“Soda is the cigarettes of the 21st century.” -Laurie David, executive producer of Fed Up.
The American Food Paradox
Due to increasing social media popularity, Americans are becoming more obsessed than ever with their looks and the desire to conform to current Western ideals of beauty. With a continually growing internet, there is no shortage of information on how to maintain a healthy lifestyle. However, according to the Journal of American Medicine (JAMA), over one-third of American adults are considered obese, and the numbers are rising. So why, with today’s craze of being healthy, are Americans still becoming increasingly unhealthy? One of the main perpetrators behind this is the American food industry. The United States’ insufficient regulation on food production and policies also heavily influences the food industry’s ability to get away with serving unhealthy products. Although it is common knowledge that fast food is unhealthy, the fast food industry in the United States is booming. Americans continue to consume these types of products because they are cheap, and like nicotine and cigarettes, sugar and processed food are highly addictive. Food companies are aware that sugar is highly addictive, and have therefore found ways to sneak sugar into their products. Health related problems linked to improper nutrition and obesity have cost the public health system billions of dollars. It is time that American citizens take a stand against food companies and force the American government to reevaluate agricultural policies, and enforce stricter laws for labeling and advertising food.
Why is Nutrition so important?
Many people are unaware of the effects an unhealthy diet can have on ones body except that certain foods might make ones waistline bigger. However, the consequences of poor nutrition far exceed the obvious effects unhealthy eating can have on one’s physical appearance. Countless studies have shown that a diet high in processed foods and sugar can have negative effects on one’s mental health (Gómez-Pinilla). Poor diet can negatively affect the brains ability to function properly as “diets that are high in saturated fat are becoming notorious for reducing molecular substrates that support cognitive processing” (Norman). Excess amounts of sugar in one’s diet can also affect one’s mood. For example, a study conducted in Austrailia found a correlation between diet quality and depression, even after eliminating confounding factors like socioeconomic standing and family (Jacka et. al).
Poor nutrition can also cause internal damage to ones health. It is no suprise that poor nutrition can lead to obesity. Currently, obesity is one of the leading causes of heath related problems in the US including diabetes, metabolic syndrome, heartburn, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and sometimes cancer (Journal of American Medicine). Many of these conditions are considered preventable diseases due to its high correlation with improper nutrition and less active lifestyles. Although obesity is a major indicator of poor health, many non-obese Americans are suffering from more metabolic problems than in previous decades as well. The rise in people diagnosed with diabetes is just one instance of this. According to the National Health Interview Survey, diabetes has risen from 1.5 million diagnosed patients in 1958 to about 20 million diagnosed patients in 2012 (NHIS). Despite the view that many people have that diet only affects ones physical appearance, improper diet can cause a lot of internal damage.
The Lure of Fast Food
Addiction
Recent research has found that on average Americans consume five times the daily recommended allowance of sugar (Soechtig, Fed Up). One reason Americans often over consume sugary products is due to the addictive properties found in sugar. In fact recent research has found that sugar can have similar effects on peoples brains as cocaine (Avena). For example, like cocaine, sugar triggers the release of dopamine, which produces short bursts of happiness. Studies on rats have also shown that after the rats were no longer given sugar after a month of daily sugar consumption, they showed similar signs of withdrawal that cocaine addicts experience. This included chattering of the teeth and anxiety prompted by low levels of dopamine (Ahmed, Guillem, and Vandaele). This hints at the reason Americans have had a hard time “quitting” junk food.
