Alarming ABC News headline Fat Forecast: 42% of Americans Obese by 2030. The article states that according to a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 32 million more Americans will become obese by 2030, upping obesity rates to 42 percent of the U.S. population. It goes on to state that the proportion of Americans who are severely obese, meaning more than 100 pounds overweight, will reach 11 percent, about double the current rate. This report notes that such an increase would create $550 billion of obesity-related health care costs. The article closes out with this sentence: “Anti-obesity measures such as better urban design, access to recreational facilities, workplace health promotion and new drugs could help reign in the problem, the authors noted.”

Let’s dissect this sentence. What, specifically, is meant by “better urban design”? Urban design theory deals primarily with the design and management of public space. Google it, that’s what you’ll find.  So one way to combat obesity in America is to either eliminate escalators or build jogging tracks in this space.

I’m guessing “access to recreational facilities” means making these tracks available to the general public. The word “free” was absent and was not placed directly in front of “access”. The word “urban” is not to be confused with “rural” or “suburban”. It’s a characteristic of, or pertains to living in a city. It’s also a code word for the poor people that live there. I’m not sure there are many opportunities for poor and or obese people to ride bikes or jog to the Whole Food store in their neighborhood. Maybe they can go out and get a job (if they don’t have one), so they can take advantage of any “workplace health promotion” that may be going on. What would a health promotion at a workplace look like? Maybe some well-placed motivational signs.

Or

The second one might have more impact. Back to sentence dissection. My favorite part is the last part: “New drugs could help reign in the problem, the authors noted”. So we get to the crux of the low-fat biscuit. News spin and marketing all working together in perfect synergy. We are blasted (prepared) for the impending increase in health care costs. Hold on a sec, we are not just being primed here-because this is just another reaffirmation, maintenance mind-control. Just in case we thought costs might be going anywhere but down. They’re still going up, and now we need to fund research for new anti-obesity drugs. The mainstream media paves the way for the politicians and their lobbyist cronies once again. Soon, they’ll report on these drugs, and we’ll thank them for it. We’ll wonder how we ever lived without them. And the commercials will pound us to go get a prescription, even with a ten-page side effects list.

Now, I’m not saying there aren’t lazy obese people riding around on electric blimp-carts in Walmart. Many of these people are putting a truckload of weight on knees and ankles that weren’t designed for the load imposed upon them. It’s kind of like trying to balance a sack of lard on two toothpicks. It just doesn’t work. These people should trade in their blimp carts for treadmills.  I know there are exceptions to these scenarios like bad thyroid glands or needing to finish off a warehouse full of Twinkies acquired in Storage Wars, but at least they have some type of vehicle that will cart their blobby forms and scooters off to the store.

I’m not picking on ABC, since this type of “news” is just the common everyday info that passes in front of our eyes at lightning speed. The influx of data we absorb is at threshold that is so high the messages become purely subliminal. By the time these catastrophic scenarios become a reality we are already conditioned to accept them, no matter how horrible.

While typing this blog post, I tried to research TV advertisers for ABC, NBC, or CBS. Couldn’t find a list anywhere, so I just turned on ABC’s Good Morning America and turned off the sound. Hit the jackpot on the very first commercial.

Jimmy Dean Delights ® Turkey Sausage Muffin (www.jimmydean.com)

Description: They may have 1/3 fewer calories and less than half the fat, but these heart-healthy sandwiches are full of flavorful turkey sausage, egg whites, and cheese. They also provide 5 grams of whole grains, and they’re an excellent source of protein and a good source of calcium. Found in your grocer’s freezer.

A freezer that is commonly located in “urban” areas.

The ingredients of this “heart-healthy” and “flavorful” muffin (source: www.foodfacts.com):

At the top of the webpage for this product is the heading:

Feeling The Glow Yet?

Providing you’re not eating this anywhere near a commercial nuclear reactor, I’d be very concerned as to what type of glow they are talking about here. Maybe it’s a reference to the temporary feeling of satiation one experiences after downing a sausage muffin, or the after-glow of having just expelled one. Both visions provide a disturbing dietary mental non-healthy eating canvas.

Next time you go food shopping bring a magnifying glass to read the ingredients on potential food candidates. I leave you with this Shakyamuni Buddha quote:

“Don’t blindly believe what I say. Don’t believe me because others convince you of my words. Don’t believe anything you see, read, or hear from others, whether of authority, religious teachers or texts. Don’t rely on logic alone, nor speculation. Don’t infer or be deceived by appearances.”