Obesity in America - And Why They Should Stop Complaining About the Yuan

A week ago The Economist published this chart about obesity rates in several countries based on an OECD report. Though I was surprised to find out that Mexico and New Zealand where amongst the top three, it didn't shock me to see that the U.S.A. is still Numero Uno.With a whooping 33.8% of adults (and not counting the seriously overweight population), the US is a predominantly fat nation. 

The impact of obesity on the American economy is as large as its people: almost 10% of direct health costs (about U$147 billion) are obesity related, and that seems to exclude the price tag of lost productivity. But the real impact goes far beyond that - and given the state of the American economy, it needs to be addressed ASAP.

A nation is the sum total of its individual components (and in the case of the U.S., these are very big components). Thus the national character is the reflection of the relative dominance of the individual characteristics amongst its members. You see where I am going with this: when the predominant individual characteristic is cholesterol, the socio-economic arteries of the nation begin to harden. The future is even bleaker when you consider that 19.6% of children aged between 6 to 11 are obese and the ratio among teenagers is of 18%. So young and already with the life expectancy of a beached whale. 

Thus the real cost of fat goes beyond the financial costs to the health system. How many ideas are lost, how many geniuses who will never see the day, how many products never created? Seriously ask yourself: how competitive can you be when 34% of your people require custom sized doors?

So maybe, the United States should stop complaining about the value of the Yuan, and ask its own citizens to unpeg their own rears from the couch. The real stimulus package should be the one that gets Americans - and America - really moving again.