Fat and proud, and dumb?

Sam Roy

Published in

smartmindfitbody

4 min readMay 28, 2019

Junk food filled with salt and sugar transform the world into nations of fat and obese people.

What’s happening?

Lifestyle, incomes and a consumption vices are changing the world and killing thousands each year.

There are more overweight people because of two trends over the last decades:

an increased intake of energy-dense foods that are high in fat; and
an increase in physical inactivity due to the increasingly sedentary nature of many forms of work, changing modes of transportation, and increasing urbanization.

Changes in dietary and physical activity patterns are often the result of environmental and societal changes associated with development and lack of supportive policies in sectors such as health, agriculture, transport, urban planning, environment, food processing, distribution, marketing, and education.

That’s the situation in a nutshell.

Are you proud uou can die?

People have an inherent value, no matter their weight, and no one should ever be mocked, abused, or excluded on the basis of how they look.

That being said. It’s NOT OK to be fat.

It’s fine to positively promote empowering women or men of non-model or non-athlete like proportions to feel good about themselves. BUT ignoring the indisputable truths regarding human health is dangerously irresponsible.

That denial comes from addiction unfortunately, and it normalizes obesity.

We know now that tobacco smoking causes premature death. So what makes being fat or obese different? Don’t be a victim to beauty ideals in advertising and branding.

For it is not just food that can seize us in the claws of addiction, but also the seductive ideologies that offer license to consume it with self-destructive abandon.

Not just your body, but your brain…

A very little know fact, because it just recently has been studied, is the effects of being overweight and obese, on the brain.

After recent studies, scientists now believe that obesity in the stomach area could even have associations with a smaller brain size.

Other research showed that the brain’s prefrontal cortex, what we use for complex thinking, planning, and self-control , is less active in people who tend to overeat, which may lead to obesity and weight gain.

These are real psycho-medical concerns that are still poorly understood with few effective medical interventions. More work has been done since we found out that obesity put people also at a higher risk of cognitive decline and dementia among people with obesity.

and it costs money…

Unhealthy fat and obese adults are more likely to develop serious illnesses, such as coronary heart disease, diabetes, and hypertension. As a result, that trend also affects a nation’s health care system and budget, short and simple.

and it is about money…

The food industry makes money when you eat; it’s a business model.

What they are NOT doing is:

reducing the fat, sugar and salt content of processed foods;
ensuring that healthy and nutritious choices are available and affordable to all consumers;
restricting marketing of foods high in sugars, salt and fats, especially those foods aimed at children and teenagers; and
ensuring the availability of healthy food choices and supporting regular physical activity practice.

Think about it: your local fast food now offers salad? Don’t depend on them, they are hypocritical.

It is YOUR responsibility to eat well!

How to have a Fit Body and a Smart Mind?

The WHO (World Health Organization) recommends a few simple things, here’s a summary:

limit energy intake from total fats and sugars;
increase consumption of fruit and vegetables, as well as legumes, whole grains and nuts; and
engage in regular physical activity (60 minutes a day for children and 150 minutes spread through the week for adults).