Diet USA – Time for Change?

“Calling for Change” appears to be on the agenda these days!
Just the other day I was watching a movie called Fed Up. It was an interesting documentary focusing on the obesity epidemic especially in young people. Like us! Yeah! Wait….!
I plan on combing through some of the information presented and extend upon it a little with my own opinion and research and I can’t wait to hear what you think about it! I also have cross referenced and looked up several of the references this movie has used as well as other related sources (Yes, I have done your job of due diligence for you!He he)
BTW, I am not making or intending to make any political statements of which president or party I support or not. I only want to focus on the facts that concern food and our health, so please don’t read anything political into this.
Anyways, one of the interesting items the movie starts off with is the Let’s Move! campaign Michelle Obama lead. While her intent that sounded great, it received a bunch of backlash, largely thanks to the school lunches that resulted from her agenda and the lack of positive changes that were invoked by her actions. (1)
Was she on the right track?Was there something that was essentially heading the right way but somehow got derailed? If so why? What happened? And what can we do?
Whether you are taking a political perspective or not, by now anyone would be hard pressed to not see that we are having an outright disaster on our hands. Look around you and see the number of overweight and obese people running around. Look at your classmates and realize that instead of having one kid with weight issues in your class, the average classroom now has ten or more children struggling with their weight.
Look a little deeper and you realize that what used to be deemed an adult disease and thus was even coined “Adult Onset Diabetes” is now rampant in kids of middle school and high school age. This is not the Type I diabetes that is genetic or due to some other irreparable infection. This is a debilitating disease that can be prevented and in many cases reversed significantly enough to be medication free. (2)
So, what is amiss?
There are a few things I would like to discuss but they cannot all be squashed into one article.
I will provide an overview of topics and over time fill in the blanks. As I move along through this messy territory I will update this article with links. So, check back often!!!!
To start you off here is one: S.A.D. – STANDARD AMERICAN DIET – CONCERNED…?
I also would like to encourage comments and discussion. BE HEARD!!!!!
NOTHING IS GOING TO CHANGE IF YOU DO NOT MAKE YOURSELF BE HEARD!!!!!
JOIN US IN MAKING A DIFFERENCE!
BLOG ABOUT IT! EMAIL ABOUT IT! TALK TO US AND LET IT BE SEEN!
1. What is the current situation? Why are we worried? Or should we be?
2. What are the factors which have gotten us into this mess in the first place? We always hear about the simple solutions… exercise more, eat less…. Everybody knows them….Why do we not see the effects or outcomes promised EVEN if we follow these paradigms?
3. What can we do? Where do we go from here at the personal level? What are our alternatives?
4. Can we havean impact on more than just us? How would that affect us as individuals? Whywould we care?
Resources:
1. Mercola,J.M., 2016. How First Lady’s OrganicGarden Became a Junk Food Campaign [Online]. Available: https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2016/10/18/white-house-organic-garden.aspx[Accessed].
2. Soechtig, S., 2014. Fed Up [Online]. Available: http://fedupmovie.com/#/page/about-the-issue?scrollTo=facts[Accessed].