Deadly Diet
HEALTH NOTES
A new @CNN report on how the U.S. food system is killing Americans serves as a stark reminder about the link between diet and health. | A new @CNN report on how the U.S. food system is killing Americans serves as a stark reminder about the link between diet and health. | Read the Full Article
This week, CNN—that’s right, a mainstream media outlet—ran an article titled, “The U.S. Food System Is Killing Americans.”
The CNN report included this stunning statistic: The U.S. accounts for only 4 percent of the global population, but nearly a quarter—that’s 25 percent—of global COVID-19 fatalities.
The report noted that blame for this failure is largely being assigned to the country’s “flat-footed response” and poor public health infrastructure. But “. . . this ignores a significant and underrecognized risk factor—the exceedingly poor baseline health of our country’s population.”
According to CNN:
“Among the most significant risk factors for hospitalization and death in Covid-19 are the presence of diet-related chronic diseases such as hypertension, heart disease and obesity. America’s starting point? Nearly three out of four American adults are overweight or obese.”
In other words, now would be a good time for Americans to start taking control of their health—by paying attention to their diets.
Of course, it wouldn’t hurt if the U.S. healthcare system would get on board by paying more attention to the link between diet and health, and focusing more on prevention instead of handing out pills.
It also wouldn’t hurt to get the Junk Food lobbyists out of Congress.