“Obese Americans are the Elephant in the Room”
I like to eat. I do. Food is tasty and it fuels our bodies; eating food with friends is one big way in which we socialize. And I will be the first to admit that I don’t always make the healthiest food choices. Even though I know what it means to consumers, to farmers and to agricultural policy in our country, I still sometimes stop at McDonald’s and order French Fries. Our bodies are hard wired to crave fatty, salty foods with very few exceptions. But we have gotten out of control over the last several years.
Talking on the phone to my sister today, she complained to me about my niece’s choice for lunch at school on Friday: fried cheese sticks washed down with a slushie. FRIED.CHEESE.STICKS.AND.A.SHLUSHIE! What are these choices even doing on a middle school lunch room menu?!
There was an interesting editorial by my favorite author Michael Pollen in the Times a while back. He made the argument that reform of the health care industry will make large insurance companies start pushing for reform of the food industry. As our medical system moves from one of treatment to one of prevention, in order to save money, insurance companies will start lobbying for healthier food policy so that Americans won’t continue to get sick from our diets and cost health insurers their large profits. It was an interesting perspective that I hadn’t really considered until a few months ago- the perspective that what you eat affects me!
This truth hit home for me earlier this summer when I got a letter in my mail from my insurance company telling me that my rates were going up almost $60 per month. When I called to complain that I was an excellent bet for them (I have a high deductible so none of my preventive check-ups were covered), I don’t smoke, etc. they said that they based my premiums on the general health care costs of all residents in Alabama. And since a good portion of people in Alabama are fat and have obesity-related diseases like heart disease and diabetes, I got to share in their portion of health care costs. Needless to say, I was beyond pissed.
So, if health care reform has as a side benefit the smallest chance that we as a society will think twice before stuffing our faces with those greasy fries from McDonald’s, I am all for it.
