Obesity and Its Roots

Obesity and Its Roots
Author: Krystal Brown
October 13, 2009

Can we categorize the cause of obesity, and have that cause be relevant in all cases of obesity. I don’t think that it is a realistic task. In every nation around the world, obesity is prevalent. From the richest parts of America, to the poorest regions of South America, obesity has left its mark on human health and well being.
You can link obesity to everything from stress, lack of medical access, to poverty and capitalism. And of these ‘links’ the strongest, in my opinion, is capitalism. A brief history of capitalism is this: it has its origins in North America, and according to Mooney, Knox, and Schatch, authors of the book “Understanding Social Problems”, is defined as an economic system characterized by private ownership of the means of production and distribution of goods and services for profit in a competitive market. Capitalism has replaced old world traditions like growing your foods, and processing your own meats. This doesn’t seem major, but when you give it some thought, we’ve chosen to put our food consumption safety in the hands of manufacturing companies.
It’s safe to a least assume that these major food processing companies are in it for the money. Adding preservatives, dyes, fragrances, and who knows what else to our foods in an effort to get the edge over their competitors. This capitalistic business leads to major marketing tactics.Don’t believe me? Then ask yourself this question; how often do you see commercials advertising food and food products on a daily rate? How many print ad’s did you drive by today that advertise food consumption of any kind, including restaurants? Too many to NOT get your taste buds excited I bet.
In an interview with an anonymous medical professional on the cause of obesity issue, he had this to say
“Exercise is the healthiest way to lose weight. According to recent studies, the cells of a person who exercised to lose weight appear younger in comparison to a person who diets”.
I found this information compelling, but it seemed as if he (the Doctor) wasn’t comfortable with discussing the causes of obesity. Actually, the statement made by the Doctor that hits home for me is when he exclaimed this
“No one has time to exercise, but everyone needs to make the time or face the consequences later!”
Like it or not, it is because of capitalism that we don’t have time to exercise. No, really! Think about the amount of hours we dedicate in a days’ time for work, bill paying, and grocery shopping, and so on. By the time we’ve completed our contribution to this capitalistic machine, we’re literally exhausted. And unless you’re a superhuman, the excess stress and foods that we’ve consumed just lingers both on us, and in us.
I’m not saying that capitalism alone accounts for every case of obesity. However, the system of capitalism has put a great deal of strain on human beings worldwide. It causes excessive food consumption, stress, over all greed.