The term “Diseases of affluence” is used to describe specific diseases which are linked to the increased prosperity of a given society. This is in contrast to “Diseases of poverty” (such as AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis), which disproportionately afflict people who live in poorer nations. Unlike Diseases of poverty-which are usually communicable via infection, poor sanitation/hygiene, and/or the lack of enforceable environmental health regulations- Diseases of affluence are not contagious and are generally tied to unhealthy “lifestyle” habits, such as the over-consumption of high-fat, high-sugar food and a lack of regular physical activity. Experts have posited a number of theories regarding the possible causes of the rising prevalence of these diseases in wealthy countries, including:

An overall decrease in strenuous physical exercise, often because of the increased reliance on cars (haven’t you noticed that the more parking lots a given city or state has, the fatter the people are);

Easy accessibility in society to large amounts of low-cost, heavily processed food;

More consumption of food generally, with much less physical exertion expended to counter the effects of all of these extra calories;

Higher consumption of meat and dairy products;

More foods which are processed, cooked, and commercially provided (rather than seasonal, fresh foods prepared locally at time of eating;

Increased leisure time;

Prolonged periods of inactivity;

Greater use of alcohol and tobacco; and

Longer life-spans (this especially holds true for cancer and heart disease).

Currently, the obesity “epidemic,” one of the leading causes of preventable death worldwide, has become the most prevalent and high profile disease of affluence in wealthy nations over the past twenty years. Obesity poses an especially daunting public health problem in the United States, where an estimated 34% of adults over 20 are classified as obese (and a whopping 67% of adults over 20 fall into the category of qualifying as overweight or obese). Moreover, obesity drastically increases the likelihood that an individual will develop another “affluent” disease, such as Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and certain types of cancer.

With another three years to go and hoping to find something remotely interesting to devote her energies to now that she lives in the gilded cage of the White House, Michelle Obama has recently announced her intention to spearhead a “very ambitious” program to combat childhood obesity. Called “Let’s Move,” her campaign has set the formidable goal of eliminating the problem of childhood obesity in one generation. Ms. Obama hopes to accomplish this by addressing what she calls the “four key pillars”: educating parents about nutrition and exercise; making cafeteria lunches healthier; ensuring that healthy food becomes more affordable and focusing more attention on physical education in schools.

As laudable as the First Lady’s anti-obesity campaign seems to be on paper, it will prove ineffective if it merely parrots the other health promotion programs that have attempted to combat obesity by further fanning the flames of anti-fat hysteria that has whipped the nation into an irrational frenzy. Alas, we are a nation of overweight people who despise our (swelling ranks) of fat people, perhaps fearing that one day we will share their “humiliating” fate. However, until America makes a real effort to confront its schizophrenic attitude towards body fat, we are doomed to remain enslaved by it.

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