One
in 5 American deaths is associated with obesity and more than 5 in 10
Americans struggle with chronic illness. As of 2014, the obesity rate
among adults over the age of 20 was just shy of 38 percent
Since
1980, childhood obesity rates have tripled in the U.S., the rate of
obese teens has quadrupled from 5 to 20.5 percent and nearly 9 percent
of 2- to 5-year-olds are now obese
The
global obesity rate among adults is now estimated to be 1 in 10, or 1 in
12, depending on the source. When you factor in those who are
overweight but not obese, 3 in 10 are affected
By Dr. Mercola
According to research published in 2013, 1 in 5 American deaths is associated with obesity,1
and the younger you are, the greater obesity's influence on your
mortality. Considering one-third of American children between the ages
of 2 and 19 are now overweight or obese, chronic disease and mortality
rates will likely climb dramatically in coming decades as the health of
these youths begins to fail.
Since 1980, childhood obesity rates have tripled in the U.S., the
rate of obese teens has quadrupled from 5 to 20.5 percent, and nearly 9
percent of 2- to 5-year-olds are now obese.2 As of 2014, the obesity rate among adults over 20 was just shy of 38 percent, costing the U.S. medical system $190 billion annually.
In December 2011, severe obesity was included as a qualifying
disability under the American With Disabilities Act, further raising the
cost of obesity on society as a whole. Being overweight during
pregnancy also increases the risk of birth defects, recent research
warns, and the more obese the mother, the greater the risk.4,5
More than half of all Americans also struggle with chronic illness6
— a truly shocking statistic when you consider modern health care is
supposed to be the best mankind has ever been privy to. It really says a
lot about the influence lifestyle wields on your health, and the price
we pay for convenience.
Obesity — A Greater Health Threat Than Smoking
Data collected from tens of thousands of Canadians confirms obesity surpasses smoking
in terms of creating ill health, and Dutch researchers recently
predicted obesity and inactivity will overtake smoking as a leading
cause of cancer deaths specifically.7 Processed foods shoulder the greatest blame for this trend. Many children are raised on fast food
from the time they're able to eat solid foods, and are given sugary
sodas and juices at even younger ages. As recently noted by Bruce Y. Lee
in a Forbes op-ed:8
"The human population is in desperate need of an intervention …
the kind organized by your friends when you don't realize how bad your
problem has gotten and need to be confronted about it … How much more
convincing do people really need? Continuing to gather more evidence
without taking much more action is like continuing to check the water
level while your toilet is overflowing without even reaching for the
plunger.
In both cases, the result will be messy. The latest additions to
what has become a growing mound of scientific evidence are the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Obesity
Update 2017 report9 and a just published study in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM)."
1 in 10 Adults Worldwide Is Obese
According to the OECD, the global obesity rate among adults is now 1 in 10, or 10 percent.10,11,12
In 2015, excess weight accounted for 4 million deaths worldwide (just
over 7 percent). Thirty-nine percent of people who died from
cardiovascular disease were overweight but not obese, prompting a
warning that health problems are not relegated to obesity. Carrying even
a modest amount of excess weight can have a significant impact on your
health.
The NEJM study13
reviewed over 1,000 published studies and data from more than 170
countries, looking to extrapolate and measure health effects associated
with different body mass indexes (BMI). This study presents an even
grimmer picture, showing a total of 12 percent of adults, globally, are
obese, and 5 percent of all children.
When you factor in those who are overweight but not obese, the global
rate is about 30 percent. Echoing previous studies, these results
suggest there are now more overweight people in the world than there are
underweight ones.14
No less than 73 countries have seen obesity rates double since 1980.
Disturbingly, but not surprisingly, obesity rates are increasing much
faster among children than adults. Lee continues:15
"The study also quantified the high amount of suffering caused by
obesity using a measure called disability-adjusted life-years … which
is the number of years lost to impaired function. All of this is not
simply because people have gotten lazier or are making worse decisions.
