Shocking Truths Behind America’s Diabetes Crisis – The $413 Billion Scandal Exposed! How Big Corporations Exploit Our Children’s Health – Time to Ban Junk Food Ads NOW!”
In the contemporary United States, a pervasive epidemic of Type 2 diabetes and obesity has taken hold, with these health crises intricately linked and rapidly worsening. As the chairperson of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, I am committed to taking decisive action to address this pressing issue.
The statistics are alarming, revealing that over 35 million Americans grapple with Type 2 diabetes, with a staggering 90% of them being overweight or obese. Without a substantial shift in our approach, these numbers are poised to escalate exponentially.
Diabetes
It is crucial to recognize that this epidemic not only imperils the health of tens of millions of Americans but also carries an exorbitant economic burden. According to the American Diabetes Association, the estimated cost of diabetes in the United States soared to nearly $413 billion last year, constituting approximately one-fourth of our healthcare expenditure.
Key questions demand our attention: Why is the projected increase in the number of American children with Type 2 diabetes nearing 700% over the next four decades? How did the prevalence of childhood obesity in the U.S., tripling since the 1970s, reach a point where 1 in 5 children and over 40% of adults now contend with obesity?
Individuals with diabetes require more support; for instance, my son relies on insulin for survival. While efforts to reduce drug costs are a positive step, they fall short of what is needed.
Large corporations have played a pivotal role in fostering the diabetes epidemic through extensive advertising. Over decades, these corporations have enticed children to consume foods and beverages laden with sugar, salt, and saturated fats, deliberately engineered to encourage overconsumption.
The situation has escalated to the point where a significant portion of the American youth’s diet consists of unhealthy, ultra-processed foods like sweetened cereals, sugary soft drinks, chicken tenders, hot dogs, french fries, frozen pizzas, and chips—items experts have identified as increasing the risk of Type 2 diabetes. Even seemingly healthy options, such as fruit-flavored yogurts and granola bars, contain alarming levels of added sugar.
A recent study published in the British Medical Journal highlights that ultra-processed foods, constituting a staggering 73% of our nation’s food supply, can be as addictive as alcohol or cigarettes.
While diabetes and obesity rates soar, the food and beverage industry spends $14 billion annually on advertising to make their unhealthy products irresistible. Shockingly, $2 billion is earmarked for directly marketing predominantly high-sugar, high-salt, and high-saturated-fat foods to children, creating early dependence.
Children and teens are bombarded with around 4,000 food and beverage ads on television annually, translating to an average of 10 advertisements each day. Networks like Nickelodeon expose young audiences to over 10 unhealthy food and beverage ads every hour.
The time has come for substantial efforts to combat the Type 2 diabetes and obesity epidemic in America. We must confront the avarice of the food and beverage industry, which relentlessly jeopardizes the health of our children. A critical starting point is the prohibition of junk food ads targeting kids.
This is not a radical proposition. The National Institutes of Health estimates that banning fast-food advertising directed at children could reduce the childhood obesity rate by up to 18%. Quebec’s ban on junk food advertising to children in the 1980s has resulted in the province having the lowest childhood obesity rate in Canada today, coupled with the highest consumption of fruits and vegetables.
The World Health Organization, this summer, urged nations to substantially decrease the marketing of junk food to children, and Norway has taken a bold step by banning all food and beverage advertisements aimed at children. Other countries, including Ireland, Portugal, South Korea, Spain, and Taiwan, have either significantly restricted or outright banned junk food ads targeting children.
In 2021, Mexico implemented a ban on cartoon characters on food products and mandated warning labels on items with excessive sugar, calories, sodium, or saturated fat—a measure worth considering.
The food and beverage industry will undoubtedly resist change, utilizing not only billions in TV advertising but also significant political contributions during election cycles. Enough is enough. It is time to stand up against an industry that prioritizes profits over the health of our children. We must do everything within our power to combat the diabetes epidemic.
