Obesity Costs

Since we're on the topic of food and agriculture, I thought that it is important to talk about how a lot of food can actually be bad for a country. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website, obesity costs America 147 billion dollars per year in medical costs! Not only does obesity actually cost more for the government, but it also costs the transportation industry too! I was reading an article the other day which stated that obese people are bad for the transportation industry because they take up more space on the vehicle while paying the same amount as any other person. All over social media, I see posts about "fat acceptance." These posts propagate lies about obesity, they say things like "diets don't work" and "obesity is perfectly healthy." The CDC states that there are many, horrible, due to obesity which reduces your life expectancy by a large chunk. There have been studies that show a clear relationship between obesity and mental health problems. To fix this, we should stop "fat acceptance" and we should start doing things to help other people's lifestyles. Promote raw ingredients, fresh greens, etc. That way, people will have to buy all the ingredients and cook themselves. They will know exactly what they put into their stomachs and they will be healthier because home cooking will replace fast-foods. If we continue down the path we are going down right now, we will end up like the guys in WallE. I've already stated the negative economic impacts, but wait there's more! If a countries population is largely obese, it's military will also start having to accept more and more obese people. This is bad because there is a serious concern of many soldiers getting a heart-attack on a battlefield. Soldiers need to be in great condition to protect their homeland, an obese population is simply not healthy, and by extension not as strong as a healthy population. If we have a weak army, other countries may see us as a weak opponent and try to usurp our power and resources. Environmentally, obesity is a nightmare because people are consuming so much more than they need. Earth will not be able to sustain the number of farms required if we continue our overeating lifestyle. Finally, there are social impacts. I've mentioned that obesity is linked with depression, well, if everyone is obese, then everyone is going to have a higher rate of depression. A lackadaisical population is the last thing that a country needs to stay strong. There will be much more conflict between civilians. About a year ago there was a story in the news about a man who had bought a plane ticket, only to find that his spot was being taken by an obese man who took up two spots. The first man had to stand for the nine-hour flight even though he paid the same amount as the other guy! Obesity is a clear problem, it is not something that we should "accept." We have to fight to stay strong and be our best selves.