“Our brains are getting constantly hijacked.” This isn’t a line from the latest Sci-Fi-thriller about hidden plots or demonic creatures controlling society. It actually relates to a real, more pressing issue which makes it all the more frightening. This quote was spoken by Dr. David Kessler, who was the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from 1990 to 1997, where he worked tirelessly on enforcing tobacco regulations. Recently, Dr. Kessler has focused his attention on the current major American health crisis; how and what we eat.
In the new film “Fed Up” that documents the deadly eating habits of many Americans, Dr. Kessler points out the growing pervasiveness of junk food in the American home, especially in homes with young children. Dr. Margo Wootan, Harvard-educated director of nutrition policy at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, reinforces Kessler’s position by stating, “There’s junk food at the checkout everywhere: at toy stores, at drug stores… [When you] go to buy stationary supplies, linens, electronics. Every store these days has junk food right at the eye-level of your kids.”
This idea, that junk-food is present in almost all types of stores and with easy access, is the crux of the problem. But even more than that, Kessler explains that it’s not just the availability of unhealthy foods that is detrimental for kids, but also the “emotional gloss”, or how they are packaged and marketed. Licensed cartoon characters, included toys, and playground equipment in restaurants all add to the psychological conditioning for young minds. Kessler states, “You add all these additional layers of stimuli, and in the end, you end up with one of the great public health epidemics of our time.”
Studies have shown that advertising affects children’s consumption habits significantly. For instance, when children watch TV programs with food advertisements, they will actually eat more snacks than when viewing shows without commercials. And in just the past few years the number of ads for junk foods that kids see on a daily basis has dramatically increased thanks to online promotions.
The makers of the film “Fed Up” assert that “80 percent of the 600,000 food products sold in this country have added sugar,” and that if the current rate continues, one in three Americans will be diagnosed with diabetes by the year 2050. The American Heart Association recommends a daily allowance of 6-9 teaspoons of added sugar, but a typical 20-ounce bottle of soda contains 16 teaspoons of high fructose corn syrup, more than double as much. Nearly 80 percent of foods at grocery stores have added sugar in one form or another, and as a result Americans have doubled their intake of sugar in the past thirty years.
Additionally, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), one billion adults are overweight (300 million are obese), and this figure is estimated to reach 1.5 billion by 2015. WHO also reported that at least 2.6 million people die each year as a result of being overweight or obese. Over 42 million children under 5 years of age are overweight. People are literally eating themselves to death through a regular diet of junk food!
Obesity is fast approaching the most common preventable cause of death—a close second behind tobacco. The surgeon general reported “even moderate weight excess (10 to 20 pounds for a person of average height) increases the risk of death, particularly among adults aged 30 to 64 years. Individuals who are obese have a 50 to 100% increased risk of premature death from all causes, compared to individuals with a healthy weight.” Similarly, John Hopkins Medical Institution put out a study of 7,000 men and women by the Multiethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). The study showed that obesity doubles the chances of someone developing heart failure. A senior researcher stated, “Even if obese people feel otherwise healthy, there are measurable and early chemical signs of damage to their heart, beyond the well-known implications for diabetes and high blood pressure.”
Which leads me to my next point: many of us know people- or ourselves- consume excess junk food and look and feel fine. Yet you don’t have to be over-weight and can in fact be thin and cause tremendous damage to your body’s insides. Consuming chemicals like cellulose gum, alloxen, corn dextrin, and high fructose syrup can accumulate inside the body before causing any problems. When you eat a poor diet, you severely impair the body’s ability—through its immune system—to fight off toxins and diseased cells. The negative effects of wrong eating often take years to manifest themselves so a person may continue his/her bad habits until it’s too late. This is where cancer comes in. Consuming junk food is now recognized as a main contributing factor to the development of cancerous cells.
While all of this is clearly true, and many know that junk food and fast food are associated with an increase in obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer and, tooth decay, the popularity “junk” food continues to grow. Deep down, most desire to eat balanced meals, and being physically fit. But with a busy schedule and the mass appeal of French fries and Ben & Jerry’s, what is a junk-food junkie to do?
Although challenging, it’s not impossible to limit one’s junk food consumption. Here are a few simple tips. After all, a person needs healthful food to think, work and thrive!
- Read the label and stay away from highly processed foods, sugar, artificial sweeteners, refined grains, trans fats, and products that have a lot of salt.
- Limit the amount of beef in your diet. According to a U.S. National Cancer Institute study, “Diets high in red meat and in processed meat shorten life span not just from cancer and heart disease but from Alzheimer’s, stomach ulcers and an array of other conditions as well”. Try substituting beef with fish, turkey or chicken.
- Eat raw fruits and vegetables. Natural foods play important roles in your body: fruits cleanse, vegetables build, grains sustain, and herbs help heal.