North Americans are some of the wealthiest people in the world; they have the biggest vehicles, the biggest houses, the biggest swimming pools and now some of the biggest bodies. We're running in a race we don't want to win, two thirds of the continent is overweight and nearly half of those are obese (BMI over 30). Walter Willett notes that, "Weight sits like a spider at the center of an intricate tangled web of health and disease." Since 1980 the number of overweight Canadians and Americans has increased by a shocking almost 1% a year.

Given the availability of convenient calories in our lives perhaps the surprising thing is that we're not all overweight. We walk and work in a world where cheap food and calorie dense drinks are available in schools, hospitals, recreation centers, casinos, video stores, church halls, gas stations, sidewalks (if sidewalks exist), movie theatres, beaches and our own, overstocked freezers and fridges, which are often within easy reach of the TV. Millions of calories are consumed in cars, which all feature cup holders to facilitate latte and soda drinking while driving. (A recent New York Times article pointed out the Japanese cars made for use in Japan don't have cup holders because, "The Japanese don't eat and drink in their cars.")

On any given day 30% of American children eat fast food and 7% of the US population visits McDonalds each day. Gortmaker, Ludwig et al found that on 'fast food days' children averaged 126 calories more than when eating at home. (Remember that 100 extra calories a day translates to 10 lbs of extra fat per year.) Over the past 40 years many fast food portions have quadrupled. For example, we've gone from consuming 6.5 oz and 8 oz soft drinks in the 60's to 32 oz 'Big Gulps', 33.8 oz (one litre) 'single serving' bottles and the 64 oz 'Double Gulps'. It's become possible to consume literally 1000's of calories in minutes. Feeling stuffed has replaced feeling satisfied as the mark of a successful eating experience.

A Few Factoids

In 1978 8% of the homes had microwaves; today that figure is 83%. Between 1977 and 1997 potato consumption increased 30% and it was almost all in the form of French fries and chips. A typical child might see 10,000 ads for convenience food and drink each year.

Many children graduate having watched 15,000 hours of TV (a full time job), spent 11,000 hours in the classroom and had 750 hours of PE, if they were lucky.

The food industry in North America spends over 35 billion dollars on advertising, overwhelming the few million that health related organizations can generate to promote healthy eating. For every additional hour of TV watched on a daily basis, body fat increases 2%. 6.6 billion litres of soft drinks were sold in the USA in 2002. That's 1.6 cans/day/person. 20% of 1 and 2 year olds drink pop.

There's a strong correlation between children who have TV in their bedrooms and children who are overweight/obese. Daily Consumption Grade 3 Grade 8 Fruit 64.6% 37.1% Soft drinks 21.4% 57.1% Breakfast 98.6% 85.2% All the health related indicators are going in the wrong direction. Since 1977, 40% fewer children get to school under their own power eg walking, cycling, blading etc. When I first arrived in British Columbia in 1970 there were 29 supervisors of physical education serving various school districts. Today there are zero and our Provincial Government has just reneged on its promise to increase physical education in schools. It's clear that our lack of physical activity and our eating and drinking habits are doing far more damage than anything Osama could dream up. As Shakespeare observed "I am my own executioner."

The Perfect Caloric Storm

For reasons that go back beyond recorded history, human taste buds respond favorably to things which are sweet, fatty and salty. Fast food manufacturers had long been aware of this, but in the 50's and 60's there was still a price barrier, which kept the large majority of people eating at home. In 1971 food scientists in Japan found a way to economically produce a very cheap sweetener. They called it high-fructose corn syrup or HFCS. It was 6 times sweeter than cane sugar and, as its name implied, it could be made from corn.

HFCS had other attributes as well. Using it in frozen foods protected the product from freezer burn. Using it in long-shelf-life products like those in vending machines - kept the product fresh tasting. Bakery products which included HFCS looked more 'natural' as if they had just been browned in the oven. But there's no free lunch, especially if it included HFCS. Greg Critser, in his book 'Fat Land' writes,

"HFCS also had one attribute that posed a potentially troubling question to those in the food industry. Fructose, unlike sucrose or dextrose, took a decidedly different route into the human metabolism. Where the latter would go through a complex breakdown process before arriving in the human liver, the former, for some reason, bypassed that breakdown and arrived almost completely intact in the liver, whereupon the organ set upon it as it would anything else. This unique feature of fructose, which was intensified by the high concentrations of it in HFCS, would come to be called "metabolic shunting." In food science circles, it raised eyebrows but, as several scientists present at the time note, not warning flags."

