Is The American Diet Harming Our Bodies?

Much has been said about America's obesity epidemic, which now involves approximately two-thirds of children and adults in this country. The 2010 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, a special division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, calls the obesity epidemic "the single greatest threat to public health in this century." Along with low levels of physical activity, the Western diet has been blamed for this alarming trend.

Obesity and Disease

The scientific evidence linking obesity to an increased incidence of disease is compelling. Heart disease, diabetes, cancer, arthritis, asthma, sleep apnea, high blood pressure and gallbladder disease are all more common in overweight individuals. The final common pathway for many of these illnesses is a condition called metabolic syndrome, which is defined by a constellation of physiologic derangements, including elevated blood pressure, increased waist circumference, insulin resistance and disorders of blood lipids, such as high triglycerides.

Inflammation and Diet

Dr. Darwin Deen, a physician and nutritionist at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, describes metabolic syndrome as an inflammatory state which damages the lining of your arteries and generates physiologic abnormalities that eventually progress to full-blown disease. Scientists have identified specific features of the American diet, such as high-fructose corn syrup, preservatives and saturated fats, which are inflammatory in their own right. Therefore, metabolic syndrome is not only caused by consuming a typical American diet; its effects are magnified manifold by such eating habits.

High-fructose Corn Syrup

High-fructose corn syrup, or HFCS, serves as an example of what is amiss with the American diet. The consumption of HFCS increased exponentially in the U.S. during the last century. The role that this ubiquitous food additive plays in the obesity epidemic is a matter for heated debate, but a growing body of evidence shows that HFCS is a major participant in the evolution of obesity and metabolic syndrome. For example, a 2010 review in "Current Hypertension Reports" suggested that HFCS contributes to the development of metabolic syndrome even when it does not cause significant weight gain, an observation that attests to this sweetener's inflammatory nature.

Summary

High-fructose corn syrup is not the sole cause of the obesity epidemic. The DGAC reports that Americans simply eat too many calories and too much solid fat, added sugar, refined grains and sodium. They also consume too little dietary fiber, unsaturated fatty acids, such as omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, calcium, potassium and other nutrients that are readily found in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy products and seafood. These dietary practices, combined with low activity levels among a majority of individuals, are closely linked with increasing rates of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, arthritis, cancer and other diseases. In fact, as summarized by the DGAC, deaths attributed to dietary deficiencies and sedentary lifestyles is on the rise, threatening to outrank smoking as the leading cause of U.S. deaths.