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The real American health epidemic
Chances are you have been told that America faces several epidemics: gun violence, AIDS, poverty, heart disease, cancer, etc…
If you look around, however, you may have noticed another growing epidemic that is seldom spoken of, especially in polite company.
It appears that obesity is the new trend in America. It is also a trend that creates an unrivaled vitriol when mentioned. Fat shamming, thin obsessed, weight nazi, are just a few labels hurled at those who question this trend. Articles have been written in defense of being fat and healthy versus those who are apparently “thin and fat”.
In 1960, the average American man weighed 166.3 pounds and the average woman 140.2 pounds. By 2002 those averages rose dramatically to 191 pounds for men and 164.3 pounds for women. The most recent data from the CDC from 2012 shows an average weight for men and women has risen further to 195.5 and 166.2 respectively. That means that as of 2012, the average American woman weighed the same as the average American man in 1960.
The CDC states in their obesity fact sheet that 35% of Americans are obese and that obesity costs the economy an estimated $147 billion per year (as of 2008) and the annual “medical costs were $1,429 higher than those of normal weight. (CDC)”
According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases:
- More than 2 in 3 adults are considered to be overweight or obese
- More than 1 in 3 are considered to be obese
- More than 1 in 20 adults are considered to have extreme obesity
- About one-third of children and adolescents ages 6-19 are considered to be overweight or obese
- More than 1 in 6 children and adolescents ages 6-19 are considered to be obese.
A report by researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, featured in the Journal of the American Medical Association, “estimated that 67.6 million Americans over the age of 25 were obese…and an additional 65.2 million were overweight. (LA Times)” For the first time in the history of the United States, obese people now outnumber those who are overweight! According to Lin-Yang, a research associate with Washington University’s Prevention Research Center, “This is a wake-up call to implement policies and practices designed to combat overweight and obesity.”
According to the CDC “Obesity is a leading cause in heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer, some of the leading causes of preventable death.”
This means that most of the major health problems we are told are epidemics, are actually preventable by reducing our waist size and monitoring our diet and lifestyle.
According to Dr. Stephen T. Chang:
“When a person becomes excessively overweight, the whole body is burdened. For every inch you gain in girth, the body grows approximately four miles of blood vessels to nourish the extra tissues. Blood which would normally be sent to the head and brain remains in the abdominal cavity, aiding the digestive organs with their increased work load. The heart must work harder due to the increase in fatty tissue. Because of this undue strain, the heart gradually becomes critically weakened and more likely to collapse… Excess fat also obstructs the blood flow contributing to high blood pressure, puts stress on the spine and can cause back pain…. So there is not much to gain from being overweight.”
The economic effects listed earlier does not take into account the non-medical costs of obesity. For instance, airlines and car companies are beginning to make seats (as well as the overall size of the car) larger to accommodate larger Americans. Some companies, Subaru as an example have been criticized for not making their seats larger. Disney and Universal Studios have been sued in the past for their rides “not accommodating larger people”, as a result Universal Studios is making the seats in some of their rides larger. This extra cost will surely be passed onto consumers as the result of higher ticket prices.
Another problem with the growing size of the American waist line is that funeral parlors are finding it more difficult to carry caskets large enough for the recently deceased. Many of them have to special order extra large caskets that are often double the size of a traditional casket, and double the cost as well.
A few questions we can ask ourselves are; just how large is the average person going to get? When will enough be enough? Can Americans decide individually and collectively that lifestyles and diets need to be moderated and changed or will it take government control and regulation? How high does the percentage of obesity need to be before the country’s productivity suffers as people are unable to work sufficiently and efficiently?
How long will we continue to accept death and disease caused by things that are preventable?
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Over 400 cities march against Monsanto and GMO food
One would think that a major global protest occurring in over 400 cities, on the same day, would be breaking news. Yet, in the United States the global protest against Monsanto and GMO food was barely mentioned. Outside of the US, this was most definitely breaking news.
According to RT News, “Activists accuse the agricultural corporation of selling toxic chemicals, which are bad for people’s health, water supplies, vital crop pollinators and environment in general. The giant is also criticized for its attitude towards food safety regulations and a staunch opposition to GMO labeling. Meanwhile, small farmers blame Monsanto for monopolizing the seed market.”
France alone had over 20 cities participate in the protest. In the United States, protests were held in “New York; Washington, DC; Los Angeles; San Franciso; Chicago; Indianapolis; Portland, Oregon; Oakland, California and dozens of others… protesters marched on the White House and Monsanto’s Washington, DC headquarters as part of the anti-GMO action. (RT.com)”
Monsanto now controls approximately 90% of the seed supply in the United States alone. As reported in prior articles, one of the most dangerous aspects of Monsanto is their use of proprietary trademark laws, which state that anything their seeds touch or grow in becomes a part of their trademark. So if you use Monsanto seeds, technically your land now becomes their land. If you doubt this, then search the internet for all of the cases where Monsanto has sued farmers claiming rights to the farmers land.
