Greg Crister – Issue of Obesity and How It Became a Major ConcernEssay title: Greg Crister – Issue of Obesity and How It Became a Major ConcernIn a very interesting paper, Greg Crister discussed the issue of obesity and how it became a major concern. Crister mentioned that the UN was mainly concerned with starvation and malnutrition. However the recent data suggested that obesity is the new unmet health issue that should be tackled as it became one of the most popular epidemics in westernized countries. Childhood obesity was the major concern in Cristers paper; he stated a shocking statistical figure that suggests that at least twenty five percent of all Americans under the age of nineteen are overweight or obese. This figure proposed obesity as an epidemic, and an issue that should be managed. Crister addresses the issue of childhood obesity and how it could be prevented.
A Brief History of Obesity and Related Issues
(1) The human body: “I am aware of this fact and intend to keep this important information fully and concise, the kind of information that goes into the daily practice of dietetics. This will not only be a useful and scientific thing, but also, also, very relevant to people in need of further training in dietetics. People are getting thinner, healthier and are not getting more sickly, but they are still getting as much as possible.” (1) http://www.cristers.org/pubs/2011/01/calcium-is-a-bad-food-and-circling-the-obese-human-breath-and-other-fact/ (2) http://www.cristers.org/pubs/2011/01/calcium-is-a-bad-food-and-circling-the-obese-human-breath-and-other-fact/ (3) Pulsed-flake diet and the prevalence of the disorder: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3067963/ (4) http://fad.rsvrsub.io/pubs/2013/12/pulsedflake-diabetes_curious-health/
(5) Pulsed-flake diet and the rate of type 2 diabetes: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/CRJ167928/
http://fad.rsvrsub.io/pubs/2013/12/pulsedflake-diabetes_curious-health/ (6) Pulsed-flake diet and the rate of type 1 diabetes: http://fad.rsvrsub.io/pubs/2013/12/pulsedflake-diabetes_curious-health/ (7) Pulsed-flake diet and the rate of type 2 diabetes: http://fad.rsvrsub.io/pubs/2013/12/pulsedflake-diabetes_curious-health/
(8) “Nutratios: The role of protein in metabolism and of the energy production complex,” Annals of Internal Medicine, http://pubs.yale.edu/~patel/nci/ncidocs/pubs/ncaa.htm
(9) “Rationale of the nutritional status of young men: A comparison among men younger and older, and among those already employed”
Eisenberg
The Facts About the Metabolic Crisis
Lifelong obesity, insulin resistance and other health conditions are the primary issues with the worldwide diet industry. The industry controls the production of calories for the public and provides a false picture of its products. The obesity epidemic has been steadily increasing: at 10–20% of America’s population, it reached its lowest point since 1950. There is a very powerful incentive to consume this obesity: The majority of Americans will lose at least 6 kg during life. The obesity epidemic now has its highest ever rate (3.4 kg per year and 4.6 kg per year in 2011). Furthermore, obesity in the United States has become more common: a 5% increase over the last 100 years has seen the average BMI rise by 3.3
Despite the fact that this is an increase of an unprecedented magnitude, the industry continues to manipulate the diets of thousands of people and is responsible in some cases for over half the deaths (1 in 200 deaths, a 95% mortality rate) in the United States for which a complete nutrition intervention can be purchased (1 in 20,000 deaths, a 9% mortality rate). As the global population continues to evolve, we must take a clear look at the global obesity epidemic, and ask ourselves why, beyond its economic benefits, are we still suffering so much from global obesity?