With such 'big' numbers, something greater is amiss. Too many
countries now have broken systems (e.g., too much garbage in food, too
much garbage everywhere maybe affecting our metabolism, too much garbage
on the internet, television, in our jobs and in our daily lives to keep
us from eating well, exercising and sleeping) with the U.S. leading the
way.
And not enough people are doing anything to change these systems …
[T]he Trump administration has proposed massive cuts to scientific and
public health funding and rolling back [Michelle Obama's] healthy school
lunch initiatives, which may be like throwing more toilet paper into an
overflowing toilet …"
BMI Is a Poor Metric of Health
Most studies, including those above, use BMI to determine whether an
individual is of normal or excessive weight. A BMI of 25 to 30 is
considered overweight; anything over 30 is obese. Your BMI is arrived at
by dividing your weight in kilograms by the square of your height in
meters. The problem is, this method fails to differentiate between
muscle and fat tissue. It also doesn't take into account the actual
distribution of body fat on your physical frame.
As noted in a recent Popular Science article,16
"… [B]elly fat might be hidden on your 6-foot, 2-inch frame, but it
could still contribute to problems that kill you." We now know that
excess visceral fat — the fat that accumulates around your internal
organs — is far more hazardous to your health than subcutaneous fat (the
more noticeable fat found just under your skin).
The danger of visceral fat is related to the release of proteins and
hormones that can cause inflammation, which in turn can damage arteries
and enter your liver, and affect how your body breaks down sugars and
fats. Two tests that give you a far better idea of your body composition
and health risk are your waist-to-hip ratio and your height-to-waist
ratio.17
Either one will be far more accurate than BMI. As noted in a 2015 study,18
men with normal BMI but central obesity (fat centralized around the
midsection) had TWICE the mortality risk of men considered obese
according to their BMI but who had no central obesity.
Two Tests to Evaluate Your Health Risks
To determine your height-to-waist ratio,19
measure your height and your waist circumference with a measuring tape.
Your waist circumference should be less than half of your height.
Having a height-to-waist ratio of at least 2-to-1 is associated with
longer life expectancy and a lower risk of inflammation, diabetes, heart
disease and stroke.20
Your waist-to-hip ratio has the added benefit of giving you a better
idea of the actual distribution of fat on your body. Having an apple
shaped body is indicative of carrying more harmful visceral fat, which
is associated with an increased risk for heart disease and diabetes.
Carrying more fat around your hips and buttocks, on the other hand, is
associated with lower health risks as this subcutaneous fat is not
nearly as harmful as the fat around your internal organs.
That said, some body types may render this technique less than
perfect as well. For example, women who are very thin and "straight"
(i.e., don't have an hourglass figure) may end up in a higher risk
category than is warranted. In such cases, you may want to measure both
your height-to-waist and your waist-to-hip ratio to get a better idea of
your overall risk.
To determine your waist-to-hip ratio, get a tape measure and record
your waist and hip circumference. Then divide your waist circumference
by your hip circumference. For a more thorough demonstration, please see
the video above.
Waist to Hip Ratio
Men
Women
Ideal
0.8
0.7
Low Risk
<0.95
<0.8
Moderate Risk
0.96-0.99
0.81 - 0.84
High Risk
>1.0
>0.85
Food Policies Have Worsened Obesity Epidemic
Government policies have contributed to the growing obesity epidemic
in a number of different ways, starting with the issuing of flawed dietary guidelines. Hand in hand with that you have agricultural subsidies
promoting the growing of junk food ingredients rather than healthy
fruits and vegetables, and the subsidizing of factory farms rather than
smaller family-run farms. The U.S. government is even funding consumer
outreach and education programs to promote acceptance of genetically
engineered foods.21
Government policies have also made it far easier for minorities to
open fast-food franchises rather than grocery stores, thereby
contributing to the growing problem of "food deserts" — areas where all
you can find are fast-food joints and gas station fare.
