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The Truth about Obesity

In 1948, the World Health Organization (WHO) categorized obesity as a disease.

According to the WHO’s report (2018), “The worldwide prevalence of obesity nearly tripled

between 1975 and 2016” (para. 1). And in 2016, 1.9 billion adults were overweight and more

than 650 million adults were obese. The report also pointed out that more than 340 million

children and teenagers were obese (WTO, 2018). Obesity not only makes people ugly, but

also develops health problems and increases premature mortality. For example, excess

visceral fat can lead to insulin resistance and even type-2 diabetes. Diabetes can cause deadly

complications, such as heart disease, stroke, kidney failure and nerve damage. Visceral fat can

also cause cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and some cancers. As a result, at least

2.6 million obese people die each year (WTO, 2018). Therefore, it is essential to figure out

why more people become obese. There are three reasons why obesity is on the rise. These are

the food industry, modern lifestyle and government negligence.

The food industry increases obesity because of its products and dirty marketing

strategies. The processed food contains more calories than natural food. That’s because food

companies overuse food additives like high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). This sweetener is

cheaper and sweeter than table sugar. HFCS can also extend food’s shelf-life and enhance the

flavor. So, the food industry uses it widely. Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola use HFCS to sweeten

soft drinks. Heinz uses HFCS to make its ketchup more delicious. Nestle uses HFCS to

thicken milk power. These business decisions reduce those companies’ costs and increase

their sales. These benefits tempt worldwide food companies to use HFCS. Thus, HFCS is

ubiquitous in processed food.

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However, the food industry doesn’t weigh the damage to customers’ health. HFCS can

also make people fat because it comprises around 55% fructose. This sugar contains lots of

calories but can’t make people feel full. According to the food scientist Mark Schwarzer

(2012): “The fructose can be easily converted to fat...High fructose intake can increase the fat

in the blood and liver.” So, people get fat by eating processed food.

To sell more products, the food industry uses dirty marketing strategies. These

strategies include increasing the portion size, bribing food scientists and false advertising. As

mentioned above, the use of food additives decreases the material costs, but the packaging

costs remain the same. To cut down the packaging costs, the companies increase the portion

size. Fast-food chains like McDonald's sell Big Mac. Snack-food companies like Lay's sell

family-size potato chips. These supersized products are only a little more expensive. For

example, in China, 300ml of coke is 2 CNY, while 1.25L of coke is 5 CNY. This method

makes consumers feel that the larger portion size is more cost-effective. So, people prefer the

larger size. The study by Professor Rolls (2012) showed that the larger portion size could

make people eat more and take in more calories.

To persuade people to choose low-cost refined carbohydrates food, the sugar industry

bribed scientists. In the 1960s, the sugar industry bribed scientists into claiming that refined

carbohydrates were healthy (Brueck, 2017). Those scientists also suggested that only the fat

made people obese. The industry even suppressed some research on sugar. These actions

misled people at that time. According to Dr. Michael Mosley (2016), “...consumption of

saturated fats, such as butter, actually fell. The really big surge, which began in 1980, was in
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carbohydrates, particularly refined carbohydrates, up by a whopping 20 percent in just fifteen

years” (p. 22).

Food companies also make exaggerated advertisements to sell their products. They use

consumer psychology. For example, Mondelez launched Belvita Breakfast Biscuit in 2012

(Kincaid, 2018). In its advertisement, the company claimed that these biscuits were healthy

because they contained oatmeal, flaxseed, nuts and dried berries. They used people’s desire

for healthy food. Since then, Belvita Breakfast Biscuit has become one of the best-selling

brands in North America (Kincaid, 2018). However, these biscuits have few healthy

ingredients. They even have higher calories per 100g than Oreo cookies. So, consumers gain

weight by eating pseudo-healthy processed food.

