we are so weak and pathetic. everyone looking for a handout or an excuse. i've had many injuries and i'm not young by any means, but the human body can take a sheetload if you treat it right and manage your risks. healthwise, sitting on your butt is probably the most harmful things you could do to yourself. even just a brisk 10-15 minute walk each day can make a huge difference and it's free.