Last night I watched the documentary FED UP on Netflix. And now I’m terrified to eat anything.
We all know child obesity is a problem, but I don’t think a lot of us realize just how big of a problem it is. And we’re pointing our fingers in the wrong direction, or at least I was.
Prior to watching this documentary I was kind of an asshole in regards to the idea of our country’s children getting so large. My thought was pretty simple (and ignorant.) These kids need to get off their ipads and video games and go outside! Go run, go play, go climb a tree! When I was a kid I spent my days playing every sport imaginable, and when there weren’t any more sports to play or any other kids to play with me, I would run my own obstacle courses and time myself. Sure, I might have been on the extreme spectrum of active children, but kids today are just lazy and that’s the problem. Right? Wrong. Well kind of wrong, anyway.
Yes, lack of physical activity is clearly an issue here. But there’s a much bigger issue at play.
Sugar. So. Much. Sugar.
This documentary was downright heartbreaking as you watched these extremely overweight children in tears talking about their weight struggle. They are trying to be active and lose weight, but it’s not working. They’re eating the “diet food” like Special K chips and Lean Pockets and all of that other shit marked “fat free” but they continue to gain weight. Their waists get bigger and their self worth gets smaller.
When food companies started to take out the fat they added the sugar. And now our sugar consumption in the U.S. is out of this world. The generation of children today are the first generation expected to have a shorter life expectancy than their parents. This one really hit me.
I know I seem like the last person who should be ranting about this given my food choices I often post on here and Instagram… but you’re just seeing the weekend eats. During the week I try to eat healthy. And after watching this documentary and seeing all of the over processed crap I’ve been consuming, I’m going to try even harder.
Although if I’m being honest I am slightly mad I just watched this before a road trip because I still really want my road trip snacks… Combos. Jerky. Apple-Os… They’re my three best friends, and it’s just not a road trip without them. But I will resist.
The food industry is terrifying to me. If you haven’t watched FED UP, I suggest you do. And then you’ll probably never pick up a soda again in your life.
What a great post right before Memorial Weekend… Sorry, I’m sure we’re all going to be okay in the end. It’s only food, right?
If you liked that documentary I suggest watching Just Eat It: A Food Waste Story! I watched it on msnbc or something but I'm sure it's somewhere on the internet! I'll have to check Fed Up out
Oh man, Forks Over Knives gave me the same scare! I walked away thinking "Okay cool I guess I can only eat organic locally grown kale from now on." I'll have to check out Fed Up this weekend!
I have been dying to watch this…hopefully we can this weekend between wine spritzers at the pool…
But seriously I was semi recently diagnosed with a sugar allergy and have been doing all I can (and being forced to) eliminate it from our diet and it is absolutely crazy everything that has sugar in it. It blows my mind constantly.
"Diet" foods are so much worse than regular junk food. I've stopped buying anything that comes pre-packaged (except Emerald 100 Calorie packs of raw almonds, and yogurt), just because it's not a satisfying snack. I like to eat, dang it! The food industry is a business, so it wants to make money, but the cost to the public is staggering. I'm not saying they need to stop trying to make money, but I think the public needs to educate themselves on what goes into their bodies.
Wow that is crazy! I never really thought about it. Like you said, I would just be like kids are lazy and need to get active. But for some people thats not enough. Definitely want to watch it as I need some motivation to make some life changes about the way I eat. Thanks for sharing!
I haven't watched this yet, but it is on my list. It is very interesting and sad to see what is going on with childhood obesity in this country. The one thing I will say is these CHILDREN aren't going to the store and grocery shopping for themselves…
Parents need to have a responsibility in what they are feeding their kids and buying for their kids. If they buy this crap and keep it around the house, these kids will eat it, and sometimes that is all they have around to eat.
It breaks my heart for these kids, because they will struggle with their weight their whole lives and their parents are the ones setting examples for them.
