Child Obesity, Belly Fat, and Boobs

In 2004, the BBC reported a three-year old girl died of obesity. Three! It begs the question, how in only three years of a child's life could so much damage be done. Health organizations have said that children of this generation may be the first to die before their parents.

Yes, the 120 billion dollar fast food industry could be to blame. With McDonald's being the initial driver for Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) that make food bigger, fatter, and/or sweeter. That's based on the recent documentary Food, Inc. If you haven't seen it, I urge you to. The movie tells a story about Monsanto and their Patented GMO seeds that will curl your toes.

Unfortunately, organic farmers are realizing that it is getting more difficult to find non-GMO seeds. The contamination is rampant. In fact, it is such a problem, a Global Seed Bank was established to protect pure, non-GMO seeds in case of a catastrophe.

Catastrophe? What kind of catastrophe? The kind that causes a three-year-old little girl to have a heart attack and die, because her arteries are choking with fat. Perhaps you can't relate. You aren't obese and believe the only obese people in the world are at Walmart. Well, look down at your belly. On second thought look at your friend's belly or your child's. Notice the belly's on teen girls. Teens were the ones with flat stomachs. Women only got a belly after their first child or after menopause. What happened?

They say it's Cortisal, a stress hormone that is causing belly fat. Is the world that much more stressful? Or could it be our bodies (namely our liver) are dealing with the unbelievable amounts of sugar that things like our watermelon and grapes without seeds have; or the "organism" that has made our chicken so plump and juicy? When the body is stressed trying to digest the food we ingest - it leaves it too exhausted to deal with simple day-to-day tasks. Guess what that creates?
More stress.

The other things that are getting bigger are men's boobs. Yes, I said men's boobs. More men have boobs than I've ever seen. Young boys have boobs even if they aren't obese. The hormones used to make those dairy cattle fatter faster is part of the problem. It contributes to earlier puberty rates in young girls as well. It's interesting to note though that male breast cancer began showing a huge increase starting in 1973. Guess when the first Genetically engineered organism was created? 1973.

Though statistics like the one that says 90% of soy is genetically modified are scary, there are signs things are changing. In July of 2009, the USDA said all organically grown foods have to be non-GMO and must be labeled as such. Granted, as mentioned above, finding non-contaminated seeds is getting harder and harder. Also, in Atlanta, the ING marathon proceeds are going towards a $100,000 grant for schools to help with child obesity, which I hope means better quality food in the cafeteria.

We can do our part as well. Buy local. Buy organic. If you don't think organic is worth it, consider the fact that most of us don't think twice about spending $5.75 for a 12-pack of soda (filled with genetically modified corn syrup), but we balk at spending just over $3 on a 12 organic eggs. Weigh the nutritional value. You make better choices that way, and you could just save your life or your child's.

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