Food for Thought: The Worldwide Obesity Epidemic
Written by Anvi Sharma
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 650 million adults are considered obese. With industrialization and technology constantly rising, people are left unmotivated to stay active and engaged. So the question arises: why?
Technology has revolutionized the way we work and live – leaving us mostly sedentary. With social media, food delivery, and hybrid work environments just beyond the tips of our fingers, our lives have become increasingly passive. Even as I write this opinion piece, my phone is playing SNL videos beside my laptop. The ease of modern life has left many people in a chronic state of energy surplus, consuming more calories than burned, yet exhausted by the end of the day. Data from the Center for Disease Control shows that from 2013-2016, 36.3% of American adults consumed fast food at least once per day. Additionally, targeted ads from fast food companies bombard users with images of their food, leading them to become more likely to eat the products, a phenomenon called heuristic processing.
The rise of processed food, high-calorie, low-effort, unhealthy diets are more accessible than ever. Big food industries, focused on profit, create products engineered to trigger over-eating. The National Library of Medicine shows that poverty is often associated with unhealthy eating, so the people who can access healthy food are limited. Convenience comes at the cost of health, as fast food dominates diets worldwide.
Research shows that insufficient sleep can lead to weight gain by disrupting hunger-regulating hormones like ghrelin and leptin. Addicting social media such as TikTok and Instagram lure users in, and it’s extremely difficult to let go once in. Studies show that 1/3 of Americans get less than 7 hours of recommended sleep per night. Blue light emitted by screens disrupts circadian rhythms, reducing the quality of rest gained and harming the impulse control needed to eat healthier foods.
Unwalkable neighborhoods and cities further complicate the picture. In some of the biggest cities across the world, such as Los Angeles and New Delhi, green spaces and recreational spaces are rare. Urban spaces designed around cars discourage physical activities, such as walking and cycling. Within low-income areas, residents are left without access to nutritious food, pushing them towards junk food instead.
As technological innovations grow year by year, permeating through almost every industry imaginable, the well-being of global citizens seems to decrease proportionally. The future of the world seems to become grimmer as the next generation of leaders lack basic skills, addicted to food and screens. So, as we move on, another question arises: how do we fix the damage?
