If a picture is worth a thousand words, a movie is worth even more. I encourage you to not walk, but run and see the movie FED UP, playing in movie theaters, which highlights the insidious, corporate-driven forces behind our current obesity epidemic. I saw this with my wife and two children and even though we are passionate and knowledgeable about nutrition, the impression this movie left motivated us to take our healthy choices to another level. I know I’ve discussed making social events more active by moving away from restaurants and movie theaters, but I encourage you to gather your family, friends, co-workers, or anyone you think is struggling with healthy food choices and may need a different mode of motivation. There is particular emphasis on childhood obesity and the garbage being served up in school cafeterias across the country. I also encourage you to plan a gathering after the movie to discuss what you can do as a family and a community to save adults and children from a life of chronic disease and health problems. Some striking statistics and facts from the movie include the following:
In the last thirty years, the number of cases of Type 2 Diabetes in adolescents went from 0 to 57,638.
80% of the 600,000 foods in grocery store aisles contain sugar (especially the “low-fat,” “healthy” labeled ones)
By 2050, 1 in 3 Americans will be diabetic…imagine what will happen to higher risk groups like South Asians!
In 2003, the Bush administration forced the WHO to drop its recommendation to limit sugar intake to 10% of daily caloric intake by threatening to withhold WHO funding from the US
The sugar industry is so powerful that on any food label you’ll see that the percent daily value seen next to other nutrients is absent next to sugar. That’s right…there’s no daily limit listed for sugar!
Over 95% of Americans will be overweight or obese in just 2 decades
So what did you think about this movie? Share your thoughts on this blog.
