The obesity epidemic isn’t entirely an American problem. Obesity levels are rising in many countries with advanced economies. A new study suggests that the liberal trade policies of wealthy countries encourage the proliferation of fast food restaurants, with weight gain, heart disease and obesity in their wake.
Obesity goes global
Obesity-related health problems kill about 400,000 people each year in the U.S. Researchers at the University of Michigan found that obesity could be one of the unintended consequences of global market forces. In a study of 26 “wealthy” nations, those with a higher density of fast food restaurants per capita had higher obesity rates.
To measure how many fast food restaurants were present among 100,000 people, one franchise was used as a representative sample—a chain with the most locations worldwide as of the end of 2010.
Fast food nations
Countries recognized as leaders in free market policies such as the U.S., United Kingdom and Australia had higher density of fast food restaurants and higher obesity rates. Japan and Norway, countries with more restrictive trade policies, were at the opposite end of the spectrum.
In the report, the U.S. had 7.52 fast food restaurants for every 100,000 people. Canada was close behind at 7.43 per 100K. Obesity rates for U.S. men were 31.3 percebt, for women, 33.2 percent. Japan, on the other hand, had a mere 0.13 fast food restaurants per 100,000 people. Norway, a scant 0.19. Japan’s obesity rates were 2.9 percent for men, 3.3 percent for women. Norwegian obesity rates for men and women were 6.4 percent and 5.9 percent. The relationships were consistent after controlling for variables such as income, income inequality, urban areas, motor vehicles per capita and internet use.
A direct correlation
The authors of the study, published in the journal Critical Public Health, contend that there is a direct correlation between international trade liberalization and obesity. They wrote that no “biological, genetic, psychological or community level factor” can explain why the prevalence of obesity has increased three or four times since the 1980’s, when fast food restaurants started popping up everywhere.
Source: Los Angeles Times, Science Daily, Emax Health, Futurity.org