Take a Little Pill
It’s the American Way
Local news is the wallpaper of my morning. It is reliably irritating, informative and depressing, but mostly irritating. I grit my teeth and endure the chirping of the hyper-cheery talking heads as I wait for the Weather and Sports reports.
This morning was unique because a Lifestyle segment reporter cut through the white noise with a solid report on the Standard American Diet (SAD).
What got my attention was matter-of-fact reporting backed by numbers and statistics regarding American dietary choices and trends. Three citations from the report and a follow-up commercial were of particular interest:
Citation 1- 67% of the Standard American Diet consists of processed food.
Citation 2- 42% of American adults now meet the criteria for obesity.
Citation 3- 19.2% of American children are obese
The segment moved on to a zoom interview of a perky senior citizen residing in the Blue Zone community of Loma Linda, California. She was provided a full 60 seconds to share about how good nutrition, physical fitness and spirituality are not just a thing, they are a lifestyle. The reporter’s segment wrapped with the usual exhortations to clean up our diets and increase our physical activity for optimum health.
I’m not sure how much of that resonated with the average viewers as they snarfed down their frosted pop tarts on the way out the door, striving to beat the crowd to Starbucks before work.
Guess what the first commercial coming out of the American Obesity-SAD Lifestyle segment was?
If you guessed Ozempic, you are correct. Product Placement at its finest. As always, the commercial message was delivered over the the earworm soundtrack update of the song “Magic”, with David Paton crooning “Oh, Oh, Oh, Ozempic!”.
(Authors Note: I looked at the CNN website a little bit ago as I was editing this article. Look what I found.
FDA says it’s seized ‘thousands of units’ of counterfeit Ozempic.)
Uh, Uh Oh, Ozempic………………………
Food
The Standard American Diet is all about processed food. We spend $975 billion annually on food in these United States, nearly 70% of which is processed or ultra processed. Over $300 billion of this yearly spend is for snacks and confectionary.
Eating all that processed food is thirsty work. We spend another $328 billion on soft drinks and $197 billion on alcoholic beverages to wash down all those shelf-stable, nutrition-free food selections.
What do we get in return for the the multiple billions of dollars we bestow upon Big Food and Beverage each year? Irritating Commercials, Obesity, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Disease, Hypertension, Metabolic Syndrome, Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, random cancers, inflammatory conditions and chronic gastrointestinal disorders.
For a nation of people who talk a big game about freedom of choice, it seems to me that our decision-making skills are suspect when it comes to food and nutrition.
It could be said that Big Food and Beverage special interests are herding us along like docile sheep, shearing us of our health, well-being and money on our way to the Big Pharma corral.
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Drugs
After our friends at Big Food and Beverage have taken a chunk of our income while hammering our health into submission, a few more passengers jump on the junk food gravy train, ready and willing to make us feel better- for a price.
- The Diet and Weight Loss industry will realize revenue of $3.8 billion this year by selling us books describing the Diet-du-Jour and the newest in magic elixirs.
- Physician and clinical services revenue is nearing $900 billion in 2023
- Big Pharma revenue in the U.S. will weigh in at $405 billion on the prescription drug side and add another $42 billion in over-the-counter drug sales during 2023.
The majority of drug prescriptions in the U.S. are linked in some regard to the health challenges associated with poor diet and nutrition choices.
Statins for treatment of high cholesterol are the top prescription drugs in the U.S., with sales of $4.55 billion in 2023. Hmmmmm. Seems like cholesterol levels are closely linked to diet…….
Eat too many burgers and fries? Grab your Lipitor. Blood pressure a little twitchy from those chemical cheese covered nachos you ate while binge watching Dancing With The Stars? Get some Zestril or Lopressor. Got a little tummy ache from eating that late night pizza? Reach for your Prilosec. Liver getting a little pudgy from all the overt and covert sugar in your processed food and beverages? Pioglitazone is made just for you.
Got a touch of the Diabetes and your reflection doesn’t completely fit in the full length mirror anymore?
Say the magic words: Ozempic, Wegovy or Mounjaro. Even with short supply due to manufacturing shortfalls this year, these three semaglutides, despite product shortages, have racked up sales of $20 billion in 2023.
Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro are pricey, weighing in at a list price of ~$1000.00 for a month’s supply. If you are lucky enough (?!) to qualify for a prescription for any of these products to treat diabetes, you may have some coverage from your health insurance. Few, if any, insurance plans currently provide coverage for weight loss applications.
Even with limited eligibility and availability, insurance claim volume for semaglutide products is driving a projected 5%+ health insurance rate increase in the U.S. for 2024.
Big Pharma is laser-focused on monetizing our bad behavior as we seek that Little Pill that will make it all better. Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro will be joined in the marketplace by over a dozen new knockoff products in the near future.
Pharmaceutical Industry lobbyists and special interests are in the process of pushing Medicare, Medicaid and other insurers to expand coverage to include the weight loss application of semaglutide products. Some industry experts estimate that broader coverage by major insurers, combined with adequate supply, could result in as much as a 400-fold increase in sales revenues of semaglutides by 2030.
Captain Obvious says:
- We pay Food and Beverage special interests billions of dollars to make us sick.
- We spend billions more dollars for big Pharma to help us feel better so we can continue making bad choices.
- Eating more fresh food and walking around the block every once in a while would keep us healthier and jolt the stock market. Could be fun!
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Points to Ponder
- Processed food comprises 67% of Food Industry sales
- Processed food is 54% more profitable than its fresh food analogs
- Seven of the top ten prescriptions written in 2023 are linked to health issues stemming from our dietary habits.
- Pharma sales growth is projected at 7% per year from 2024–2030 (do the math on that one; a lot of it is your money), driven by the reinvigorated weight loss segment.
- There is concern, as well as a number of lawsuits, regarding alleged adverse health outcomes stemming from use of semaglutide for weight loss and diabetes management. There are a number of weight loss products that have departed the market in the last 50 years because of unacceptable side effects or adverse outcomes. Who remembers Fen-Phen?
- Nearly every medication has potential for side effects or adverse health impacts. This risk is magnified when multiple prescriptions are stacked, creating the possibility of adverse interaction with one another in addition to individual side effects.
- It’s easier (and more profitable) for manufacturers and service providers to monetize health problems. Preventive care spending by insurance companies and the Food/Beverage industries is inconsequential. There is more money and profit in fixing rather than preventing health issues.
- How is your retirement portfolio performing? What impact will your health have on discretionary retirement spending? What impact is there today? Check your portfolio. Are you invested with the companies that are making you sick?
- Next time you see a “scientific” review extolling the virtues or evils regarding a drug or supplement, invest a little Google search time to check the credentials of the authors and institutions. A “sugar is good, especially when blended with chocolate” pseudo-scientific piece I read recently was written by the highly credentialed Doctor Blah Blah who is on staff at (insert major university teaching hospital here). It took just 3 clicks of the Google to find that ole Doc Blah Blah is also a paid consultant for Mars, Inc., the proud manufacturer and seller of Snickers, M&Ms and Mars bars. The good Doctor certainly justified his consulting paycheck with that article. I prefer my reporting from a little less biased sources…….
The Food, Beverage and Pharma industries are sensitive in real time to behavioral changes in their customers and take prompt action designed to preserve/enhance market share.
The following article excerpts are examples of corporate sensitivity and actions regarding bottom-line-threatening customer behaviors, in this case acid reducers. Similar conversations and activities occur within all segments of the Food, Beverage and Pharma industries on a daily basis.
The analysis goes on to talk about manufacturer development of new, candy-like products that, among other benefits, will be more attractive to our children, “thereby improving their revenue generation”.
I am at once resentful and heartened by the contents of this article.
I resent being a health-challenged, medicated sheep who is making bad health choices and passing these traits and bad behaviors on to my children.
I am heartened by the fact that there are enough sheep escaping the herd that our mercenary shepherds are noticing.
Big Food, Big Beverage and Big Pharma are not cheerleaders for change. They are really happy with our behaviors and their bottom lines.
Are your choices adding value to your health and well being and that of your children and grandchildren?
I think I’m going to cut back on the hay, eat more fresh grass and stay away from the vet………