False Advertising
Although there is an abundance of information on the internet about healthy eating, many people have a hard time distinguishing between healthy and unhealthy food, or what makes food nutritious. A recent health survey found that over half of Americans believed that “it’s easier to do their taxes than to figure out how to eat healthfully” (Psychology Today). This comes to no surprise, as even food that is advertised as “healthy” like yogurt and whole wheat bread is often loaded with added sugar. As mentioned in Fed Up, many food companies responded to the low-fat craze in the late 1980s by making an array of different fat free and low calorie products. However, if a company takes away fats and calories, the products start to taste bland; therefore, food companies began replacing fat by adding more sugar. “Now more than 600,000 items sold in grocery stores come with added sugar.” (Soechtig, Fed Up) The fact that low-fat is asssociated with nutritious is just one of many ways that the food industry is able to influence peoples dieatary choices. For this reason, it does not seem fair to say that people are deliberately choosing to eat unhealthy, but rather through clever advertising and misleading labeling of food products, companies are more able to deceive consumers into thinking their products are healthier than they actually are. Furthermore, unlike fat and sodium, sugar does not have the daily value percentage next to it on almost any labels (Soechtig, Fed Up). Recent data has also found that “the dollars spent on advertising by private industry far outweigh the dollar spent on public service nutrition information” (Nestle and Wilson). Clearly companies are more invested in making products that sell than making products that are nutritional. Just like the government made a ban on the advertisements of cigarettes in certain media outlets, the way food products are advertised in the media and distributed to people should be reconsidered by the government.
The role the Government plays in Americans dietary choices
There are many direct and indirect factors that contribute to the average American diet, including the significant role the government plays in creating policies regarding food and agriculture. The funds of government programs regarding food and the rules and regulations of food production and agriculture are dictated under the Farm Bill. Presently, many of the policies in the Farm Bill work in favor of farmers that grow commodity crops, like corn which is often used to make a cheap form of sugar known as high fructose corn syrup, as well as wheat and soybeans. These commodities are usually grown on a massive scale which allows for them to grow in abundance and lowers the cost of the food product at final consumption (Grandi and Franck). Lower prices of products and their availability gives individuals more incentive to buy them, especially if they are financially insecure. It also gives more incentive to farmers to grow more commodity crops, instead of things like fruits and vegetables which are harder to maintain, especially without government funding (Peet, Robbins and Watts). Additionally, government funds for school lunch programs were cut during the Bush Administration which has forced many schools to resort to making deals with fast-food franchises as they can offer lower prices. Regulations and policies also affect the nutritional makeup of food and the safety of the environment in which it is made. For example, companies that are more concerned with enhancing one’s food and making it nutritional may have higher costs of production, and thus have less money to spend on selling their products and ensuring their safety to consumers. These are just a few of the policies regulated under the Farm Bill that could benefit from changes to encourage healthier eating habits and the production of food to contain essential nutrients.
Some positive change
Recent changes to the Farm Bill under the Obama Administration are making positive strides towards making healthy food options more accessible. For example, provisions to certain policies are making it easier for farmers that grow fruits and vegetables to obtain crop insurance. Government funds are also beginning to give more financial support for farmers that grow organic food.
The American government should continue to make changes so that funds are being given to encourage and support healthy eating, as well as give farmers more motives to grow nutrient dense foods like vegetables. Although, maintaining these programs costs a lot of money, it seems better to be allocating funds to these types of programs to prevent people from getting sick and positively affect peoples well-being, rather than having to spend billions of dollars on health-related issues that could be prevented by proper nutrition.
The Bright Side of Nutrition
Although I mostly talked about the effects poor nutrition has on people, there is also a bright side to nutrition as well. Despite fast food maintiaing massive popularity, accroding to USA Today the number of farmer markets in the United States has also surged in the last decade due to the growing demand of locally grown food of consumers.
“The farmers market is a fantastic way to make healthy food fun. The riot of color, the bustle of people, and the gentle strumming of the guitar come together to create the feeling of a celebration. It’s also an easy way to shift the focus from processed foods to fresh, whole foods.” -Jennifer Lee, The Huffington Post.
Eating healthy has positive effects on peoples moods, which is made no more evident than at a Famers Market. From my experiences, the community and positive atmosphere at Farmers Markets is an easy way to have fun while eating nutritious food. It a great experience that everyone should check out!