With the recent announcements from several restaurants and fast food chains, that they will no longer carry either GMO food or food with artificial ingredients, combined with the ever increasing amount of protests around the world, perhaps, the tide is slowly turning against a truly dangerous and sinister industry. Time will tell. Unfortunately, since most Americans are more interested in reality TV and getting their news from stations that are more Infotainment than true news (CNN, FOX, local news included), they are unaware of this battle and the progress being made.
In future elections, perhaps a major concern for people should be, what politicians have received funding from Monsanto or other GMO companies and interests and who “owns” the politician(s) you are thinking about casting your ballot for.
Don’t miss another National Taoism Examiner article. Receive e-mail alerts when new articles are available. Just click on the “Subscribe” button below; also make sure you click all of those social network buttons and share the article with your friends and family as well. You can also follow the Qi Institutes Taoism blog.
Do you have a story, photo or video from your area that would be of interest to Taoists? Feel free to email (TJ@theQiInstitute.com) and they may be included or featured in a National Taoism Examiner article.
Are health gurus trustworthy?
Over the last 50 or 60 years there have been many dietary recommendations. Some of these recommendations have become so popular that the originator of the plan or lead spokesperson has risen to the level of a Diet “Guru”. The world is full of all sorts of gurus; before we examine a recent list of so called diet gurus, lets examine the definition of guru.
Oxford dictionary defines it thus: (in Hinduism) a spiritual teacher, (in Sikhism) any of the first ten leaders of the Sikh religion, an influential teacher, a revered mentor.
Now could be a good time to pause and reflect on why is a Hindu and Sikh term “guru”, being applied to “dietary” advice supposedly targeting and being advocated to the majority of the population? Also, who decides or decided that these people were “gurus” after all. Are they revered mentors, a Hindu spiritual teacher or one of the original leaders of the Sikh religion?
Before we digress further lets examine the list of Diet Gurus Who Died of Poor Health:
- “James Fixx: author of ‘The Complete Book of Running’, ran 10 miles per day, advocated running as being great for the heart and cardiovascular health. Dropped dead of a heart attack at 52 while running.
- Michael Montignac: developed a weight loss program that layed the foundation for the anti-carbohydrate movement, focused on ‘good versus bad carbs’ and the glycemic index. Died of prostate cancer at 66, his book ‘Eat Yourself Slim’ sold millions of copies around the world.
- Nathan Pritikin: recognized a connection between diet and heart disease, and had many media appearances. Battled with Leukemia and committed suicide at 69.
- Robert Atkins: creator of The Atkins Diet, advocated avoiding carbs (similar to Michael Montignac) and eating a diet high in fat and animal protein. Died at 72, and it was later revealed that he suffered from a history of serious heart problems, including congestive heart failure and hypertension.
- Robert Kowalski: His book ‘The New 8 Week Cholesterol Cure’ spent 115 weeks on the New York Times best sellers list, as well as several other ‘8 week cure’ books, died at 65 from a pulmonary embolism.”
The original article which appeared in “Mother Nature Network”, listed a few more “gurus” and also calculated that the average age of these gurus was far below the national average. These five had an average age of 64.8, compared to the national average in the US which is generally around 80 years old, if you average out men and women.
Often times, people will ask “What do you think of the advice given on the TV, radio etc…, regarding diet:? Your National Taoism Examiners answer is usually: “stick with what is tried and tested and does not waver, pick something that has been proven time and time again to be accurate and is not interested in becoming a fad or best selling information.” Then they are reminded of the Taoist Dietary principles and philosophy which have been around for over 5,000 years. Principles such as: eating less meat, drinking less, balancing the 5 tastes and colors, making sure you balance the acid/alkaline nature of the food etc…
We must learn to distrust or at least be wary of the latest fads, which more often than not, are just slick marketing ploys designed to get us to buy something, that we really do not need.
Another tip or principle, is to examine the source of the information. For instance, if you are reading or hearing health related news, ask yourself “what is the health of the person that is telling me this or advocating that”. If the person is not healthy then why listen to them? If a person who is overweight, sells a book about weight loss, why would we listen to them? If a person advocating a particular diet dies from cardiovascular disease, then perhaps, they did not know what they were talking about.
Remember the 100 year principle, which basically states, that if something has been around for at least 100 years, with no negative side effects, and it actually produces the result advocated, then perhaps, that is worth listening to. Everything else just has to wait, and either become time tested, or drift away with the rest of the slick advertising disguised as beneficial advice.
Don’t miss another National Taoism Examiner article. Receive e-mail alerts when new articles are available. Just click on the “Subscribe” button below; also make sure you click all of those social network buttons and share the article with your friends and family as well. You can also follow the Qi Institutes Taoism blog.
Do you have a story, photo or video from your area that would be of interest to Taoists? Feel free to email (TJ@theQiInstitute.com) and they may be included or featured in a National Taoism Examiner article.
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