Taylor Palm

4/23/14
Peeling Back the Layers of Obesity
The Final Review
As a nation, we face an epidemic. It is no plague. It is no genocide. It is a
multifaceted crisis of overconsumption and the associated consequences. It is a
problem that weighs heavily on our minds and our bodies. This sweeping issue is
obesity; a word defined as simply as a BMI greater than 30 and as complex as a
lifelong battle of ridicule and prejudice. Obesity is so much more than fat: it is
inequality, it is comorbidities, it is increased costs of healthcare. While it is easy to
point fingers, the target of blame is a muddling of an endless list of scapegoats and
moving targets. How do we solve obesity if the causes are so widespread? How do
we even begin to tackle this? We start with the top 3 offenders: a changing fast
paced lifestyle, business, and personal choice.
There was a time that the number one career was farming. A job, rich in not
only physical activity but also an abundant source of healthy produce. That time is
becoming a blur of the distant past as our downturned eyes stare absently at the
technology that has come to rule our lives. Prior to the revolution of screen time,
people played outside, rode bikes, and spent hours moving. Now we drive cars and
occupy hours on end in front of a television or staring blankly at a laptop. Comfort
food has become everyday food. Too tired to make a healthful meal? No worries
theres fat laden delicacies on the dollar menu. We are born into a society that
thrives on expediency, yet whose bodies are sluggish and lethargic planted behind a
desk. Our minds are moving with deadlines approaching and yet we are as inactive
as ever. There are countries in this world scraping for food, battling a lifetime of
starvation and yet, elsewhere we are consumed with excess. Bigger houses, bigger

cars, bigger thighs. This society encourages living in abundance and yet condemns
those who are obese. It is a paradox so apparent and yet no one objects. This
society has pushed us to our stocked kitchens, but there is another to blame for
clogging them with sugar, salt and fat (Moss 2013).
Money is the root of all evil. For food companies, their goals are not to
provide quality nutrition, their goals are to make money. What we put in our mouths
each day is a culmination of indecent business motives and the formula for
cravings. As described by The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk food by
Michael Moss, food scientists are trained to find bliss points-a spot so absolutely
undeniable that gives the taste buds a joy ride of just right. Not too hot, not too
cold, not too crunchy, not too soft. Just enough to keep your fingers forever reaching
for one more, just enough to let your mind forget your stomach is full until that just
enough has turned into just the whole bag. Food companies engineer the perfect
snack and consumers are consuming-wrapped up in a world of packaged food that
is potentially snacking them obese. It would be simple to say, cut out some sugar,
remove some of the fatbut then who would buy it? Consumers ask for the bliss
point, its what they will pay for and pay for it they do-in healthcare and diabetes.
But in all of this we neglect to address the one thing this country has fought
so hard for: choice. When it comes to weight management we are faced with
choices every single day. The total diet approach to health states simply that it is
not the daily food intake that determines our fate but the entire diet that will keep
our bodies in a healthy range (Nitzke 2013). Fatty, sugary, energy dense foods will
always be an attractive option. Ask anyone whether theyd like to munch on some
celery or a potato chip. It doesnt take a rocket scientist to guess the chip sounds
more enticing. Its ok to eat the chips though, just not every day. Pizza is delicious,

but one can eat a slice without indulging in the whole pie. We make choices every
meal what we are going to eat. Weight gain is often a product of too many bad
choices. Our bodies are a temple, we have to treat them as such. The one thing that
is so incredible about becoming a healthy, active person is that it takes one step.
Theres no preparation, no sign up fees, no hidden contract issues, its waking up
and saying, Today I start loving my body and putting in only good things. So what
if yesterday you ate a cheesesteak and a gallon of ice cream? Your diet starts new
each day. Put yesterday behind you and jump back on the horse. One bad day
doesnt mean you failed, it means youre human. In our humanness, we must take
responsibility for our choices and start making better ones. Weight loss is possible
for anyone if a person has motivation and realistic, attainable goals.
The epidemic of obesity reaches further than just those who are obese.
Obesity is the last form of prejudice that still goes unnoticed. Calling someone a
nigger or a faggot is unacceptable, but calling someone fat is fair game. It is
no less cruel or degrading of a word than a racial slur yet it is perfectly fine to say.
Despite the fact that 30% of America is obese, there is still so much fat hatred.
Children grow up their whole lives hearing that the easiest way to be ugly is to be
fat and that compliments like, But you have such a pretty face are meaningless
and backhanded. America is growing in size, but our standard of beauty is shrinking.
A belly is not beautiful, it is not a sign of a confident woman or more to love; it is
just fat. However, there is brighter future on the horizon, in a recent 2013 study on
Support for Laws to Prohibit Weight Discrimination in the United States, results
found 75% of their diverse set of participants favored laws for disability protection
for obese people and laws against weight discrimination in the work place (Suh,
Puhl, Liu, & Fleming Milici 2014). Despite this positive outlook, fat phobia is still very

