Generally speaking, there wasn’t really a weight problem in the U.S. until the 1970s.  Americans pretty much ate regular meals, did somewhat physical tasks around the house, and kept ourselves healthy and trim. Now, we’re calling obesity an “epidemic” and dying in droves from what we put in our mouths.

I believe this is part of the evolutionary process.

1. From cavemen to the 1960s. People eat whatever they want,the food is generally healthy, and there’s lots of manual labor so everyone pretty much stays skinny.
2. The 1970s arrive and manufacturers discover high fructose corn syrup. This very stable sugar makes it possible to create vast quantities of food that don’t go bad sitting on shelves for months.  People don’t know this, of course, and start scarfing down chips and cookies with abandon.  The paunch is unleashed in America.  Ironically, the sports bra is invented by sewing two jock straps together and people begin “jogging.”
3. The 1980s hit and food manufacturers learn the secrets of chemical warfare.  By creating chemicals that mimic food flavors, manufacturers no longer need to make the food appealing; they just need to throw enough chemicals into the mix that people think they’re eating flavorful food.  This coincides with home goods manufacturers introducing bigger and bigger plates.  To combat burgeoning girths, Lycra/Spandex becomes a beloved fabric by many.
4. The 1990s sees a time of refinement. Manufacturers get better at creating food that looks appealing and tastes appealing but offers less and less nutritional value.  Food producers begin to solidify their stranglehold on the supply chain by ditching those silly things called farms in favor of CAFOs (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations).  Health clubs see an explosion in membership as we say to ourselves, “No Pain. No Gain.”
5. The 2000s find us fat and happy. The new millennium finds us scarfing down food with abandon and wondering if we should maybe do something about it.  The diet industry, always strong, is booming as we flip-flop between cardboard diets that leave us hungry and cranky and all-out affairs of eating with abandon.  Work outs diversify into hundreds of options and every fitness or weight loss movement can be tracked online through smart phones and laptops.
6. The 2010s (so far). It may only be months into the decade, but we’re beginning to think something needs to be done about this whole thing.  The government and Moms everywhere start giving the evil eye to food manufacturers.  Parents start giving the evil eye to government for not providing healthy lunches for our kids.  We’ve become a nation of finger pointing, the stink eye, and muffin tops.
7. The 2010s (the rest of the decade and beyond). We get our acts together. More and more people start changing their eating habits as individuals and families.  People start embracing kitchen gadgets and organics and even try to grow a few plants themselves.  Urban hipsters start drooling over chicken coops and fresh laid eggs.   We join the “Meatless Monday” brigade and those muffin tops finally start fading away. The hopeful end result: that the 7 out of 10 top causes of death related to obesity drop to pre-World War II levels and the life expectancy of our children finally goes back up.  They will actually live longer than us.  Hallulejah!

What do you think?  What would you add?

Lisa

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