One of the reasons why fast-food franchises are given preference for
Small Business Administration (SBA) Equal Opportunity Loans is because
they have a far greater profit margin; a fast-food restaurant can have a
profit margin as high as 6 percent, whereas a grocery store typically
only has a profit margin of 1 percent, so loans are more likely to be
repaid.
As noted in a recent NPR article reviewing professor Chin Jou's book,
"Super Sizing Urban America: How Inner Cities Got Fast Food With
Government Help":22
"'African-American consumption of fast food today is not a
function of any longstanding preferences for fast food,' Jou told NPR …
She says that it's a consequence of 'targeted relentless marketing,' as
well as historic developments like the [SBA] loan program and high
unemployment rates among African-Americans …
Fast-food companies, which had saturated their original markets
of roadside stops and suburbs, needed expansion in order to grow
profits. Reaching out to potential African-American franchisees was
their roadmap to success. In fact, fast-food companies couldn't open
restaurants in many urban areas without them …
Jou quotes Brady Keys, former NFL football player turned
franchisee, who put it more bluntly: 'They [fast-food corporations] know
that doing business in my area is hell. There's cutting, shooting,
killing. So they say, we really don't want to do this ourselves, so why
don't we get this black cat over here and franchise him?'"
Fried Potatoes Double Risk of Early Death
There's simply no doubt that processed foods are at the very heart of the obesity problem. The risks of a processed food diet,
high in added sugars, harmful fats and synthetic ingredients have been
demonstrated in numerous studies. Most recently, a study23,24
published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition warns that
eating fried potatoes more than twice a week can double your risk of an
early death, compared to not eating fried potatoes at all.
The researchers believe this is due to the cooking oil,
which is high in trans fat. As noted by author Nicola Veronese, trans
fat raises LDL cholesterol, a risk factor in cardiovascular disease.
Vegetable oils also degrade into toxic oxidation products when heated,
including aldehydes, which are highly inflammatory and have been
implicated in heart disease and Alzheimer's.
Cooking oils are also a source of damaged omega-6 fats,
and a lopsided ratio of omega-6 and omega-3 is yet another contributing
factor to obesity. Studies show a connection between the consumption of
omega-3 fats and a decrease in fatty tissue development, along with
increases in beneficial brown fat and weight loss, while eating too many
omega-6s promotes fatty white tissue and chronic inflammation, two of
the biggest red flags indicating obesity.
Omega-6 polyunsaturated fats, when taken in large amounts, also
cannot be burned for fuel. Instead, they're incorporated into cellular
and mitochondrial membranes. Here, they become highly susceptible to
oxidative damage, which ultimately damages your metabolic machinery. Not
surprisingly, the National Potato Council has rebuffed the findings,
saying that "it is very much a stretch to brand fried potatoes, or any
other form of potato, as unhealthy."25
Metabolic Mitochondrial Therapy to the Rescue
Modern food manufacturing processes have failed to improve health or
increase longevity. It's time for a radical U-turn. Compelling evidence
shows your net carbohydrate intake is a primary factor that determines
your body's fat ratio, and processed grains and sugars (particularly
fructose) are the primary culprits behind our skyrocketing obesity,
diabetes and chronic disease rates.
In short, most people eat far too many processed foods, net carbs,
unhealthy fats and protein — and too few healthy fats. The result is
weight gain and insulin resistance. Exercise cannot compensate for the
damage done by a high-carb, low-fat diet, and most do not get enough
physical movement to boot. These factors set in motion metabolic and
biological cascades that deteriorate your health.
In the video above, Dr. David Perlmutter26 and I discuss my No. 1 best-seller, "Fat for Fuel,"
released on May 16. In this book, I explain the principles of metabolic
mitochondrial therapy (MMT), and the metabolic advantages you gain once
your body regains the ability to burn fat for fuel. As explained in the
interview, and in my book, a foundational cause of most degenerative
diseases is the fact that your mitochondria, the little powerhouses
located in most of your body's cells, are not receiving sufficient
amounts of proper fuel.