real. It is conditioned as a constant need to lose a few pounds because no one can
be happy exactly where they are. Other studies show 46% of the total sample
indicated that they would rather give up 1 year of life than be obese, and 30%
reported that they would rather be divorced than be obese (Schwartz, Vartanian,
Nosek, & Brownell 2006). Seven days at the gym a week, crash diets, cleanses:
everyone seeking a quick fix. No one can simply work towards health, because its
not fast enough. These failed crash diets end in further weight gain, creating a cycle
that pushes overweight to obese and beyond. (Markey 2014) Our reflection will
never be the photo shopped images on magazines that we strive so hard to
become. We are taught to love ourselves the way we are, but not if we are fat.
Should we be inspired by obese people confident in their looks, or disdained that
they have let their bodies go? There is no right answer to that.
So how do we solve it? In my project we aimed to end obesity at the root:
children. By planting gardens at schools and teaching children about where their
food comes from, nutrition, physical activity and planting overall, we could help
prevent another generation doomed to a lifetime of obesity. Once a person has
reached adulthood, its already too late. Not to say that they cant turn their life
around and get fit, but why fix a problem when you can prevent it from ever
starting? It is the children we should be focusing on. Nutrition curriculums should be
a staple in elementary schools. In a mind blowing Ted Talks by Jamie Oliver, he goes
into elementary schools and asks children what different produce are: they have no
clue. Not even a potato, the mother of the beloved French fry sparks an accurate
answer. Teaching children about healthy habits is essential for a lifetime of good
nutrition. Kids are the target for fattening, sugary snacks and food ads. Fast food
chains appear cool to children knowing all too well it is these small, malleable

minds that will be most affected and most likely to drag mom and dad to get a
cheeseburger. There is a price for greed and it is plaguing our children with grim
futures of cardiovascular disease. Not only this, but physical education is also
becoming a thing of the past. In an education system so focused on teaching to a
test and working so hard to meet unattainable criteria set by No Child Left Behind,
who has time to run around for 45 minutes? Even in the gym classes I took, I found
too often we were not moving nearly enough. This is just school. At home, many
busy parents are too tired at the end of a long work day, they do not want to run
around with their child. It is far easier to stick them in front of a television screen or
plop an I-Pad in their hand than following them as they ride a bike or tossing a ball
back and forth. Our idea of a school garden would bridge these issues into a
general solution incorporating all aspects of the problem. While it would not happen
overnight, for each school who participated in our program, I truly believe their
children would benefit.
To solve the end we must go back to the beginning, from small newborns to
thriving adults, it is in childhood, maybe even infancy that could actually cure
obesity. I believe the one group who came up with a plan to target pregnant
mothers was really on to something. The infants parents shape what children will
begin eating many years into their life. Many parents dont know how to incorporate
nutritiously sound meals into their childs diet, nor do they understand the lasting
habits they may be instilling. Younger parents, especially, may be scared of doing
something wrong: when their baby says, no to a fruit or vegetable, they may
never introduce it again. It can take upwards of eight to fifteen introductions before
a child eats a new food (Skinner, Carruth, Bounds, Ziegler 2002). If parents were
educated on child nutrition they would be better able to give their child a more