Praise the Lard

Salt was already abundant and was very cheap, so two of three fast food factors were available. All that was needed now was a new source of fat at the right price and that tumbler was about to fall into place. As part of a political deal with Malaysia, Secretary of Agriculture, Earl Butz agreed to import vast quantities of palm oil from the somewhat reluctant South East Asian ally. Experts knew that palm oil was very high in saturated fat and were already aware of the connection between saturated fat consumption and heart disease. Palm oil had long been disparaged with names such as 'tree lard', 'rat oil' and 'axle grease'. It was higher in saturated fat (45%) than hog lard (38%) but to Mr Butz the very things that made palm oil a problem could be seen as benefits. Palm oil did for fat what HFCS did for sweeteners. Because palm oil was stable, products made with it had an almost limitless life on supermarket shelves. Liberal use of palm oil gave products what manufacturers call great 'mouth feel'. Best of all palm oil was abundant year round and the cost was unbelievably good.

The scene was set. Coke and Pepsi switched to HFCS at significant savings, which allowed them to boost portion sizes while making bigger profits. Thousands of energy dense foods using palm oil, HFCS and salt crowded the convenience store shelves. With costs going down it was time for 'supersizing'. It was the signal for North Americans to eat like they had never eaten before.

Who Or What Do We Blame?

There are lots of targets, all obvious, all guilty and nearly all unrepentant. A case can be made against governments and politicians, agribusiness giants, multinational fast food companies, medical and health (sick) care organizations, advertisers, educational institutions, city planners, mass media and against every church group, school or volunteer society who raised funds by selling low nutrient, high calorie food and drink products (e.g. hot dogs, cookies, candy etc.). The common denominator of all groups, whether local or global, is money. As Voltaire observed, "When it is a question of money everybody is of the same religion".

In a nation where obesity in young children has doubled and tripled, it would seem obvious to ban fast food and soft drink advertising that preys on children; particularly advertising that associates itself with programs or objects suitable for 3, 4 and 5 year-olds. But the lobbyists for fast food and the media moguls pour money into the political coffers and the children suffer. Physicians receive meager, if any, rewards for counseling their patients on exercise and good nutrition, but are well paid for a 5-minute diagnosis and a prescription. Every educator knows that children need to be active and the 2002 study by the California Department of Education showed an extraordinarily powerful correlation between physical fitness and academic performance in almost a million school children. But gymnasia are expensive, vigorous activity can be associated with injuries and lawsuits and there are logistical problems with daily Physical Education. Expediency dictates that the children stay desk bound.

Money drives decisions, more than health, joy, education and common sense. There's a bigger profit selling big portions of fatty, sweet food than in selling healthy food, so bring on the hot dogs, the burgers and the cookies. The price of a new basketball scoreboard or drums for the band is merely a few pop machines in the school and some signage. A bargain. Multi-national companies have the income of a moderate sized nation and have been able to create an environment favorable to massive sales of their products and often unfavorable to the people who buy them. "We now live by the Golden Rule. Those with the gold make the rules." Buzzie Bavasi

There's plenty of blame to throw around but as Don Ardell (see Speaker Profile in this issue) never tires of telling us, the responsibility is still ours. We have the power to turn off the TV and disconnect the cable. We can vote for politicians who support physical activity. We can walk, run, swim, ski and play. We can choose to be strong, we can choose to be slim, we can choose to be fit. We can choose to use our brains or we can allow ourselves to be dumbed down. We have the enormous power not to buy products that are unhealthy.

In the closing paragraph of 'Fast Food Nation', Eric Schlosser writes, "Sometimes the most irresistible force is the most mundane. Pull open the glass door of your local fast food outlet, walk inside, get in line, and look around you, look at the kids in the kitchen, at the customers in their seats, at the ads for the latest toys, study the backlit color photographs above the counter, think about where the food came from, about how it was made, about what is set in motion by every single food purchase, the ripple effect near and far, think about it. Then turn and walk out the door, it's not too late. Even in this fast food nation, you can still have it your way."

If you still need someone to blame
you can always fall back on,
"The Devil Made Me Do It".

God created man and woman in his own image and they were lean and fit. Satan said, "I know how I can get back in this game." God brought forth fruit and vegetables of many colours packed with nutrients so man/woman could live long, healthy lives. Satan created fast food and brought forth the Big Mac and the 99¢ cheeseburger and Satan said to man, "You want fries with that?" And man said, "Yea! Supersize them." And gained 5 lbs. And God created low-fat yogurt that woman might keep the figure which man found so fair. Satan brought forth Ben & Gerry's and woman gained weight. God said, "Try my salad." And Satan created creamy salad dressing and chocolate for dessert. And God created olive oil for cooking. Satan countered with beef fat for deep-frying. Man gained many pounds and his cholesterol went through the roof. God produced running shoes so that people might move and be slim. Satan brought forth cable TV and remote controls. People gained 20 more pounds. God said, "You're running up the score, Satan" and created the humble, healthy potato. Satan removed the skin; deep fried the potato and made chips. And people clutched their remote controls, ate their chips and Satan saw and said, "This is good."

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