Obesity Requires Societal Changes?
There have been so many theories on the increasing obesity epidemic not only in the US, but all around the world where technology has advanced so far that it has made life much different for us, as well as much easier to get obese. Think about it, we have a lot of sedentary jobs now, where movement is minimal, whereas “desk jobs” were unheard of back in the industrial revolution and prior to that where one of the most sedentary jobs was being on an assembly line, and even that required standing and moving all day long. Now, with many jobs being computer based, we are all tied to our desks all day and the only part of us that moves is our hands when we type.
Also, there are elevators, to make going up stairs even obsolete or at the least optional. Heck, there was even an invention that made it so you don’t have to walk if you don’t want to, called the Segway, which yes, kind of bombed, but still, you get the point. We’ve moved to an era where technology can be our best friend, but also our worst enemy since many times technology simply makes our lives to easy in areas where it really wasn’t meant to be. Its’ against our physiology to not move all day, and our bodies have naturally responded to this by adding layers of fat.
Also, with controlled temperatures thanks to central air and heating, we don’t ever have to be cold or warm, which burns additional calories, just adding to the fact that we are not burning calories as efficiently as we once were. Of course the processed and convenient foods and fast food joints doesn’t help the picture either, and adds to the problem by serving us low quality processed foods that are quickly burned off leaving us hungry for more only hours later.
True, society is trying to correct this trend toward obesity, but it is still outpacing us and threatens to create new diseases and continue to affect the quality of life for those that suffer from it, with increased occurrences of diabetes and other weight related illnesses.