As a result, your mitochondria start to deteriorate. Mitochondrial
dysfunction lays the groundwork for subsequent breakdowns of various
bodily systems. Your mitochondria are nourished by some nutrients and
harmed by others. So, a healthy diet is a diet that supports
mitochondrial function, and having the metabolic flexibility to burn fat
is the key.
The vast majority of people on the planet who eat a primarily
processed food diet are burning carbohydrates as their primary fuel,
which has the devastating effect of shutting down your body's ability to
burn fat.
This is why obesity is so prevalent, and why so many find it nearly
impossible to lose weight and keep it off. When your body burns
primarily carbs for fuel, excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) and
secondary free radicals are also created, which damage cellular
mitochondrial membranes and DNA.
Healthy dietary fats, which are a cleaner-burning fuel, create far
fewer ROS and free radicals. This lays the groundwork for many of the
metabolic benefits of this program. Fats are also critical for the
health of cellular membranes and many other biological functions.
Dietary Keys to Health
The initial strategy of my MMT program involves restricting net
carbohydrates (total carbs minus fiber) to 20 to 50 grams per day until
you start burning fat for fuel. To replace the lost carbs, you increase
healthy fats, so that you're getting anywhere from 50 to 85 percent of
your daily calories from fat. Examples of high-quality healthy fats
include:
Ghee (clarified butter), lard and tallow (excellent for cooking)
Raw cacao butter
Organic, pastured egg yolks
Fats to avoid include trans fats and highly refined polyunsaturated vegetable oils.27
I also recommend limiting protein to just what your body needs. I've
previously given out the details on how to calculate your protein
requirement, so for a refresher, see "Are You Sabotaging Your Health and Longevity by Eating Too Much Protein?"
It's important to emphasize that MMT is not merely adding more
healthy fat to your current diet or eating as much fat as you want. It
is absolutely crucial to restrict net carbs, or else you're merely
increasing the number of calories you consume. Raising the amount of fat
and decreasing net carbs is what pushes your body into burning fat for
fuel. Eating high amounts of both fat and net carbs will NOT allow your
body to make this shift, as your body will use whatever sugar is
available first.
Another crucial tenet of MMT is something called feast-famine
cycling. The ketogenic cycling is implemented once you're out of the
initial stage and your body has regained the ability to burn fat. At
that point, you begin cycling in and out of nutritional ketosis by
upping your carb and protein intake once or twice a week (ideally on the
days you're doing strength training).
Getting Started
To be successful on this program, precision is important. You cannot
guess when it comes to the amount of fat, net carbs and protein you eat.
In the beginning, you have to measure and track them. To do this you
need:
• A digital kitchen scale to weigh food items • Measuring cups to measure food amounts • A nutrient tracker. I recommend using www.cronometer.com/mercola, as it is the most accurate nutrient tracker available, it's free, and it's already set up for nutritional ketosis.
Based on the personal base parameters you enter, such as height, weight,
body fat percentage and waist circumference, it will automatically
calculate the ideal ratios of net carbs, protein and healthy fats
(including your omega-3 to omega-6 ratio) to put you into nutritional
ketosis
Opportunities to Learn More
To learn more, consider joining me at one of the following live events. August 3 through 6, I will lecture at the Low Carb USA
event in San Diego, along with Gary Taubes, Stephen Phinney and several
other experts. You can see the entire list of invited speakers lower on
the page.
I am also speaking in Florida in November. If you are a physician and
are interested in learning about how you can use the ketogenic diet and
other therapies for cancer, heart disease, Lyme and neurodegenerative
diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, please be sure and come to
our ACIM conference in Orlando, Florida, November 2 through 4 at the Florida Conference and Hotel Center. Early Bird price for all three days ends July 1.
If you are a patient, there will be a separate and less expensive
track on the same date and location. However, you will need to come back
to this page at a later date, as the registration page for the event is
still unavailable.
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