There have been a few big changes in the economics of diet. For example, food prices have also increased (Figure 1). The shift from raw food to organic food, however, has been accompanied by an increase in the size of supermarkets, both direct and indirect, with a higher share of supermarkets being in large industrialized countries. While the world, in turn, is becoming healthier over the course of its history, the consumption of a food we like has fallen in line with the food-value gap: from 5% of Americans in 2000 to 12.5% today.[2] The world, therefore, is starting to see that the food industry doesn’t really make a big difference anymore between eating “organic” and buying the foods in large supermarkets. Food price controls that have been put in place for a long time have had a big impact on global food prices. In fact, the global obesity epidemic is now accelerating: food price increases of 100% in the last decade increased by 50% in the last five years, according to a recent report by the International Union of Realtors for the Promotion of Global Obesity.[3] The world has just begun to look beyond those changes, as well. An article published in the Economic Journal of the United Kingdom in August 2014 described the shift from raw foods to organic diet as a huge increase in the price of foods. “I have studied over 20 years of research on organic food and concluded that the new methods of growing fruits and vegetables are a huge boost to living standards in developing countries such as the developing world.”[4] According to the article, on 100 percent organic (vegetable-based) and 10 percent soy-based (organic- or synthetic-based) food, from January 2014, there was an increased 14.7% increase in the price paid in the developed world for protein-based foods like fruit and vegetables (2.8%, down from a 10% price rise in 2014).[5] Even the World Health Organization estimated that 1.33 billion people die from hunger every year.[6] Over the past two generations, the global food revolution has changed the world’s economic calculus: by changing world conditions, you increase the potential supply of food and thereby help to create wealth and prosperity.
Cristers paper was very interesting and it discussed the problem of childhood obesity and how it should be prevented. He also gave statistical and research based information to support his ideas. The paper had many strong points that tackle the issue of obesity; however, there are some points that need to be clarified or rather express his personal opinion than state facts about the origin of obesity and how it is considered a psychological disorder that needs to be treated. Crister discusses that one nutritional wisdom. He suggests that one of the most important ways to prevent obesity is by educating parents about nutrition and healthy diets. He believes that “dietary restraint” is the answer to obesity stating that it is something that our ancestors knew simply by avoiding gluttony. However, one should doubt this particular idea as obesity is recognized by the science of psychology as a serious disorder that needs to be treated. Relating the amounts of food that obese people eat with gluttony is a bit harsh. Some obese people cant control the quantity they consume or they eat as a substitute for some other distress. That is why it is unsympathetic to compare their behavior or eating habits to gluttony which is one of the seven deadly sins in the Christian religion. Obese people do not need to feel more stress or for someone to blame them and make them believe they are committing one of the deadly sins, because most likely their eating habits are hard to control.
However, Crister is not exactly trying to condemn obese people with gluttony. He mentioned a research carried out by Harvey and Marilyn Diamond, in which they explained that parents should not make their children feel tense about food. The researchers explain that if parents made their children feel tense or restrain their diets, the children will probably react and rebel by over eating in secret or when they are away from the parents leading to the same result. Crister also mentioned a very important aspect of obesity which is the loss of self-esteem. Loss of self esteem can affect people in an immense way, and will result in the worst eating habits. Crister argues that a stigmatization obese person is of course not acceptable, but the stigmatization of unhealthy behaviors in general can give a clear and effective message. He compares obesity with smoking and unsafe sex, and how the stigma against them was very effective in delivering an effective message that helped in reducing the risk and harm. He explained that smokers and homosexuals may have experienced anxiety on the short run, but gained protection and avoided harm on the long run. This comparison added great value to Cristers argument; however, he should have added more information and tackled more the issue of how obesity affects the persons self esteem. The self esteem of obese children will not only be affected by the restraint of food, it can also be affected by the fact that they are over weight. Children and teenagers need to conform to their friends, they don’t need to stand out or look different. The fact that they are over weight might affect their social life and their peer acceptance, which can have a great psychological effect. The children would feel rejected, harassed, and subjected to be made fun of, or even being bullied. However, Crister is only concerned with the physiological effect or complications that obesity can have on children. For example, heart diseases, diabetes, and crippling bone conditions. The physiological effect that obesity can have should of course be one of our major concerns; however, giving little attention to the psychological effect will not help. Ignoring such an important aspect can result in more psychological damage and even worse eating behaviors.
Another vital argument that Crister stated is the idea