RyansWorld: Obesity

'''Special Note: Please note that this scenario is meant to be read as entertainment, not as an accurate prediction of the future. Also note that the viewpoints and opinions that may come across in this scenario are not necessarily the viewpoints and opinions of the author.'''

From Wikipedia: "The prevalence of overweight and obesity in the United States makes obesity a leading public health problem. The United States has the highest rates of obesity in the developed world. From 1980 to 2002, obesity has doubled in adults and overweight prevalence has tripled in children and adolescents. The Health Survey for England predicts that more than 12 million adults and 1 million children will be obese by 2010 if no action is taken."


 * A current health problem
 * Drugs can reduce appetite.
 * Surgery can reduce appetite (artificial bands around stomach).
 * Changes in food that make it less digestible is already being promoted to slimmers, but also has advantage of longer shelf life.
 * Psychological counseling and therapy will treat excessive eating and lack of exercise as a behavior problem and could be corrected with behavior management and motivation.

Weight reduces energy levels; obese people can have negative energy levels and cannot exercise after finishing their employment.

Future


Obesity is an epidemic caused by meat grown by traditional methods (the slaughtering of livestock as opposed to in vitro meat farming), television, and a lack of a mandatory fitness program at work. This disease will last throughout the early 21st century. When television is subject to a worldwide ban, people will become physically and socially active again, and circumstances will force them to be outside of their homes daily, burning calories and eating lower-calorie foods at the shopping mall food courts and vegetarian restaurants of the future.

Also, classes will be taught to children and adults to eat their food slower, as they savor the taste more, consume fewer calories than people who eat fast, and develop a further interest in the food service industry. By the start of the 22nd century, the average man will have a size 32 waist and the average woman will wear a size 6 dress (because everyone is motivated by the government, their doctors, and their employers to enjoy a healthy lifestyle). Governments will eventually make it a misdemeanor to be overweight and a felony to be obese. To be legally overweight, a person must have a BMI of 27 or higher for three months, and to be legally obese the person must have a BMI of 30 and above for three months. Exceptions of the law will be for pregnancy and medical/genetic reasons making it almost impossible for a person to lose weight. Punishments will range from tax penalties to mandatory attendance in a 28-month "exercise and fitness camp" re-education program. Convicts will be released from the "camp" when they have reached the Body Mass Index of 25 and will be placed on supervised probation for the rest of the 28- month term. Increase in weight will result in being returned to the camp. Tax incentives will be given for people that have active gym memberships and with the possession of home fitness equipment. People will stop consuming soft drinks and go back to drinking water permanently due to the lack of television advertising. Nanotechnology will provide an unlimited supply of food, water, materials, fabrics, fuel, and electricity for the masses to enjoy necessities and luxuries (besides television) which will be almost free of charge by the year 2040.

Cyborgs will not have to put up with obesity, bullimia, or anoerxia, as the digital sensors in their mouth makes tasting a "nostalgia of the past." In addition to this, their cyborg stomachs never need to be filled with foods, and their cyborg brains will never develop a want for either hunger or thirst. However, unless someone has accomplished severe injuries in a futuristic war or develops a severe sexually transmitted disease while in the employ of a government agency, cyborgization will be unaccessible to the average person for at least 30-400 years.

Links
need some more links to references.