To wit, I was driving from North Carolina to Virginia where my brother lives and stopped to fill my car with gasoline. Thirsty, I stopped inside the convenience store for a drink and decided on a bottle of Coca-Cola. It was only when I was back on the road again that I realized that what I had come to think of as the standard bottle size had most definitely increased. If memory serves, the common size for a bottle of cola when last I was last in the US was around 16 ounces, and I believe now it has increased to 20 ounces. I have no idea how much larger the calorie count has grown; let alone the sheer number of grams of sugar in such a bottle.
I compare this experience to the first time I ate at a non-American McDonald’s restaurant while studying in the United Kingdom years ago, wherein I discovered that the British value meal was far smaller than the one I had grown used to. In fact, the British version of the standard burger-fries-Coke meal was the same size that had been normal in the US when they were first introduced. Meaning, what was once the “large” size in the US had become the “regular” size; while in the UK (at the time at least) the size had remained the same. I was surprised, but perhaps I should not have been.
You may have heard the stereotype about American food that most of it is incredibly unhealthy. There is a large amount of truth to that stereotype, if we take “American food” on the whole, but it certainly does not give the whole story about our culinary habits, which vary widely depending on where you are within the US, as well as your own eating preferences. Despite acknowledging this, it is true that the most common, inexpensive, and easily accessible foods available in America tend to be unhealthy, and this has contributed to a host of health problems that have plagued the country, such as diabetes, obesity, and heart disease.
Candy, cookies, soda, alcohol, pizza, as well as fried and processed food abound and are very popular in America for an obvious reason: they taste good! Food scientists who work for chemical and agribusiness companies have perfected the tastes, textures, and aromas that we as consumers are most likely to respond to. Add to this the relatively cheap cost to create these foods and companies have had an incentive to make more. It has led to a sharp increase over time of unhealthy food in the American diet overall. There is even the controversial claim that some unhealthy food is designed to be addictive, just like cigarettes.
Yet there has been a pushback, or resistance, to this. Advocates of healthier eating and medical professionals have launched public information campaigns over the years in an attempt to dissuade Americans away from eating unhealthy food and convince them that eating better food (lean meats and, most importantly, fruits and vegetables instead of foods high in fat and sugar) will lead to higher quality of life. Americans who can afford it have the option of eating organic (food not processed or treated with chemicals), or various kinds of higher quality, healthier choices. It is well known that a balanced diet and regular exercise are the best contributing factors to health, as well as avoiding harmful activities like smoking cigarettes.
In some American cities, such as Boulder, Colorado, there is a more active, health-centered culture. Citizens of Boulder seem to take special pride in their reputation for staying healthy. It is a place where there are many walking/hiking/bike trails, where people are encouraged to walk or ride their bikes to work, and many restaurants offer healthy eating choices. Other cities such as Washington, D.C. and Raleigh, North Carolina rank in the top 20 healthiest cities to live in.
However, not everyone lives in those sorts of health-conscious environments. To be sure, programs and ad campaigns that encourage people to eat well and exercise are well-intentioned, but the “forces of health” are up against intense resistance. For one, as mentioned earlier, unhealthy foods tend to taste better to many people. In addition, unhealthier foods are often easier and cheaper to get. Budget-conscious families can easily fall into the habit of eating cheap, unhealthy food because of convenience. In poor areas, rural or urban, access to something like fresh vegetables can be difficult, while there are fast food restaurants like McDonald’s and Burger King in every town. Alongside more limited food options, many poor areas do not have bike trails, parks, or gyms that are safe to use. This contributes to the health problems many Americans suffer.
Add to this the ever-present “diet crazes” that sweep not just the US, but the world. Every year it seems a new diet plan is being sold to people who are desperate to lose weight, avoid health problems, or “detox” themselves of harmful substances in their bodies. Sometimes they focus on one food item: for example, a lemon diet. Other times, they focus on types of nutrients to avoid (in the past it’s been things like fats, trans-fats, carbohydrates, etc.). These “fad diets” usually do not last very long because most are found to be unhealthy and counter-productive to the people who try them. Many dieters try many diets over the years in search of the perfect way to slim down. However, many doctors will tell you there is no special trick, no secret way to lose weight other than to eat smaller portions of healthy food and to get regular exercise. Despite all this, there is lots of money to be made by companies that push fad diets by selling books and DVDs to dieters, just as there is lots of money to be made by food companies who make cheap and sugary food.
The American food crisis is complicated, and it has increased because of numerous factors, including decreased time to cook at home or exercise, the proliferation of processed food, and the aggressive marketing of unhealthy snacks to children. The future of American food and with it American health is uncertain. While I was there this summer, I tended to eat out frequently to catch up with friends and family, and thus had a hard time resisting the temptation to eat burgers, pizza, and fried chicken. Now that I’m back in Korea, a country that prides itself on its healthy cuisine, I hope to shed those extra kilograms I gained while in the States…as long as I can avoid the burgers, pizza, and fried chicken of Daejeon!