Written by Sarah Taylor   

Obesity on a Roll

Fast food restaurants, and pre-packaged foods in supermarkets, have exploded in popularity over the past few decades. Why?

The saga began in 1957, when high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) was first synthesized by the corn industry. This discovery did not take long to mature into an immense plot. HFCS was rapidly incorporated into a vast number of manufactured foods and drinks. The reason for this was, and is, that it is addictive. The process has been described in many articles, including this one by Dr. Joseph Mercola.

Everyone enjoys sweetness, traditionally obtained from fruits and cane sugar. The latter consists of sucrose - a combination of glucose and fructose in equal quantities. However, HFCS (or its renamed versions) is corn syrup that is chemically processed to include a higher proportion of fructose, which favors fat synthesis in the liver. Fructose also interferes with the body's fullness signals, as - unlike glucose - it doesn't stimulate insulin secretion, which helps the body regulate food intake, by providing a feeling of satiation. You want more, not less, as you eat foods containing HFCS – which include many packaged foods, cookies and pop. And, as pointed out by Donna Kestler, items such as French fries are now mixed or sprayed with HFCS, before being served at restaurants.

It gets worse. The additional food intake spurred by HFCS is normally accompanied by a rapid rise in blood sugar, which then spikes dopamine production (and a feeling of pleasure) in the brain. When this type of food ingestion becomes a habit, the dopamine response lessens, and depression – rather than pleasure – results from a sugary treat. The withdrawal symptoms suffered are actually worse than those for cocaine!!

Most people are unaware of this threat. Many stop by a fast food outlet, on their way home from work, to pick up sweet, fatty snacks for their kids. And that surely can’t be bad for your health, as there are numerous fast food outlets and snack cabinets in many hospital lobbies. Which brings us to the deliberate creation of obesity.

Shortly after HFCS appeared on the market, human weight predictably began to skyrocket. Sufferers have attempted new dietary regimes, and have been choosing from an evolving collection of over-the-counter weight-loss drugs. But the most important accompaniments of obesity – dramatic increases in diabetes and heart problems – have required medical intervention. That has been followed by a tremendous increase in pharmaceuticals being prescribed.

There are many doctors out there, whose inspiration comes from a desire to provide thoughtful care to their patients, with the goal of curing them, if possible, of their ill-health or disease being of paramount importance. Such doctors continue the proud tradition of the medical profession.

However, there are a growing number of physicians who seem to have lost that focus. Instead of making a concerted effort to expose the agent that is currently poisoning the world's population, they have actually become, consciously or unconsciously, collaborators in its obfuscation! It is now apparently normal for a health care service to openly advertise itself, not just as an industry, but as an economic engine. And, as with any business, the goal is presumably to maintain, and increase, its customer base. This can surely only be achieved by treating, rather than by curing, patients. And even treatment seems now to be increasingly passed along to nurse practitioners, while many doctors merely drop by, as administrators and drug prescribers. Oh yes, and they thoughtfully advise 'healthy eating and exercising', as they wave 'See you soon'.

How mutually beneficial this triumvirate is: The Corn Industry, the Medical Industry and the Pharmaceutical Industry. The fatter people get, the more they need treatment, and the more they are prescribed with ever more expensive drugs. An example of the corrupt collaboration between two of these entities was provided by Anahad O'Connor, on NPR, when he discussed the recently-ended relationship between the American Academy of Pediatrics and Coca-Cola.

In spite of a few such miniscule setbacks, the huge machinery of obesity creation and treatment continues its advance. There is surely no other example of humans building such an efficient, and overwhelmingly vast, mutually advantageous capitalist enterprise.

Is there any solution? Yes, Outlaw HFCS.

But hang on. Before we over-react, our Cornymedrug triumvirate has some additional moves it wants to make. New drugs are now being developed to treat sugar-induced dopamine production, and not just our diabetes and heart problems. The industry needs us to expaaand, and to get our sugar highs – and lows. At a cost to us, of course.