It\u2019s something we\u2019ve all heard before: Those at the\nhighest risk of a severe reaction or death from a COVID-19 infection have an\n\u201cunderlying condition.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And the top \u201ccondition,\u201d as it turns out, is obesity. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released results from a study last month that examined those who were hospitalized due to COVID-19 in 99 counties across 14 states, and the results are staggering. Close to 60 percent in the 18-49 group involved those who were obese. For people 50-64, obesity was the underlying condition for nearly 50 percent who were hit hard, along with 41 percent of patients 65 and over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While it\u2019s hardly news that obesity, especially in\nAmerica, is so widespread it\u2019s now referred to as an \u201cepidemic,\u201d many experts\nseem to have just realized that the food industry has been working for a very\nlong time to make its ultra-processed foods considered normal eating options\nfor breakfast, lunch and dinner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some, such as UK cardiologist Dr. Aseem Malhotra, are\ngoing so far as to say that if health authorities don\u2019t warn citizens to change\nthe way they eat, it would constitute \u201cnegligence and ignorance.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Professor Tim Spector, an expert in genetic\nepidemiology at King\u2019s College in London remarked that \u201cObesity and poor diet\nis emerging as one of the biggest risk factors for a severe response to COVID-19\ninfection that can no longer be ignored.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And Professor Robert Listig, from the University of\nCalifornia commented on the CDC report by saying that \u201cultra-processed food\nsets you up for inflammation,\u201d which is something COVID-19 is \u201chappy to\nexploit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But as they say, talk is cheap. What isn\u2019t, however,\nis how much money Big Food spends to make sure that these stockpiles of processed\nproducts that have undermined our health so much keep on selling. And despite\nwhat that CDC report revealed, ultra-processed, obesity-spawning foods are flying\noff the shelves faster than ever before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A distressing comfort<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n At one time, comfort foods used to constitute mom\u2019s\nmac and cheese, homemade mashed potatoes or a batch of oatmeal raisin cookies\nfresh out of the oven. Now it appears that our eating habits have deteriorated\nto the point where many of the hundreds of New York Times<\/em> readers\ncommenting on an article titled \u201c\u2018I Just Need the Comfort\u2019: Processed Foods\nMake a Pandemic Comeback,\u201d are arguing the vital need to consume unlimited\namounts of Velveeta, canned pasta and \u201ccheese\u201d that comes from a can.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For Big Food, it\u2019s likely a sales dream come true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n General Mills reported that sales are up\n\u201cacross-the-board\u201d during the last month, including packaged dinner mixes such\nas Hamburger Helper, described by a spokesman as a \u201csimple and delicious meal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conagra Brands saw a 50 percent increase for products\nsuch as Slim Jim and Chef Boyardee canned pastas during March. Kraft\/Heinz now\nneeds to keep some factories working three shifts just to keep cranking out\nenough boxed macaroni and cheese, with Campbell\u2019s soup sales jumping almost 60\npercent from where they were a year ago. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And Impossible Foods, which makes the additive filled, ultra-processed fake meat called the \u201cImpossible Burger,\u201d has been able to use this pandemic to get its products into 777 more grocery stores in the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If, as many experts are saying, the threat posed by COVID-19 will be with us for quite a while — even gaining tragic traction in the fall — now is the time to make sure you\u2019re in fighting shape. And judging from the CDC\u2019s research, it appears that can best be started right in your kitchen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Linda Bonvie<\/strong><\/em>
Linda Bonvie is journalist, blogger and co-author of “A Consumer\u2019s Guide to Toxic Food Additives: How to avoid synthetic sweeteners, MSG, artificial colors, and more,\u201d Skyhorse Publishing, March 2020. <\/em><\/p>\n