7. Let's Eat
A primary health problem in developed countries today is not malnutrition, as would be expected by Malthus’ prognostications, but is instead obesity – caused primarily from overeating. Who is overeating the most? Not the rich, but the poorer members of the culture whose dietary habits do not equal the sophistication of those of the upper economic classes. The poor eat more empty calories via consumption of junk food, as the following newspaper article illustrates:
The number of obese Americans — those at least 30 percent over ideal body weight — rose from 12 percent in 1991 to 17.9 percent in 1998, according to researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who spoke at a seminar at the University of California at Los Angeles sponsored by the American Medical Association. [1]
In a separate study, Tufts University researchers found that 63 percent of men and 55 percent of women over age 25 are obese or overweight, the highest rate ever recorded.
Obesity leads directly to at least 280,000 deaths every year and perhaps as many as 374,000, according to a new study from St. Luke’s/Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York City. That makes obesity the second-leading cause of preventable deaths after smoking, said Dr. Jeffrey P. Koplan, director of CDC, and “a devastating public health threat.”
The increase in obesity is somewhat paradoxical, according to Dr. Phil B. Fontanarosa, interim co-editor of the journal. Interest in fitness in general and low-fat, low-calorie foods has never been higher, he noted. Even so, he said, 40 percent of adults engage in virtually no sustained exercise, and the consumption of fast foods is at an all-time high.
Among the possible explanations he cited were an increase in average caloric consumption during the period, from 2,239 calories to 2,455 per day for men; growth in the fast-food industry, which features meals high in calories and fat; increased consumption of snack foods, and decreased levels of exercise.[47]
A recent 2023 update from the CDC indicates an adult obesity rate of 41.9% with severe obesity at 9.2%. 100 Million adults are obese including 20 Million that are severely obese.[2]
Another recent newspaper article reports that Americans will spend more on media than on food by 2003, displacing it as the sixth largest industry. Not only are we not starving, but we spend more to facilitate talking to each other than on food. [3]
As third world countries join the ranks of the developed countries, they not only reduce their birth rates, they adopt their bad eating habits too. The whole planet may one day be overfed and obese if present trends continue – a far cry from the Malthus’ pessimistic vision of limited resources and mass starvation.
[1] Thomas H. Maugh II, Americans Getting Fatter Fast — Hormone Study Offers Hope, 17.9% are at least 30% over their ideal weight , Los Angeles Times, Wednesday, October 27, 1999.
[2] Center for Desease Control and Prevention (CDC), Adult Obesity Facts.
[3] U.S. Soon Will Spend More on Media Than Food – Study, Bloomberg News, Reporting on forecast by Veronis, Suhler & Associates. San Francisco Chronicle, November 12, 1999.