I haven't seen this documentary yet but I'm not surprised. Sodium is the other thing that they load up on. Ive sene low carb things and they have more sodium in a serving than you're supposed to have for a day! A can of soup has 2.5 servings, and more sodium than you're daily allotment, too. It's insane. The food industry is out of control.
I've been watching it in pieces, but I'm really enjoying. I'm also learning a lot too! I also had plenty of those a-hole thoughts of obese children. I also had some not nice thoughts about their parents. Anywho, it definitely made me see things in a different light. We still haven't made it through the entire movie – but the comparison between cigs and sodas was scary! xoxo, ganeeban
I watched Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead on Netflix this week. It was informative but I felt like it kind of pushed juicing, which is not my thing. I will say that after I watched it I realized that my diet is actually far healthier than the average American. I've wondered if Fed Up was good and it sounds like it might be better so I'll give it a watch.
Oh i watched this, i gave up half way through though…
i need to watch that. i have the exact same thoughts as you did about childhood obesity. its hard to imagine how it can happen.
I don't watch things like that because it just pisses me off. I can't get over that parents willing buy crap to shove down their kids throats. Yes, it’s easier and more convenient but COME ON. Plus, did the show happen to pan over to the parents? I'm willing to be all of the parents were pretty heavy also. We drink only diet sodas and eat fat free stuff…GAH! You cannot blame our government on the stupidity of society.
I watched this a few weeks ago and it blew me away too. To be honest I feel like there is a lot about the food industry that we dont know!
I've watched so many food documentaries and they've completely changed the way I look at food. And i've dropped a few pounds so I'm not complaining lol
This is interesting to me so I must watch it! I was just talking to someone about how eating the "regular" fully loaded things (with limits of course) are better than the chemical and sugar filled "free" options. Nothing in life and obviously in food is free. It is so sad to me and I know from experience having been a butterball growing up. Really paying attention to what goes into our bodies is important as is activity. I hope more people start realizing this because we could save thousands of lives by outing the food industry.
I really want to watch this now. I only started educating myself about food about 2 years ago when my daughter was 3. Since then I've cut out dairy, almost all meat and fish and I rarely touch any processed food. Basically, if I don't understand anything on the ingredients list I don't buy it. Even supermarket bread freaks me out. Why the hell doesn't it go off for weeks and weeks? It's just not normal! And since I cut out all that stuff my health has improved so much and my severe acne I've suffered from for 10+ years has disappeared. It's just crazy how much the food you eat can affect you !!
I just watched this recently too because while I do eat healthy — I have an addiction to sweets. It scared me that the daily percentage is not listed on the nutritional label. If you enjoyed this documentary, I highly recommend Forks Over Knives, Food Inc, Food Matters and Hungry For Change.
http://www.mintnotion.com
I'm watching this tonight! It's been in my queue for awhile, but nothing like a blog post to spur me into action! I always try to eat moderately healthy, but sugar is my weakness.
( randomly watched this last night too! I am so angry at America and the food industry right now!
The food industry is just insane. It is so frustrating. People try so hard to be healthy but they are just eating crap. I get so frustrated when people say they are having something diet, sugar free (sweeteners), or any of those other lies that are really just terrible for you. It's hard to figure out what's right anymore. Our sugar issue is just obnoxious and I hope that more people realize it.
I've been meaning to watch that since I am running low on things to watch on Hulu/Netflix. I might have to add it to my Memorial Day weekend plans now!
Try watching Forks Over Knives next… another BIG game changer for me!
-Kate
http://www.theflorkens.com
I've been meaning to watch this one. I know it's what I need in order to kick myself into gear and start eating better.
I have been wanting to watch this and now I really want to. Sigh. Food is literally killing our youth.
I watched this over the weekend too! It depressed and shocked me. After moving back here from the UK, the comparison of the food industry over here and what is allowed in our food (without labeling it sometimes!) is insane…I vowed to make as much of my own food as I can to get rid of some excess sugar. I baked bread today!!