Obesity has become a huge problem in the United States. How serious is this problem? It is reported that 1 in 3 Americans are obese today. This is a statistic that can no longer be ignored now. The obesity phenomenon is not sparing France which could catch up with the obesity rate in the United States by 2020 according to some studies. In 2009, 1 in 7 French people were obese and 1 in 3 overweight.
In his article Americans Are Huge: 5 Surprising Reasons Why We May Be Getting Fatter, author Martha Rosenberg notes that the weight of the American average increased by 12 kg in the 4 decades between 1960 and 2000, which for her is associated with 5 key factors.
However, these factors may be surprising to many, considering that none of them mention the most mentioned cause of weight gain, namely calories.
While calories are certainly a crucial part of the problem, there are a lot of other environmental and lifestyle factors that are likely to play a much more significant role, mainly because most people don’t realize that they are affected by these factors, and therefore fail to take them into account. These factors are:
-1- Antibiotics in food and drugs
What most people fail to understand is the strong connection between our microbiota and weight gain. There is compelling evidence to suggest a complex link between excessive use of antibiotics and weight gain.
There is a general tendency to treat all infections with antibiotics. The problem with overuse of antibiotics is that it removes the good bacteria from your intestines. Beneficial bacteria (probiotics) are actually so crucial to your health that researchers have compared them to a “newly recognized organ”.
The United States uses 15,000 tonnes of antibiotics each year to raise farm animals. This represents about 80% of all antibiotics used in the United States. In livestock, antibiotics are used to prevent disease and also promote weight gain.
Research suggests that meat loaded with antibiotics has the same weight gain effect on humans who eat it.
-2- Other drugs that promote weight gain used in livestock production
Other drugs used to fatten livestock have the same effect on humans. Ractopamine is an example. This beta-agonist drug works as a growth promoter by increasing protein synthesis, which makes the animal more muscular.
In human medicine, beta-agonists are also found in drugs to treat asthma, and recalcitrant weight gain is actually a common complaint in asthma patients using Advair (a beta-agonist drug) – and it is to such an extent that the manufacturer added “weight gain” to the side effects.
Other countries have banned the use of growth promoters on animals, and for good reason. These drugs are known to cause infertility, birth defects, disability and even death.
-3- Endocrine disruptors
Many common household products contain endocrine disruptors, some of which are structurally similar to hormones such as estrogen and can therefore affect a person’s normal bodily functions.
Examples include bisphenol-A (BPA), PCBs, phthalates, triclosan, agricultural pesticides and flame retardants. (note that BPS replacing BPA is no less toxic).
Certain agricultural chemicals, glyphosate in particular, can also affect your weight by destroying beneficial bacteria in the colon. Recent research has shown that glyphosate causes extreme disruption of the functions and life cycles of microbes, and especially affects beneficial bacteria, allowing pathogens to proliferate.
In the United States, the vast majority of the glyphosate that people consume comes from genetically modified products, such as sugar, corn, soybeans, and conventionally grown dried wheat. In addition to altering your gut flora, glyphosate also amplifies the deleterious effects of other foodborne chemical residues and food toxins.
-4- Artificial sweeteners
Again, there is a huge misunderstanding when it comes to artificial sweeteners. They are marketed as "light", but research suggests that they have the opposite effect.
Artificial sweeteners have been shown to stimulate appetite, increase cravings for carbohydrates, and weight gain. Artificial sweeteners deceive our brain into thinking it is receiving sugar, and since sugar does not arrive, the brain signals that it needs carbohydrates. Hence a cycle promoting weight gain.
A study cited in a recent Democrat & Chronicle article, "found that those who frequently drink light sodas had a waist circumference 500% greater than those who did not."
-5- Stealth Marketing for Junk Food
Children are the primary target of junk food marketing. We see it at supermarket checkouts where there are chocolate bars, candies and sodas strategically placed at eye level with children. This type of marketing must be effective, as 1 in 3 children in the United States are considered obese today. This type of lifestyle is obviously to the detriment of children from a physical as well as an emotional point of view.
Children are now exposed to marketing through brand licensing, (brands negotiate where their products will be placed), product placement, schools, stealth marketing, DVDs, games and 'Internet. According to a report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), children ages 2 to 11 now see an average of 10 pubs for food on TV a day.
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Olivier De Schutter recently warned that "obesity is a greater global health threat than tobacco use". The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), also recently published a position paper on obesity and cancer, in which they also state that "obesity is rapidly overtaking tobacco as the main preventable cause of cancer ”.
During this year's World Health Organization Summit, De Schutter urged nations to join forces to place tougher rules on unhealthy foods, saying "Just as the world has come together to regulate the risks of tobacco, a courageous framework convention concerning adequate diets must now be established ”.
How to avoid all of these weight gain factors
As mentioned earlier, one of the main ways to avoid weight gain is to look at the quality of the food you eat, rather than the quantity (calories).
Organic foods do not contain (or very little) harmful chemical preservatives, hormones, or pesticides that cause weight gain.
Stay away from overly processed foods as you will be frustrated to find that what you eat is filled with the weight gain factors listed above.
If food is shown in pubs, it is almost inevitable that it will be bad for you. When was the last time you saw an apple or kale advertisement?
Buy whole, organic foods and cook them yourself. This will automatically reduce your intake of sugar, which is the root cause of insulin resistance and weight gain. If you buy organic products, you will also reduce your exposure to pesticides and genetically modified ingredients, and by eliminating processed foods, you will automatically avoid artificial sweeteners and harmful trans fats.
Healthy fats are essential, so make sure you don't eat the bad fats. Sources of healthy fats to add to your diet include avocados, coconuts and coconut oil, cold-extracted organic nut oils, and raw nuts and seeds.
Opt for glass food containers to avoid endocrine disruptors.
Make this a learning journey, make changes at your own pace, and have fun with it. Eating healthy doesn't have to be a struggle.