nutritious life. The one thing I will never understand in this world is that you need a
license to drive a car, an ID to swipe into a building, a card to take a book home
from a library but when it comes to parentingnothing. The most difficult job on the
entire planet and people are simply thrust into it without any form of training other
than what they saw growing up; an easy way to start vicious cycles of obesity. I
believe there should be mandated parenting classes for expecting mothers and
fathers. These arent vehicles or books in their hands, theyre precious lives that will
hopefully last seventy plus years. It is incredible that there is no required training on
how to take care of their babies especially in regards to nutrition. Obviously every
child is different and one size does not fit all, but some basic education of things like
the benefits of breastfeeding, the proper diet of a toddler, and recommended
amounts of physical activity couldnt hurt anyone.
On another point of mandating, I believe another point that would cure
obesity is more government involvement. There is a fine line between governmental
action protecting its people and overstepping their boundaries but with an epidemic
sweeping its people, I see no harm in at least temporary changes in the food
industry that would help cure obesity. A 2012 study assessed the legality of such
governmental action. Requirements that chain restaurants post calorie counts and
national bans of transfats are game changers for this country and they are legally
sound (Brownell 2012). How many times have you gone to order a raspberry white
chocolate mocha from Starbucks only to notice it has 400 calories? Maybe not
everyone is looking but I guarantee you these calorie postings are changing the way
some consumers see their food. Some chains cut corners for economic reasons that
end up driving up their calorie counts. Love those fluffy omelets from IHOP? That
texture is from pancake batter mixed into their egg bases that take a once healthy

dish and makes it minimally 800 calories for one meal, side dishes not included.
Without a calorie posting, that is deception at its finest. Assume a salad is good for
you at a restaurant? Prepare for a rude awakening. With fatty, creamy dressings and
toppings, so good, they make you forget there is a bed of lettuce, salads can run
over a 1,000 calories at restaurants like the Cheesecake Factory. No wonder why
America is obese. Transfat bans were a leap in the right direction. Do most people
know how bad this fat is? No. That lack of education would and may have sent them
right to edge of a scale if the FDA hadnt stepped in.
They say you can only see 10% of an iceberg because the rest is all under
water. This is obesity. Give me twenty pages, give me a hundred and I will still have
only painted but a fraction of what obesity is and its many layers of blame and
solution. If we are to truly fix obesity, we must come together with a common goal
and a real means to finding solutions, whatever the cost. This is a world bred on
expediency, one tweet from California can be seen by a person in India in under a
second, trending topics soar the planet and connect us all. Where is our connection
to cure obesity? Where is the united front against one of the leading killers of our
people? It requires action, funding and a collaboration of committed minds to make
a difference. In a single classroom we have determined several plans that could
help this problem. Imagine the possibilities of an entire nation, continent, planet
doing the same. Obesity will not cure itself. I am so motivated to be a part of the
fight against childhood obesity. No five year old deserves to be bullied for his or her
weight, no toddler should have trouble running to keep up with their friends. It
breaks my heart knowing that of my two young siblings, their odds of becoming
obese are astronomical. It is my job, your job, our job to end this epidemic. As

scales climb and outlooks seem bleak, all it takes is an idea to start chipping away
at the iceberg obesity and a few dedicated minds that will inspire a nation.
Citations
Brownell, K. D. (2012) Portion Sizes and Beyond Government's Legal Authority to
Regulate FoodIndustry Practices. New England Journal of Medicine, DOI:
10.1056/NEJMp1208167
Markey, C. (Director) (2014, April 2). Psychology of Obesity: Adult. Obesity speaker.
Lecture conducted
from , New Brunswick.
Moss, M. (2013, 02 30). The extraordinary science of addictive junk food. The New
York Times. Retrieved
from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/24/magazine/the-extraordinaryscience-of-junk-food.html?ref=michaelmoss&_r=0
Nitzke, S. (2013) Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: Total Diet
Approach to Healthy
Eating. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics,
doi:10.1016/j.jand.2012.12.013
Schwartz, M. B., Vartanian, L. R., Nosek, B. A. and Brownell, K. D. (2006), The
Influence of One's Own
Body Weight on Implicit and Explicit Anti-fat Bias. Obesity, 14: 440447.
doi: 10.1038/oby.2006.58
Skinner J.D., Carruth B.R., Bounds W., Ziegler P.J. Childrens food preference. A
longitudinal analysis,
Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 102 (11) (2002), pp. 16381647
Suh, Y., Puhl, R., Liu, S. and Fleming Milici, F. (2014), Support for laws to prohibit
weight discrimination in
the united states: Public attitudes from 2011 to 2013. Obesity.
doi: 10.1002/oby.20750