The Fattening of America: How the Economy Makes Us Fat, If It Matters, and What to Do About ItAuthor: Eric A. Finkelstein and Laurie ZuckermanGenre: Money Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Released: January 9, 2008 |
A Review by Kim Lumpkin
02/04/2008
…just imagine yourself cooped up in a 4-by-6 foot room for most of your waking hours. High-calorie meals are brought directly to you and you have little opportunity to exercise. What do you think would happen?
Odd are you’d get fat ��" real fat. For evidence, we need to look no further than the 432 alleged Al Qada and Taliban detainees now serving time in the Guantanamo Bay (Gitmo) facility in Cuba. Believe it or not, the average weight gain of these inmates has been 18 pounds since the camp opened in 2002.
Although not everyone becomes overweight for the same reasons, Finkelstein provides ample evidence that nearly all cases can be traced in some way to economic factors. These are things I’ve often pondered on my morning runs, and which anyone who pays attention can observe whenever you’re out in public, but now there are the numbers to back it up.
With a combination of data and common sense, Finkelstein discusses economic incentives for weight loss that may work and those that probably don’t. For example, while a healthy work force is a definite benefit for any business, one major reason fitness programs and health centers in workplaces may not benefit many companies is that most employees will not work for them long enough for the companies to reap the benefits.
While Finkelstein questions the effectiveness of trying to require people to get fit, he does feel it is necessary to do something about childhood obesity, since kids do not have the foresight to make informed decisions about their health. There are no easy answers, since school budgets are too tight to allow for healthier options (and kids can rarely afford them, either), and many schools have become dependent on the money they receive from soda companies. One of Finkelstein’s possible solutions is to offer healthier food at a reduced price and make up the difference by charging more for the unhealthy stuff.
The issue of obesity is something that affects all of us in one way or another, especially parents, and there are no easy answers. Finkelstein makes it clear that the problem is rooted in our economy, and that there is little the government can do about it (and, in the case of adults, even if the government could regulate fitness more, he questions if they should). It may be tempting to say that he is making excuses for being overweight, but when you really consider the evidence, it’s not so clear. What is clear is that many overweight people would like to overcome their time and economic limitations and exercise more and eat healthier, and Finkelstein shows them where the problem lies and offers some possible solutions. He also practices what he preaches, running marathons and teaching his own kids about the importance of a healthy diet. I would add that we need to find ways to increase “accidental weight loss” and multitasking (for example, I read this book riding an exercise bike). Perhaps with the help of science and technology that reverses the trend of making us less active, we can become a fitter nation once again.
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