- What industry do you work in and what is your role?
- What are your responses in your role / position?
- Can you describe to the function of your workplace / company?
- How many departments, how many offices. National or International?
- What are the minimum requirements for employment ie Education or Experience?
- How many opportunities are there to ‘move up the ladder’?
- What is the process for changing job roles ie Interview? Test?
- Current projects? Deadlines? Opportunities?
- Anything of interest happening?
3. Obesity
1.
Before we all had mask collections and Zoom accounts, obesity was the defining public health crisis of our time. Now, though it has been (temporarily) superseded by a pandemic that has killed half a million Americans, it is the leading aggravating factor in that new scourge.
2.
Obesity is associated with many of the leading causes of death in the US ( diabetes, heart disease, and stroke). If that doesn’t scare you, let’s put it in the language of America: money. In 2016, the US spent an estimated $480 billion on obesity-related costs and $1.24 trillion in indirect work loss costs. Or roughly … all the bitcoin.
3.
It’s only getting worse: Today, 42% of Americans are classified as obese, up from 34% in 2007-2008. While obesity is a direct result of behaviors like overconsumption and inactivity, its prevalence is a symptom of structural inequality and just bad structures — namely, the food industrial complex, which profits greatly off the sales of cheap, unhealthy foods and that disproportionately targets low income people.
Why do you think America has such a high rate of obesity? What factors do you think contribute the most?
4.
While obesity is not a new concern, it has gained new urgency, even as we are increasingly reluctant to address it. Just as masking has been politicized by the right, open conversation about the dangers of obesity has been politicized by the left. Media has moved from fat-shaming (reprehensible) to willful blindness towards the dangers of excess weight (inexcusable). Even as obesity rates increase, fewer people are trying to lose their dangerous excess weight.
5.
But we cannot ignore the underlying data: COVID-19 is especially dangerous for the severely overweight. In fact, the CDC estimates that being obese triples the odds of being hospitalized for COVID. 78% of people hospitalized for COVID-19 were either overweight (28%) or obese (50%).
6. 88% of COVID deaths in the first year of the pandemic occurred in countries where over half the population is overweight — led by the US. In a dark twist, the pandemic has also made obesity more widespread. In February, nearly half of American adults reported gaining a median of 15 pounds during the pandemic, and 10% reported gaining more than 50 pounds.
6. 88% of COVID deaths in the first year of the pandemic occurred in countries where over half the population is overweight — led by the US. In a dark twist, the pandemic has also made obesity more widespread. In February, nearly half of American adults reported gaining a median of 15 pounds during the pandemic, and 10% reported gaining more than 50 pounds.
What would you suggest the American government do to address the obesity epidemic? Please give at least 2 examples.
7. Of course, obesity is not just a function of willpower, but also of genes, stress levels, and access to healthy food and healthcare. As industrial food production has scaled, our instincts for seeking salty, sugary, and fatty foods have not modulated. So, while individuals are not to blame, we are fighting an uphill battle: Once a person becomes severely overweight, their body changes and fights efforts to lose the excess weight and keep it off.
8.
If our government doesn’t tackle the obesity epidemic with the same urgency as it would any other public health crisis — starting with open, non-politicized conversation — we are destined to become a nation lacking the strength and vitality that has for so long cemented us as leaders on the global stage.
Japan has a very low obesity rate, but there are other health issues which do affect Japanese people. Which of these do you think are most serious, why?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_in_Japan
Phonetic Chart
