Millennials and Obesity
The millennial generation has integrated many changes into their lifestyles that are meant to improve one’s health. So why, despite these changes, are millennials facing a dramatic increase in the rate of obesity-associated cancers than previous generations?
Some of the lifestyle changes accessible to millennials include:
- Appearance of organic foods (esp. fruit and vegetables) in grocery stores.
- Health diets, such as Atkins, Keto, Mediterranean, and South Beach.
- Reduced consumption of red meat, sugar, and carbohydrates.
- Use of fitness equipment.
A report by the CDC (https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/obesity-adult-17-18/obesity-adult.htm) shows the prevalence of obesity among adults has risen dramatically between 1988 and 2018: from 17% to 40%. According to the World Population Review (https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/obesity-rates-by-country):
“Obesity is when an adult has a BMI of 30 or greater and is considered a global epidemic. Bodyweight results from several factors, such as poor nutritional choices, overeating, genetics, culture, and metabolism. Worldwide obesity has nearly tripled since 1975, with about 13% of adults being obese and about 39% of adults being overweight.”
World Population Review (https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/obesity-rates-by-country)
The School of Public Health at Harvard University calls the frequency of obesity, “an epidemic” (https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/an-epidemic-of-obesity/):
“Even more alarming, the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents is on the rise, and youth are becoming overweight and obese at earlier ages. One out of six children and adolescents ages 2 to 19 are obese and one out of three are overweight or obese.”
Prof Russell Viner from the Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health of the UK told BBC (https://www.bbc.com/news/health-43195977), “There is a danger that being overweight is becoming normalized, as we know that many people struggle to recognize obesity in themselves, and often are unable to see when their child is overweight.”
Cancers associated with being overweight and obesity include meningioma, adenocarcinoma, thyroid, breast, multiple myeloma, liver, kidney, gallbladder, upper stomach, endometrium, pancreas, ovary, colon, and rectum.
With the prevalence of healthy lifestyle options available to millennials, the cause of this epidemic is surprising.
According to the National Library of Medicine (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25345082/), the incidence of obesity is largely among individuals with a genetic predisposition who are making poor lifestyle choices. These choices include minimal activity and reduced energy expenditure, and high-caloric intake of low-quality food.
“Laws that regulate competitive food nutrition content may reduce adolescent BMI change if they are comprehensive, contain strong language, and are enacted across grade levels,” explains a study in Pediatrics, a journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/pediatrics/early/2012/08/08/peds.2011-3353.full.pdf)
Junk food and sitting in front of a computer or television for a large part of the day describes a large part of the millennial generation. For people with genes that tell their bodies to store large amounts of fat, America’s fast food culture combined with a sedentary lifestyle may put millennials at a higher risk of developing cancer.
The rise of obesity in this nation exactly tracks the usage of High Fructose Corn Syrup which was introduced in the 1970s. It is 40 times sweeter than sugar and is highly addictive, making it an attractive additive to foods from companies who manufacture food. Also, they get to report lower sugar content in the ingredients.
However, High Fructose Corn Syrup, (HFC), can not be processed by the human body. So it is stored as cellulite. HFC is a known Obesigen but there are no efforts to remove it from our food. The corn growers lobby is too powerful.