Obese people are causing more deaths than anything else.

And to be clear - obesity is a choice in nearly every case.  Wait, before I go on...

*Disclaimer:  I do not think obese people are bad people.  This is not ‘fat shaming’ or disparaging obese individuals.  It is exploring a topic that is a major health crisis, but not discussed due to fear of the current ‘cancel culture.’  Please read the entire email before you come at me. 

In the United States, 42.4% of the population is obese, which is up 12% over the last 20 years. (CDC article from Feb, 2020)

According to the CDC, obesity may triple the risk of hospitalization due to a COVID-19 infection.  And 52% or more of COVID deaths have been in overweight & obese individuals.

What would the death rates of COVID-19 be if the average person was healthy?

Would they be high enough for people to ‘justify’ full economic shutdowns?

Would hospitals be overwhelmed?

Crazy Thing - A study in the 1980’s found that each 1% increase in unemployment causes 37,000 deaths.  Since U.S. unemployment increased from 3.5% to 14.7% from February to April of this year, that could be up to 414,4000 deaths.  (For comparison, there have been 311,000 U.S. deaths associated with COVID-19 as of this morning.)

When unemployed, early death from heart disease increases up to 30% and risk of stroke doubles.

In 2005 the World Health Organization stated that obesity and overweight contributes to 17 MILLION deaths worldwide.  And the rate of obesity has skyrocketed since then.

The poor health of our country is killing people.

And instead of educating the public, we have chosen to pretend healthy people are sick and put people out of work, increasing their odds of illness.

This is a public health emergency.

The worst part: This topic has become inappropriate to discuss.

The best part: This is a solve-able problem. We know how to get people healthy!

Let’s look at cigarette smoking.  In the 1960’s, over 40% of U.S. adults were banging heaters.  In 2019 that number is down to 14%.  

It’s amazing what focus and educating the public can do!  

I know fast food is finger-lickin’ good.  And some studies have suggested that the refined sugar in Halloween candy is as addictive as the booger sugar, nose candy.

Don’t get discouraged!  This is far from a hopeless battle. 

The dopamine release from Nicotine reduces stress and makes you feel happy.  Oh, AND it’s the 5th most addictive substance on earth (according to The Addiction Center).

We overcame these issues with cigarettes.  We CAN also bring that obesity number from over 40% down to 14% over the next 50 years.

We can follow the same playbook, but with updated technology: 

➛Billboards encouraging eating vegetables and fruits.

➛Phone notifications encouraging 10 minutes of movement.

➛Educate the public on why eating a shitty diet ruins your body.

➛Run ads showing what excessive sugar intake does to your body.

➛Ban ads that promote foods or beverages that have high sugar content.

➛Bring back the lady smoking through the hole in her neck (or a version of that around obesity).

We need to raise the collective awareness of the dangers that come with obesity.

Choose to make health a priority.  Choose to eat certain foods and avoid others.  Choose to exercise.  Choose to reduce your weight and be cured rather than ‘manage’ your type 2 diabetes by slamming intravenous insulin while eating oreos.

Making healthy choices does not make you ‘better’ than anyone else.  But it will make you healthier, happier, more resistant to illness, and less of a burden.

If you disagree (or agree) with me, I would love to hear your opinion.  Simply reply to this email and we can discuss!

Be great,

Danny Lehr

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P.S.S.S.  Don’t twist this up to be some sort of ‘fat people hate’ or anything like that.  It is not a personal attack on anyone. It is an exploration into a problem in the world, specifically the US, that we can solve together.