The modern lifestyle contributes to obesity because of the economic growth and

technological development. Compared to 25 years ago, average families’ income doubles

(International Labor Organization (ILO), 2018). And thanks to intensive industrial farms, the

food is cheaper. These two factors make most people buy more food. Also, technology

reshaped people’s eating habits. Cheap materials reduce construction costs. Developed

transport reduces transportation costs. Thus, supermarkets, convenience stores, shopping

malls are all over the city. For example, Shenzhen has about 31000 convenience stores. There

are 40 convenience stores around Huaqiang Road station. People can buy processed food at

the gas station, the subway station, the airport and etc. The 4G network spawns mobile

ordering and online payments. People can order food at home or in the office. As a result,

snacking and takeaways replace the traditional three-meals-at-home pattern. According to the
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nutritionist Marion Nestle (2012): “The number of calorie people can get has increased as

much as twice compared to the 1970s.”

Economic growth and technological development also decrease people’s calorie

consumption. People don’t have time to exercise and don’t want to exercise. In the workplace,

people work too much. For example, in China, many employees in IT companies work at

“996 schedule”. “996 schedule” means “work from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week without

overtime pay” (Kuo, 2019). These employees don’t have time to work out. In school, teachers

cut students’ sports time so that the students can study for examinations. Developed network

technology changes people’s pastimes. People can kill time indoors. During leisure time,

adults prefer to watch YouTube videos on the sofa. Teenagers prefer to play video games on

the bed. Thus, 23% of adults and 81% of adolescents are not active enough to consume

calories (WHO, 2018).

Another factor increases obesity is the government negligence. First, the regulators

supervise the food industry laxly. Second, the Department of Health and Human Services

(HHS) fails to build adequate fitness facilities. Third, the Ministry of Education doesn’t

popularize nutrition knowledge. For example, Japanese food safety management has a

complete legal system. They have promulgated 13 laws about food. In the 1970s, Japan began

to construct public sports facilities. Their facilities doubled within five years (Jiang, 2013).

The Japanese government also focuses on nutrition education. Japanese teenagers learn

nutrition knowledge in school. Communities provide diet guidance for the elders. Japan has

the lowest obesity rates because of these three factors. Thus, the governments should take

responsibility.
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The food industry causes increasing obesity because their products and marketing

strategies add excess calories to people’s diets. Modern life worsens people’s eating and

exercise habits. These bad habits let people take in more calories than their consumption.

Government negligence also increases obesity. Some governments fail to supervise the food

industry, build enough fitness facilities and popularize nutrition knowledge.

According to WTO, “Bringing about changes in dietary habits and patterns of physical

activity will require the combined efforts of many stakeholders, public, individuals and

private, over several decades” (p. 6). That’s why people should learn about obesity and take

responsibility. The food industry should reduce food additives like HFCS content of processed

foods. They also need to restrict the marketing of high-calorie foods. People need to limit

energy intake and spare time to exercise. For the governments, they should regulate the food

industry strictly, build more public sports facilities and popularize nutritional knowledge.
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References

Erika, K. (2018). BelVita is winning the breakfast war as cereal struggles. Retrieved from

https://www.grocerydive.com/news/grocery--belvita-is-winning-the-breakfast-war-as

cereal-struggles/534320/

Hilary, B. (2017). Big Sugar Buried These Concerning Health Studies 50 Years Ago.

Retrieved from https://www.sciencealert.com/sugar-industry-suppressed-study-data-

linking-sugar-heart-disease-cancer?perpetual=yes&limitstart=1&source=post_page

International Labor Organization. (2018). Global Wage Report 2018/19: What lies behind

gender pay gaps? Retrieved from https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---

dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/wcms_650553.pdf

Junjie, J. (2013). Research on the Operation of Japan Sports Policy Since the 21st Century

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Lily, K. (2019). Working 9 to 9: Jack Ma says workers should do 12 hours days, six days a

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ma-says-workers-should-do-12-hour-days-six-days-a-week-1.3861904

Michael, M. (2016). The 8 Week Blood Sugar Diet. New York: Atria Books.
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Mark, S., ＆Barbara, R. (2012). The Men Who Made Us Fat. [Video file]. Retrieved from

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01jxzv8

World Health Organization. (2005). Global Strategy on Diet, Physical, Activity and Health

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World Health Organization. (2018). Obesity and overweight. Retrieved from

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