The Not-so-Great Health Care Debate

So I'm running through a crowded city street on my way to the post office to mail my brother a fleece tank top for his birthday when I notice roughly one third of the population of Rhode Island lined up at the local Quickie Burger. My first thought was, "Wow, they're making a lot of dough." But then I paused and thought, "Wow, they're killing a lot of people and unfairly burdening the health care system."

After a brief postal transaction, I started to give this some more thought. According to the CDC, about every 25 seconds, an American will have a heart attack, and about one every minute will die from one. That's over 525,000 people each year. Granted many heart attacks are the result of normal wear and tear, people have to seriously consider how much eating fast food increases the other heart disease risk factors. Fat, salt, cholesterol all contribute to the possibility of people dropping dead while in line for a fat, salt and cholesterol sandwich.

Recently one restaurant promoting a healthier lifestyle has come up with clever names for fast food combo meals such as "Can my butt look any bigger" meal, or the "opposite sex repellent combo". These are cute, probably fairly effective commercials but I'm not sure they really scratch the surface. How about something a little more attention grabbing like the "I'd like to be in the grave before I have grandchildren meal", or the "55 years is plenty for me combo". How about the, "What other bad examples can I set for my children deluxe"?

Obesity rates in this country are completely out of control and it's both sad for the family members who lose someone due to self-inflicted heart disease, and an unfair burden on the health care system. One study suggests that 30% of the health care spending increases over the next 20 years could be directly attributed to rising obesity rates. And yet purveyors of fast food garbage continue to flood the airwaves with happy, healthy-looking actors cramming this waste between their perfect white teeth as if the #7 Deluxe is the path to enlightenment.

All the while we're getting fatter and lazier as a society. In 2009, obesity rates have climbed in 23 states and did not decrease in any. Colorado is the only state with an adult obesity rate of less than 20%. 31 states exceed a 25% obesity rate and four exceed 30%.

In 1991, no state had an obesity rate above 20 percent. In 1980, the national average for adult obesity was 15 percent. Today 66% of adults are considered obese or overweight. Makes you feel good as an American, doesn't it? What's worse is what we're doing to our children. Only three states have obesity and overweight rates below 25%, 18 states are between 25-30%, 21 states are between 30-35%, seven states are between 35-40% and one state is at 44.4%. All told, Americans spend over $160 billion per year to kill themselves.

Part of the problem is that most people have no clue how many calories they are stuffing their faces with when they decide to hit a drive through. So I've decide to do a little research and create some killer combo meals that exceed the daily caloric intake for an average-sized water buffalo.

I'll call this the "Never Live to See Your Children Graduate" Meal

White Castle Large Chocolate Shake- 1680 calories

Carl's Jr Double Six Dollar Burger- 1520 calories

Nathans Super Size French Fries- 1188 calories

GRAND TOTAL-----------------4388 calories

How about the "I've Given Up on Life" Value Meal

Hardee's Monster Thick Burger- 1420 calories

Dairy Queen Large Chocolate Malt- 1300 calories

Arby's Mozzarella Sticks- 840 calories

GRAND TOTAL-------------------3560 calories

You get the picture. The site below lists 272 fast food items that are more than 700 calories each. Each. The average 35 year old, 170 pound male needs a little over 2200 calories per day. A 140-pound woman needs around 1700. Needless to say, the combo meals above should feed the average adults for two full days. And we wonder why our gym memberships aren't working.

http://www.acaloriecounter.com/fast-food-calories.php#

Yet some airlines will charge me an additional $20 for my checked bag when my bag and I combined weigh much less than many passengers. Go figure.

So who is to blame for our growing health issues? Is it the fast food restaurants or the patrons? Is there really a demand for unhealthy food, or just cheap and easy food? I'm thinking the blame should be spread evenly like special sauce on a sesame seed bun.