Toxic Food Environment

I was listening to an archived episode of NPR's Talk Of The Nation about the government's role in the nation's obesity epidemic (Obesity Part II: Government and Obesity). Dr. Kelly Brownell, author of Food Fight accurately described the food environment we live in as "toxic". This is the first time I've heard our Super-Size, Big-Gulp, Whopper, all-you-can-eat, instant, microwavable food environment described this way, but it's clearly the problem once you recognise it. The amazing thing is that it's actually hard to see, because we're so used to it. And so many of us fall into the trap of obesity, because we buy the 10-pack of Kit-Kats or Reece's Peanut Butter Cups, the chips, the Coke, the Super-Size meals, the McNuggets, because they taste good, they're everywhere we turn, and it's the norm. I mean you actually have to understand nutrition, and go far out of your way to eat real food at every meal.

For example, even sit-down restaurants present a bad food environment, because of the portion sizes they serve. Popular restaurants like TGI Fridays serve whole plates of food, with fried sides, and cheese. Who needs food like that? When did this become food?

I think most of us Americans know the country got fat in the last few decades. Take a look at movies from the 70's. Especially when you see a street scene, you can tell how we've changed as a country. The extras look glamourous by today's standards, because they're so enviously thin.

We've been a fat country for some time now, and for anyone who has travelled abroad knows, Americans are instantly recognisable over there. But, we can take solace in the fact that we're exporting McDonald's and obesity, and the world is catching up. Maybe we'll have the last laugh sooner than we know.