Have you ever wondered why Americans are more overweight than people from other countries? 

You might have guessed some of the reasons: huge portion sizes, little exercise, too much sugary foods, no mindful eating, stress, etc.

To me, however, there is one factor that plays a key role here: the American food manufacturing industry.

Not only the ingredients of the processed food are addictive, but they are also the worst thing you could eat in terms of your weight management.

What’s the problem with eating manufactured meals?

In general, American families don’t cook very often, and therefore they use more precooked or highly manufactured meals and eat out at convenient restaurants. 

Both types of foods are full of what is called the “addiction factor”: salt, sugar and fats, that make people addicted to that food and therefore it makes them come back to get more (in fact the brain receptors are the same as the ones for drugs like heroine).

After eating that addictive food, people not only end eating too much but also as I said, the ingredients in the manufactured of food are the worst for weight management.

Not only those ingredients are very fattening but also interfere with the hormones and other metabolic factors involved in managing a healthy weight. Also, the fats used are not healthy ones, like olive oil, but trans fats, which make a big impact in the visceral fat accumulation and interfere with the weight management metabolic systems. 

HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup) is another very nasty ingredient when trying to lose weight.

To support my idea of how manufactured food plays an important role in weight management, there is now evidence that overweight and obese rates among kids in the Mediterranean Countries (the diet I know better and with some of the healthiest and skinnier countries) are growing very fast, being now higher than among US kids. 

I personally think that this is a consequence of how the Mediterranean families are now eating in a much more similar way than the Americans than ever before.

Is having a diet like the Mediterranean enough?

I grew up in Spain and I live now in the US where I have developed my 32 Mondays Weight Management Program to teach a practical way to go back to the basic points of nutrition and weight management.

The drive to develop that program was precisely the differences I encountered between the Mediterranean Diet I grew up with and the American diet I experienced when I arrived to the US 10 years ago.

But Mediterranean families are now busier than ever.

With the economy so bad, both partners in the families are working very hard and they don't have time anymore to shop for healthy groceries, cook and have meals together. They have now access to many convenient manufactured meals and cheap restaurants which they are taking benefit of.

If we add that kids have less opportunity to exercise we can see that they will gain weight as a consequence.  

That's why the percentage of overweight and obese kids is increasing so much, being even ahead of the US.

They haven't realized about the problem yet, and educational campaigns haven't been launched, but I am expecting that if things continue the same the overweight and obese adult rates are going to increase each year when those kids become adults.

I have 3 other blog posts that specifically talk about this topic that you might like:

This Is Why Parisians Don’t Need a Weight Management Method

What is Palatability and What Does it Have to do with your Weight Loss Management Efforts?

What Happened With the Mediterranean Diet?

What Can You Do to Stop Getting Bigger?

The solution to stop getting bigger and bigger is to embrace a healthy diet that works for you, like the Mediterranean Diet or another that suits you, and really implement it. 

But things won’t happen magically, as you now. So, you need to make it happen and implement those changes, like buying your groceries in a smart way, preparing and cooking your meals, learn how to organize your meals, and learn all the additional pieces of the puzzle to get in control of your weight. 

Remember: “The best way to predict your future is to create it” by Abraham Lincoln. 

What are you waiting for?