Why is America So Fat?

I normally cover “heavier” subjects surrounding the political realm, but this is an important one that’s near and dear to me.

America is fat. We’re the leading nation in obesity rates, with Mexico trailing hot on our heels huffing and puffing and taking short breaks to drink Mexican cola. This is NOT a cause for celebration.

As a former fat person, I’ve battled obesity my entire life and I did most of that battling in Turkey, so I know firsthand that obesity is a problem elsewhere also. What’s different is the sheer - for want of a better word - VOLUME of the problem here. Right now 1 in 3 adults and 1 in 4 children in the US are obese.

Now before I get started I want to make something clear for everyone who will undoubtedly be upset with me since this is a sensitive subject. The National Institutes of Health defines obesity as precisely - although not really accurately - as a Body Mass Index, or BMI, of 30 or higher. BMI is calculated by dividing a person’s height in meters by a person’s weight in kilograms or simply by Googling “BMI Calculator.”

It’s a simple yet super-old school method, so even though it’s an easy number to calculate it’s not necessarily the best method for evaluating actual obesity. For example: even though I’m shredded as hell, I hit a 28 on the BMI scale which makes me borderline obese and if you’ve seen my Instagram pics, you’ll know that I’m far from obese. PICS OR IT DIDN’T HAPPEN BROH.

But why do Americans have the highest obesity rating in the world? Because we’re the frickin’ best, that’s why. The best at eating more calories than we burn off that is. It’s so simple it hurts my brain sometimes. But there’s a little bit more nuance to it!

Americans eat out a lot - more than half of our food expenditure goes directly to restaurants and to-go meals. According to Bloomberg, for the first time ever in 2015, Americans spent more money eating away from home than on groceries. Of course, it’s not impossible to eat healthy when you dine out. But it IS unlikely - and not just because the unhealthy options are more appetizing, but because these days even a salad has as many calories as a fucking BURGER. For example, at Cheesecake Factory (Drake approved) a caesar salad with chicken has 1510 calories. That’s the equivalent of almost 3 Big Macs. This should come as no surprise when the average restaurant meal today is more than 4 times larger than in the 1950’s!

And the United States is not only a hungry nation, but also a very thirsty one. Specifically, thirsty for sugary beverages. According to Euromonitor, Americans are world leaders when it comes to per capita sales of soft drinks with Mexico following closely - which coincidentally happens to be the same as our comparative obesity rates.

Some articles on this topic point the pudgy finger of blame for the obesity epidemic at meat consumption. However, the evidence does not support this argument: According to the USDA, in terms of daily average caloric intake, meat, eggs and nuts consumption has remained pretty steady since the 70’s, especially when compared to the huge increase in American’s’ consumption of sugars, sweeteners, added fats and flour.

And one reason why our consumption is skewed this way is because of the way certain foods are priced. Vegetables and healthier food options simply cost more than their cheap refined sugary counterparts.

And then we have youth marketing campaigns getting kids hooked on sugar and shitty food substitutes at a young age with toys in kids meals and Cap’n Crunch starting directly at your child like Jared Fogel at a playground. And to make matters worse, the government frequently misses the mark on proper education and regulation when it comes to health - no matter how hard Michelle Obama tries. Like that time in 2011 when the FDA officially labeled pizza a vegetable due to it’s “tomato contents” and I will never forgive America for allowing that to happen are you fucking kidding me?!

Solutions to this obesity problem range from taxing junk food the same way we tax cigarettes to issuing health warnings on foods with high sugar content. But no one needs to WAIT for government action - you can get started on your own, and technology makes it easier than ever. You can start the path to a healthier life by simply counting calories using free apps like myfitnesspal and stop taking advice on what to eat from people like Capn’ Crunch and start listening to people like Michelle Obama instead.