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I just finished watching the movie Fed Up [2] with my 13 year old.
It was eye-opening on many levels. As the credits were rolling I sat on the couch next to my son feeling angry, upset and fed up. But I also felt grateful that I was able to watch this incredible documentary with my son.
Take a peek at the preview:
Thanks to Fed Up there have been fantastic discussions in our home about the food we eat, obesity and the complexities of sugar. We now read food labels together at the market, scanning for forms of hidden sugar.
In a nutshell this film shows us how everything we thought we knew about food and exercise is dead wrong.
The movie, produced by Katie Couric, Laurie David (Oscar winning producer of An Inconvenient Truth) and Regina Scully, sets out to change the way we eat forever.
If we don’t change something soon then we are left with the fact that over 90% of all Americans will be overweight or obese in two decades. One in three kids are expected to have diabetes by mid-century. This is the first generation of children that are expected to lead shorter lives than their parents.
In 2010 flip cameras were sent out to a group of 6 kids so they could record candidly their struggles with obesity and food. The film follows these children and documents their uphill battle with the “diet and exercise” model for losing weight.
This is a heartbreaking tale of how easy it is for kids to become addicted to the wrong kind of foods at an early age.
If you thought you understood sugar before, Fed Up has new information that will forever change the way we think about sugar and food in general.
- 80% of the 600,00 items sold in grocery stores have added sugar.
- From 1977 to 2000 it’s estimated that Americans have doubled their intake of sugar.
- A typical 20 ounce bottle of soda contains about 16 teaspoons of sugar from High Fructose Corn Syrup [3].
- In a recent study, 43 cocaine addicted laboratory rats were given the choice of cocaine or sugar water over a 15 day period. 40 out of 43 chose sugar.
- Low fat products AREN’T necessarily a healthier option [4] and DON’T have less sugar.
- A calorie isn’t a calorie. For example a calorie from a candy bar is very different from a calorie in a piece of fruit or a vegetable.
- Sugar is sugar. It can be disguised in may ways on a food label, but it’s all sugar. Sugar is hiding everywhere: cane sugar, beet sugar, High Fructose Corn Syrup, glucose. There are over 50 names for sugar.
- Right now food labels list the amount of sugar in products in grams. This is basically useless since it’s very hard for us to visualize in grams. We need to fight to switch the measurement to teaspoons.
- In 1980 there were no cases of Type 2 Diabetes diagnosed (ages 8-19). In 2010 57,638 (ages 8-19) cases were diagnosed. Low activity level, poor diet, and excess body weight around the waist increase your chance of getting Type 2 Diabetes.
- Since 1995 the government has paid over 8 billion dollars in subsidies for corn based sweeteners including High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) and Crystalline Fructose which are added to our foods and beverages. Between 1970 and 1990 the consumption of HFCS increased by 1000%.
Our food system is a disaster and it isn’t going to fix itself. The problems we face are real and serious and we need to do something NOW. There’s no question that we all need to work together to save our kids. To save ourselves.
I’m angry. I’m Fed Up.
Go and see the movie, start cooking more home cooked meals [5], and join forces to help stop this epidemic.
The Fed Up Challenge
On May 12, the #FedUpMovie team went sugar free for 10 days. They used this action as a first step in fighting the biggest public health crisis of our time. It’s not too late to take the pledge. Want to join in and go sugar free for 10 days? Check it out HERE [6].
If you’ve seen the movie I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Need more convincing to see this flick? Check out Mindful Momma’s Top Ten Reasons to See the Movie ‘Fed Up’ and Mommy Niri’s interview with Katie Couric, Laurie David, Stephanie Soechtig and Dr. Mark Hyman [7].