Friday, January 21, 2011
Economic Insecurity & Stress in a Capitalist Society Contribute to Epidemic Obesity Problems
There are currently more overweight than underweight adults worldwide for the first time in history, and new research by Jon D. Wisman and Kevin W. Capehart at American University in Washington, D.C., suggests the obesity epidemic is substantially due to growing insecurity, stress, and a sense of powerlessness in societies where high-sugar and high-fat foods are increasingly omnipresent.
After exploring the evidence of a link between stress and obesity, Wisman and Capehart suggest the obesity epidemic is symptomatic of a social mistake—the continual pursuit of maximum economic growth in rich countries where the problem of material scarcity has been essentially solved.
“When I began to look into the issue of obesity, I realized that the most overweight are the least privileged members of society. And amongst those, it tended to be minorities. And amongst minorities it tended to be women. It was those people who possessed the least control over their lives, and thus suffer the greatest insecurity and stress” said Wisman.
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