Although originally published in 2010, in this episode of Fault Lines (Al Jazeera), Josh Rushing explores the world of cheap food for Americans living at the margins.
Here are some updated statistics from the CDC. [1]
- More than 1 in 3 (36.5%) of adult Americans are obese
- Metabolic syndrome (Heart Disease, Lipid Problems, Hypertension, Type 2 Diabetes, Dementia, Cancer, Polysystic Ovarian Syndrome, Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease) are now some of the leading causes of preventable death
And the problem is getting worse. With the United States leading the world in childhood obesity rates (around 40%), it’s estimated that 3/4 of Americans will be overweight or obese by 2020. [2] It’s been reported that the current generation of kids will be the first generation to not out live their parents.
As a side note, you would have needed to ride a stationary bike (at moderate intensity) for the entirety of that video, just to burn off 6 Chicken McNuggets (WITHOUT sauce, or soda, or fries, or ketchup, or desert). [3] [4]
Here’s another article on advertising in the food industry.
[1] https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html
[2] https://healthinformatics.uic.edu/resources/infographics/10-healthiest-states-in-america-infographic/
[3] https://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us/product/chicken-mcnuggets-1-piece.html
[4] http://livehealthy.chron.com/average-calories-used-riding-stationary-bike-30-minutes-4307.html
