A Disturbing Trend: Americans Spending Less on Food and More on Medicine
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the amount of money Americans spend on food as a percentage of disposable income has dropped from 15.4 percent in 1980 to 9.9 percent in 2005. It’s clear with all the super-sizing of portions and waistlines; we’re not eating less we’re just eating cheaper. High calorie, nutrient deficient processed foods cost less than fresh nutrient dense whole foods. As our investment in healthy food has decreased since 1980, so has our health and in that same time our spending on drugs has dramatically increased. The obesity rate in the US had held steady at around 15 percent from 1960 to 1980. Since 1980 obesity has grown to 31 percent. Type II diabetes is at epidemic proportions and cancer is now the leading cause of death in our country. We are going to be the first generation of Americans whose life expectancy is shorter than our parents. With all the indisputable information of the benefits of healthy nutrition and exercise how can we let this happen? The sad truth is our society is trading good and healthy for cheap and easy. Why is it so much cheaper to eat junk than eat healthy? It’s simple, supply and demand, basic economics 101…right? Well …sort of (with a little help from the US government.) The USDA helps the food industry keep the prices of junk food low by subsidizing crops commonly used in processed foods. Namely wheat (refined four), soy (hydrogenated oil), and the granddaddy of them all corn (high fructose corn syrup). High fructose corn syrup which was developed in the seventies is a chemically processed sugar that is extracted from corn starch. Because it mixes easily, it is sweeter than sugar; it extends shelf life, and costs about 20 percent less than sugar it took little time for high fructose corn syrup to become the food industry’s sweetener of choice. Through its use in sodas, snacks, frozen foods, breads, condiments, etc., high fructose corn syrup has become a staple in many American diets. Because of its prevalence and the fact that fructose is converted to fat in the liver more easily than other sugars, high fructose corn syrup has been implicated as a major contributor to our country’s obesity epidemic. Between 1995 and 2004 corn crops received a whooping $41.8 billion in government subsidies. This policy has caused farmers to ignore healthy crops and has flooded the market with junk made from the derivatives of the highly subsidized crops, namely refined flour, hydrogenated fats made from soybeans and of course high fructose corn syrup. Add to this, heavy tariffs placed on sugar and other produce imports and you start to understand why you can buy a 24 serving box of corn flakes or a case of cola for less than 3 grapefruits or a pint of fresh berries. To make matters worse the food industry spends billions of advertising dollars each year in order to showcase their manufactured, nutrient bare, disease promoting options. But don’t worry help is on the way. In 2003 the American Council for Fitness & Nutrition (ACFN) was created. As their website states the ACFN is a “non-profit association comprised of food and beverage companies, trade associations, nonprofit groups and nutrition advocates working toward comprehensive and achievable solutions to the nation’s obesity epidemic”. Sleep tight America, ACFN members who include PepsiCo, Coca Cola, Burger King, McDonalds, Jack in The Box, and the Archer Daniels Midland Company (the world’s largest producer of high fructose corn syrup) are working tirelessly to find ways to make you healthier. Talk about the fox guarding the hen house. If you want to learn about the dangers of dehydration during physical activity and how you can now prevent it just go to Pepsi’s website. They’re there to help because they care about you and your health. They recommend “A healthy balance of "fun" drinks like soda and carbonated beverages, lots of water (eight glasses a day), orange juice and other fruit juices for potassium and Vitamin C, and milk or other calcium fortified beverages like orange juice …” The helpful health and fitness experts at Pepsi.com also warn kids about the dangers of creatine which they describe as a “growth hormone, which some kids take in the mistaken belief that they are healthy.” First of all Pepsi, creatine is an amino acid not a growth hormone. Secondly, although I do not support creatine use in kids because studies of its long term safety have not yet been established, it has been studied extensively and has not yet been shown to be harmful. Unlike aspartame, an artificial sweetener that has been proven in at least 90 independent studies to be harmful to our health. Aspartame is used by Pepsi and other members of the American Council