Thinking of ordering a coffee that’s more cream and sugar than bean? How about getting one of those free vaccine doughnuts? A soda to wash it down?
If so, that’s very American. And maybe not great.
People are getting fatter, and though that fact is almost universally acknowledged, it’s not changing. It has gotten so bad, in fact, that leading researchers predict nearly half of us will be obese by the year 2030.
The pleasantly plump incur some unpleasant consequences, it turns out. Fat people pay significantly more for healthcare than their slimmer counterparts, and as people get bigger, so will insurance premiums. The fatter we all become, the thinner our wallets get.
The overweight, we’re now warned, may also pose a threat to national security. Fewer than a quarter of young people are considered fit for military service, and with the armed forces already struggling to meet recruitment targets, further diminishing our available manpower via weight gain just isn’t a good idea.
Why is this happening? It’s simple math: As time has gone on, we’ve consumed more calories and burned fewer.
High fructose corn syrup and fast food are modern America’s major culinary contributions while television and La-Z-Boys are among our great lifestyle advances.
Those excess calories go somewhere.
Government-enforced lockdowns and gym closures certainly didn’t help. Given that ballooning waistbands pose a danger to both the common defense and our pocketbooks, you would think as if America has a vested interest in promoting physical fitness. Ignore the fat acceptance activists: For the good of the nation, we all ought to start skipping the doughnut and taking a jog now and then.
