Fifteen years ago, there was a lot of talk about the obesity epidemic. In 2008, Michelle Obama started a government program called “Let’s Move!” that sought to reduce childhood obesity. You might remember the First Lady teaming up with everyone from Beyonce to Big Bird to promote exercise and better eating habits. Unfortunately, the program was largely a failure. And the obesity statistics continued to rise.
74% of Americans today are either obese or overweight. And yet, we’re no longer talking about it. The national conversation around health and weight has turned away from things like good nutrition, weight loss and the importance of physical fitness, and instead adopted phrases like “fat acceptance” and “healthy at any size.” In some circles, there’s even blanket denial that there is anything unhealthy at all about being obese.
Shaming people for being overweight is unequivocally wrong. But in our attempt to not offend, we’ve lost sight of the very real fact that there’s a problem. Americans are heavier than ever, sicker than ever, dying earlier than ever, and it’s all preventable. So today, a conversation with Dr. Casey Means, a Stanford trained physician who left the traditional medical system behind to solve the one problem that she says is going to ruin us all: bad food.
I worked in a hospital for several years, 99 percent of the patents were elderly or obese. I agree that attractive and worth should have nothing to do with weight, but this bizarre world where obesity is trumpeted as edgy and awesome is just another symptom of a society off the rails.
There are two iron laws of weight loss/maintenance the podcast guests did not mention, which really disappointed me.
First, we have to do everything in our power to avoid becoming overweight in the first place, especially when we are children. Once a person is overweight, it is incredibly difficult to lose weight and keep it off for all kinds of psychological and physiological reasons. American children are some of the fattest in the world and this sets them up for a lifetime of difficulty managing their weight and OCD issues around food.
Secondly, although the guest mentions intermittent fasting, I wish she would’ve instead focused on what is far more important, and this is fasting in between meals! Intermittent fasting “works” because it’s typically just skipping breakfast, which thin women have done for decades to maintain their weight! It’s also a great way to set yourself up for an eating disorder unless you are a mature adult with a solid understanding of nutrition and healthy body image. Teens and children cannot safely use the IF “hack” to weight loss like some adults are able to do. However, they can learn to fast in between meals without it becoming a compulsion.
Americans are constantly snacking and stuffing our faces with food at the slightest tinge of hunger, anxiety, or stress. This goes doubly for children because parents are constantly cramming snacks in their children’s faces whenever they become cranky.
The podcast guest recommends that people eat these whole healthy food which is fine, but then you see people who are overweight constantly grabbing handfuls of cashews in between meals and it quickly becomes apparent why they will never lose weight.
Any person who eats three healthy meals a day and keeps snacking to a minimal while fasting in between meals will lose weight. Whoever came up with the idea that people should eat five small meals a day or some snack constantly is as much to blame for our obesity crisis as the processed snack food purveyors.