for Fitness & Nutrition to sweeten their “fun” diet drinks and other sugar free products. This dangerous toxin has been shown to cause headaches, memory loss, seizures, vision loss, coma and cancer as well as exacerbate or mimic symptoms of fibromyalgia, MS, lupus, ADD, diabetes, Alzheimer's, chronic fatigue and depression. If aspartame is so harmful how did it ever get FDA approval? The FDA kept aspartame off the market for nearly 20 years because it had never been proven safe. Aspartame finally gained FDA approval in the early 1980s. Coincidently, the recently resigned U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, who was on President Regan’s transition team, hand picked the FDA Commissioner who finally approved aspartame. Oh by the way, at the time Rumsfeld was the CEO of Searle Laboratories the makers of aspartame. You know the old saying “it’s not what you know; it’s who you know…and, what the public doesn’t know!” While it may take some time for the ACFN to find a solution to our deteriorating health there’s no need to worry; the pharmaceutical industry has your back. Fortunately for us drug companies have been there to help us during this down turn in our country’s eating habits and deteriorating health. In 1980 Americans spent approximately $12 billion per year on prescription drugs; in 2004 that number had increased to over $180 billion. Drug makers have been there with medications to help us with obesity, high cholesterol, hypertension, sexual dysfunction, depression, attention deficit disorder, type II diabetes, acid reflux, headaches and arthritis pain; all conditions that can often be reduced or eliminated through good nutrition and physical activity. In some cases the drugs have been worse than the condition (remember Phen Phen and Vioxx.) With the way the FDA works and the power of pharmaceutical lobbies its only a matter of time before we learn that another drug we’ve been taking for years is unsafe. Our poor choices and lack of self discipline and accountability (along with the Federal Trade Commissions changes in regulations that allow pharmaceutical companies to advertise directly to consumers) have allowed drug makers to prosper just as the food industry has. Each year the pharmaceutical industry spends billions of advertising dollars in an attempt to persuade us to give up accountability of our own health and entrust our wellness to their pills. In 2005 Americans spent upwards of $500 billion on prescription and over the counter drugs. It’s obvious advertising works, but don’t believe everything you read or see on television. Make educated decisions concerning your health, be proactive, ask questions, and do research. Whether it’s coming from a doctor, a drug company, or someone like me; don’t take advice blindly, educate yourself. Although good nutrition may be more expensive right now, we simply cannot afford to keep eating junk. We need to be healthier and we need to be accountable for our own health. Our good choices can make a difference for everybody. Support local growers, join a natural food co-op, avoid processed foods, exercise, and contact your politicians and demand the FDA keep poison out of our food and nutritious real foods in our schools. Actions like these are already making a small difference as we are seeing a decrease in Trans fatty acids in many foods and an increase in natural and organic choices on grocery store shelves. But it’s not enough. The food and drug industries have proven that advertising works. For America to get healthy its going to take an enormous grass roots word of mouth advertising campaign. Make good choices and spread the word about the dangers of processed foods and poor nutrition and the benefits of good nutrition and exercise. It’s up to us to take control and invest in our health, invest in the health of our children and invest in the health of our society. Let’s start now! Bill is a licensed Registered Nurse as well as a National Strength and Conditioning Association – Certified Personal Trainer and the owner of two successful personal training centers in the Charlotte, NC area. Bill has dedicated his career to helping individuals identify and overcome obstacles that stand in the way of optimal wellness and peak physical performance. As a recognized expert in the field of corrective exercise and performance, Bill has contributed to numerous publications and industry websites and has co-authored two books on fitness and performance. Since opening Precision Fitness, Bill has enjoyed helping clients that range from the professional athlete (NFL, PGA, NASCAR, PBA) to the student athlete and from fortune 500 CEOs to stay at home moms. Bill can be reached via e-mail at bill@ncprecisionfitness.com. |
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