Nutrition: America’s Silent Health Crisis

The current healthcare crisis that is continuing to make its way through the country has taken a lot of attention away from our other health crisis, nutrition.

Covid-19 and Coronavirus have both rightly dominated the headlines over the last ten months however there is a bigger issue, the poor nutrition of the American population.

As one of the unhealthiest high-income countries in the world, America has a high rate of chronic disease, regardless of the amount of money we are spending on healthcare.

So when the current pandemic hit the country those who were already in poor health were hit hardest. Many of those who already had a chronic disease who were subsequently diagnosed with Covid-19 ended up being hospitalized, while the death rates were higher than those who had good health before the virus hit.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released a report that shows that out of all Covid-19 deaths 94% were in those who already had an average 2.6 extra ailments. Meanwhile the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) has highlighted the fact that out of the top high-income countries, America has had the highest per capita death rate from Covid-19.

These figures highlight the fact that Americans have been ignoring their health for some time, resulting in a lower life expectancy. But with a country that has one of the most profitable healthcare systems it seems at odds with the statistics. This does not mean that we should remove the Affordable Care Act, in fact many are calling for a complete overhaul of the health system, as well as the care system, with many believing that the care system is another contribution to lower life expectancy.

Many of our chronic illnesses can be avoided with slight changes to our lifestyle and diets. Over 42% of American adults are obese while 19.3% of 19 year olds and younger also have the condition. In fact, after Kuwait and a handful of small Pacific island nations, America has the highest obesity rate in the world.

By changing our diets we cannot only reduce obesity rates but also the numbers of those with high blood pressure or diabetes. Currently around 50% of deaths in America that are caused by either type 2 diabetes, heart disease or stroke are a result of a poor diet, including over indulging in sugary drinks, processed meats and fatty foods while many of us appear to be averse to eating vegetables, fruit or whole grains.

Another illness that can be caused by a poor diet is cancer. A 2004 review of how cancer is linked to nutrition and diet found that alongside not smoking, “avoidance of overweight is the most important strategy for cancer prevention.”

There are several ways we as a nation can work on better health choices, especially with Covid-19 becoming a continued presence in our lives. By making small changes in our diets – such as swapping sugary sweets for fruit or reducing our intake in soda – as well as increasing our exercise – walk to the local store or get off the bus one stop earlier – we can start to bring down our obesity levels and potentially avoid type-2 diabetes.

However, with a new administration heading to the White House, president-elect Joe Biden could bring in some actions to help us as a nation.

With the unemployment rate increasing and a second stimulus package still out of our reach it can be difficult to buy healthy when sugary and fatty foods are much cheaper. By ensuring that healthy food is cheaper – whether that is by reducing costs of fruit and vegetables or increasing the tax on unhealthy food – American homes can feed their families healthier food for less.

Currently the average American eats twice as many sugary drinks as fruit each day, however researchers have predicted that by reducing the cost of vegetables and fruit, while increasing red meat and sugar-sweetened drinks by the same amount, deaths could be reduced by around 63,000 each year. This figure alone makes it clear that Biden and his politicians should be considering whether they could subsidize those providing fruit and vegetables to our stores.

Another way to improve our health is education. Although many of us trust our health physicians when it comes to nutrition, having lessons in schools dedicated to teaching our children about nutrition, diet and health should be improved and this is definitely something the next administration should consider.

They should also discuss increasing the number of time spent teaching medical staff about nutrition as currently only 15% of doctors surveyed said they felt “totally prepared” if asked by a patient for nutritional advice. At the moment medical schools only offer a small amount of lecture hours to nutrition – not even one per cent – and that clearly is not good enough. By working with colleges and schools the next administration could change education therefore reducing chronic illness within the U.S.