IObesity kills 5 million people a year (according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation), almost twice as many as malaria, tuberculosis and HIV combined. Fat people’s lives are severely degraded, whether they die from it or not. The history of obesity is one of tragedy in slow motion, the growth of which is variable but systematic: no country has been able to reverse it.
The main reason is known: the evolution of the food system. The National Institute of Health and Medical Research indicates that in France, the proportion of victims has doubled in less than thirty years, reaching almost 9 million people. The conclusion of the Ministry of Health was recently submitted. If this document has the merit of highlighting the subject in order to make it a priority, it does not dare to make large-scale proposals for the food industry.
Obesity is a food-borne disease, and its public treatment must be food-based, knowing that we have three main enemies: calories, processing, and chemicals, especially pesticides. The science of nutrition is extremely complex, but the solutions could be simpler.
A forest of risks to be avoided
We already know which approaches don’t work. They have been tried in most democracies – and even autocracies – with little, if any, negative effects. They are the ones who want to reduce demand by addressing individuals as they are “reasonable” – a way to reduce them – without interfering with food risks and industrial practices. 21st century food systeme The century plays again The Jungle Book, plunging people into a forest of risks that they themselves must avoid in order to escape. Increasing supply of risk in the hope that demand will counter it is a pipe dream that turns out to be grossly inefficient. This individual approach is wrong because it believes that it can provide a behavioral response to an environmental problem.
The methods of combating risk are known. This is one that attacks supply, not demand. They go through law and economics, ie regulation and taxation. They have proven themselves by suppressing risks such as tobacco, lead, air pollution in rich countries or even alcohol in certain democracies. However, food is not regulated or taxed.
Source: Le Monde
I’m David Jackson, a professional news writer and author at Run Down Bulletin. I specialize in writing health news stories that offer readers the latest information on medical discoveries, treatments and advancements.
