We’d save billions of dollars in gas. Airlines would double their profits. A dearth of diabetes and other diseases would save billions of dollars more — and put thousands of doctors on the street. McDonald’s would sell not Big Macs but little steamed chicken snacks — or watch its profits melt away. Productivity would rise, potentially creating tens of thousands more jobs or higher wages all around.

She states that about 2/3rds of the US population are overweight and that leads to increased spending whether on healthcare or food.  Being overweight is not just a health concern, but a financial concern as well.  There’s a vicious cycle that happens here.  People try to save money by purchasing food items that are “on sale” and are not healthy by any means.  It’s been stated that the average American only spends about 10% of their income on food where as Europeans spend roughly 20%.  Consuming these non-nutritious foods leaves our bodies devoid of the vital nutrients needed to function properly, but then we’re laden with a high caloric and sugar concentrated diet.  This then leads to an increase in body fat composition and other diseases associated with being overweight.

What can we do about this?

• Re-organize our financial priorities.  Make your health your #1 priority.  Forget the latte’s and the Nintendo Wii (oh wait, Mario Kart just came out).  Spend your money wisely by purchasing quality food.
• If you don’t have enough money to buy quality food figure out a way to be frugal.  Trust me, if you really analyzed your budget, you can find the money.  Look at it this way, you either pay now or you pay later.
• Invest in an exercise routine (this can be either monetarily or your time or both).  You need a good and consistent workout schedule.

Doing these things on a consistent basis will actually save you money in the long run.  What do you guys think about this?

In this first installment of discussions, I’ve put up a video of a symposium held at UC Berkley in 2003 that features a panel of experts in the fields of nutrition and psychology. This is a very informative symposium. The video will last for about 1 hour. Also it may take a few minutes for it to upload if you’re on a slow connection.

The Politics of Obesity