Everyone should have a right for a quality life and if the government is in control of what we are eating, the idea of democracy can be questioned. American obesity rates have increased tremendously throughout the years. “Democracy is a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance.” Today, the typical American diet is about 50 percent carbohydrate, 15 percent protein, and 35 percent fat. Our bodies are our gardens – our wills are our gardeners.
There have been many organizations and campaigns set up, such as Michelle Obama’s, “Let’s Move” campaign. Although they are making a difference for some people, they are only helping a small-targeted group. Creating and maintaining a healthy lifestyle should be a message given to everyone. If everyone is aware of the problem before it starts, there will be an easy solution.
A recent article, written by Dr. Ron McCoy, explains the different types of fat in the human body. The article was written on a website geared towards the health and wellbeing of people. Dr. McCoy explains, “The fat we can see on overweight people is subcutaneous fat. Visceral fat is metabolized by the liver, which transforms it into cholesterol. Cholesterol circulates in the blood and can collect in your arteries, creating heart disease and high blood pressure." Although visceral fat is the less obvious type of fat, it is the more harmful of the two. A person may look thin and healthy on the outside but if the inside doesn’t match they could be in more danger than the person who is overweight. Health campaigns are only targeting those with the subcutaneous fat, when in reality those who don’t look it may be at risk.
Government interference is steering us in the wrong direction—toward sweetened and processed foods, so they can benefit from revenue rather than our health. To improve the “Standard American Diet,” the first thing government can do is get out of the way. First Lady, Michelle Obama has developed a program to solve the problem of childhood obesity called “Let’s Move”. If we don't solve this problem, one third of all children born in 2000 or later will suffer from diabetes at some point in their lives. Many others will face chronic obesity-related health problems like heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, and asthma.” The program disregards all other children, only focusing on a small part of the problem. These health problems can happen to children who are not obese. Two children can have the exact same diet but look different on the outside. That doesn’t mean the children who aren’t obese are not in danger. Programs such as Let’s Move should incorporate everyone because the more educated people are the faster a problem can be eliminated. The power of education can also prevent the problem from increasing, therefore diminishing it before it even starts.
“Just because you’re not sick doesn’t mean you’re healthy”. When asked, American citizens might say that weight is the only way to judge the health of a person. This is due to American government’s control on our health. We are fed cheap, good tasting food that in the end makes us unnourished. We’re not really aware of this because it is literally all over America, and because of the price aspect. The rule of thumb should be to look at the nutrition facts and if you can’t pronounce it, don’t eat it. In the documentary, Hungry for Change, they talk about how the government scientifically works in labs to create a drug (sugar or MSG) to make foods taste good and to chemically rearrange your brain to want it more. This is how they make money. It’s terrifying and disgusting.
“The government is actually concerned about a “public failure,” not a market failure, when it comes to dietary choices. The public is “failing” the government because the public is not doing what the government expects and wants people to do.” When the FDA analyzed the Obamacare menu labeling rule, it acknowledged the competitiveness of the restaurant industry, and consumer demand for nutrition information. This is a step in the right direction to make people aware of calories, but it makes no sense to put something in front of someone’s eyes to be able to ‘say it’s there’, but not educate them about it. When people calorie count, they don’t understand that you need fats, proteins, fruits, vegetables, and even carbs. You can’t just competly cut these things out, that’s why diets don’t work.
Americans are so caught up in this ‘diet’ culture to ‘look’ a certain way. They have it all wrong. They need to start realizing that it is not a diet it is a lifestyle change. It shouldn’t last two months, it should last for the rest of your life. If you want to look good, you must start by treating your body properly from the inside out. You can do this by really researching the foods you are going to put into your body, that don’t have chemicals from the government in them.
Health & Democracy from Marlyn Mooney on Vimeo.