Fed Up!

I just finished watching a documentary called Fed Up. Y'all. 

THIS IS A MUST SEE.

The description on IMDB says 'An examination of America's obesity epidemic and the food industry's role in aggravating it'. But it is about so.much.more.

Did you know that 80% of schools have a partnership with Pepsi or Coke? Did you know that 75% of healthcare dollars go to treat metabolic disorders? Did you know that, if things don't change, in 2 decades NINETY FIVE % of Americans will be overweight or obese? And by 2050, 1 in 3 people will have diabetes.

Did you know sugar is as addictive as cocaine?

I have always prided myself on how I feed our kids. Sure they have fast food here and there, sure they drink juice a few times/week, sure we give them candy on occasion. But I am about to overhaul our pantry and fridge. I didn't know what the recommended allowance of sugar was for a person or a child and found out there's a good reason for that - SUGAR ISN'T LABELED ON FOOD LABELS WITH A % OF THE DAILY FOOD ALLOWANCE. 

See? Not labeled. 

Wonder what % it would be? Well, for a woman, it would be 163% of the recommended daily allowance. Yes, 163%. I'll let that sink in...

So while I was patting myself on the back for not giving the kids french fries very often, I wasn't recognizing that I was likely still giving them too much sugar. One statistic in the documentary stated that there are 600,000 food products in a grocery store and 80% of them have added sugar. That is sickening. And there are 56 names of sugar {list here}, so there are numerous ways manufacturers can trick you into thinking your food is healthier than it is.

Our children belong to the first generation that will have a shorter life expectancy than their parents. Why? Because of the way we eat, and the way food is prepared and marketed to us. I could go on and on and talk about this documentary longer than the actual length of it - so many parts of it struck a chord with me. Being a teenager and being obsessed with 'low fat' or 'no fat' foods {even though now I know they were just really chemicals in a food facade}. Being in my early 20s and drinking diet soda because it had no calories but made me feel like I was getting sugar {and I now know was tricking my body into craving sugar}. One mom in the documentary {the mother of an obese teen} showed her kitchen and she talked about how they eat cereal because it's 'naturally' low in fat and is a great meal replacement - yup, been there. Another mother talked about buying her obese son Lean Pockets instead of Hot Pockets - yup, ate those. 

The bottom line - We are killing ourselves. 

We are the richest society in the world. We have failed because we have placed private profit and special interests ahead of public health. - Fed Up

I am Fed Up. Are you?