Consider a disease that kills hundreds of thousands of Americans every year, more than smoking, yet goes largely unnoticed in public debate. This is not a fictional crisis. It is the harsh reality of diet-related
disease.
Every year, approximately 678,000 Americans die from diet and obesity-related conditions like heart
disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes (Center for Science in the Public Interest [CSPI]). Even as it quietly
claims lives and burdens our healthcare system, this public health emergency is drowned out by splashier headlines.
For a long time, I didn’t see this crisis as something that applied to me. My family has a history of
diabetes, but growing up, I assumed I was in the clear. I was skinny, had a fast metabolism, and rarely
thought twice about what I ate.
Like many people, I equated thinness with health. But as I got older and started going to regular
checkups, the reality began to set in. Health markers that had once seemed distant suddenly felt very real, and I realized that being young and slim didn’t protect me from poor nutrition. I had to change the way I thought about food and the way I treated my body.
Surprisingly, three-quarters of all adults and half of all teenagers in the U.S. are overweight or obese, a
trend that will only get worse over time (CSPI). And yet, thinness is still somehow equated with good
health. The reality is that true well-being depends on a balanced diet, regular exercise, and informed
choices, not body size alone. A person can appear thin yet suffer from the hidden consequences of a poor diet, inactivity, or chronic illness.
Poor diets, particularly those high in ultra-processed foods, added sugars, and unhealthy fats, are at the
core of this epidemic. These products are engineered to be cheap, convenient, and addictive, but at a great cost. Processed foods are packed with calories, trans fats, and sodium, which disrupt metabolism and lead to obesity (American Medical Association [AMA]).
In turn, obesity raises the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, and insulin resistance, which often
leads to type 2 diabetes. Diets high in sugar and unhealthy fats are also major contributors to
non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, which is now increasingly seen in both children and adults (NYU, 2021).
Economic cost is staggering. Poor diets drive nearly 20% of U.S. healthcare spending on heart disease and diabetes, costing more than 50 billion dollars annually (CSPI). Yet little has been done systemically to
stop the bleeding.
Why are poor diets so widespread? A toxic combination of convenience, aggressive food marketing,
economic inequality, and limited nutrition education makes it almost unavoidable. More than half, 57%,
of the calories American adults consume each day come from ultra-processed foods, which are high in
calories but low in nutrients (NYU, 2021).
At the same time, food companies spend nearly 14 billion dollars a year advertising processed, sugary,
and fatty foods. Many of these are deceptively labeled as “healthy,” tricking consumers into making poor
choices (AMA).
Even when people want to eat healthier, many simply cannot afford to. Research shows that fresh fruits,
vegetables, and other healthy options cost nearly twice as much per calorie as processed alternatives,
putting them out of reach for low-income households (Orlando Health).
On top of that, many people struggle to read nutrition labels or understand the long-term impact of their
eating habits. While personal education is important, it often is not enough without support from policy
and the broader environment (Orlando Health).
To really fix this crisis, we need to go beyond individual willpower and treat it as a systemic issue. That
means regulating manipulative food marketing, making nutritious foods more affordable, and expanding
access to nutrition education. Public campaigns should not just issue warnings. They should empower
people with knowledge, tools, and support to take back control of their diets.
The true threat is not necessarily what is on our plates. It is what we are not discussing. As long as we
avoid the conversation, poor nutrition will stay in the background and continue to spread like a silent
epidemic. It is time to face it head-on because our health depends on it.
References
American Medical Association. (n.d.). What doctors wish patients knew about ultraprocessed
foods.
https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/public-health/what-doctors-wish-patients-knew-aboutultraprocessed-foods
Center for Science in the Public Interest. (n.d.). Why good nutrition is important.
https://www.cspinet.org/eating-healthy/why-good-nutrition-important
New York University. (2021, October). Ultra-processed foods now comprise 2/3 of calories in
children and teen diets.
https://www.nyu.edu/about/news-publications/news/2021/october/ultra-processed-foods.html
Orlando Health. (n.d.). Lack of diet and exercise are more dangerous for your health than you
think.
https://www.orlandohealth.com/content-hub/lack-of-diet-and-exercise-are-more-dangerous-for-y
our-health-than-you-think
Edited 4/17 to reflect Reference Section.
