The price of food throughout the world has risen at an unprecedented rate, according to a warning issued by United Nations. In 2007, the global food price index rose over 40 percent compared to 9 percent in 2006. Agency officials cite global warming, changes in farming practices, natural disasters, war and rising demand for food and fuel from growing populations as key factors.
In the United States, the price of fresh fruits and vegetables rose 74% between 1989 and 2005, and we can expect the cost to continue to rise given the damage to crops from flooding in the Midwest and a drought on the west coast. In terms of the dollar’s purchasing power, it takes $125 to buy the same goods today that $100 bought in 2000.
Given the rising cost of food, why are Americans—along with citizens of other countries—ballooning? Obesity is even becoming a problem in some parts of Africa as the pendulum for many now swings from under-nutrition to obesity without bothering to stop at normal weight. Is inflation contagious? Is it triggering inflation in body weight as well?
In an effort to address this question, a special health issue of Time magazine focused on supersized kids. The expanding problem (excuse the pun) of childhood obsesity is a concern for many but especially parents, grandparents, teachers and medical professionals.
Time’s eight lengthy, well-researched articles cover topics ranging from the economics of obesity (how limited access to fresh fruits and vegetables in inner cities and certain rural areas, referred to as food deserts, encourages calorie-laden diets) to genetic causes of obesity and medical solutins. Practical tips to help parents trim their oversized kids by helping them become more active is also included.
But is the problem of body inflation this complex? And is the solution more exercise?
Not according to biologist John Speakman at the University of Aberdeen in the U.K. He narrows it down to one simple cause: we eat too much. In a study reported in the June 4, 2008, issue of Science Now titled “The Couch Isn’t Making You Fat,” Dr. Speakman asserts that overeating rather than under-exercising is the root cause of obesity.
Dr. Speakman and a fellow biologist, Klaas Westerterp of Maastricht University in the Netherlands, studied data that measured the daily energy expenditure stretching over a twenty year period. Then they compared the data from the long term studies with results they obtained measuring the current energy expenditure of 366 individuals. Rather than rely on subjective reporting, the researchers measured the ratio of hydrogen and oxygen in the urine of subjects, a ratio that provides information on the rate of metabolism.
Their conclusion was both startling and controversial. The researchers found that the daily expenditure of energy for their subjects was about the same as it was for people measured twenty years ago. True, watching television has replaced listening to the radio, and surfing the Internet or playing video games has replaced reading books. But the effect of these changes does not significantly alter energy expenditure.
Even more impressive was their conclusion that the expenditure of energy was consistent over the entire twenty year period. Surprisingly, geography had little impact. That is, the expenditure of energy remained constant whether the data came from studies in developing or westernized countries.
His study confirms my own experience in losing over sixty pounds. How did I acquire the surplus pounds? I ate too much.
Here’s a typical day of eating before I lost weight.
Breakfast
1 fried egg 100
2 slices of bacon 80
2 slices whole wheat bread 200
2 cups of coffee with cream 90
1 8-ounce glass of orange juice 130
Total 600
Lunch
1 double cheeseburger 440
1 large order French fries 500
1 packet catsup 15
1 12-ounce McFlurry with M&Ms 620
Total 1,570
Snack
2 chocolate chip cookies 200
Dinner
2 slices cheddar cheese 210
4 whole wheat crackers 100
1 baked potato 90
2 heaping tablespoons sour cream 120
1 heaping tablespoon butter 100
1 breast of chicken 200
1 cup green salad 180
3 tablespoons salad dressing 100
1 cup green beans with butter 100
Total 1,200
Total for the day 3,570
Given my height of 5-feet 2-inches, even with an hour of exercise, my body burns around 1,500 calories a day. So what happened to the 2,080 surplus calories on my typical eating day? My body stored fat around my middle, hips and thighs.
Had I tried to burn the extra calories through exercise, I would have needed to walk 10 hours. As you can see, there weren’t enough hours in the day to burn off the surplus calories.
Although I’m not a math major, I figured out that except for the ultra-athlete engaged in intense, continuous training or the competitors on The Biggest Loser, exercise by itself would not be sufficient to lose weight. Consequently, my approach to losing weight involved eating less (reducing portion sizes) and eat differently (substituting lower-calorie foods for richer ones.
Don’t get me wrong. Exercise shapes and tones my body, lowers my blood pressure, improves my balance, sharpens my mind, strengthens my muscles and bones, reduces the risk of certain chronic diseases and lifts my spirit. Exercise also helps me sleep better, boosts my energy and burns a few incidental calories. Because exercise has these enormous benefits, I’m committed to daily exercise. At the same time, I’m realistic about the ongoing need to monitor the amount of calories I consume if I want to keep from packing on pounds.
What triggers body inflation? Genetics? Too much screen time? Or do we eat too much? Is it simply consumption inflation? If it is, can we accept such a straightforward answer? Or will we seek an answer that does not require us to alter our current way of life. And eating.
Like Brutus, will we continue to look for answers—not in ourselves—but in the stars?
"The fault, dear Brutus, lies not in our stars but in ourselves..." Shakespeare
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