Obesity- the pandemic gives us, yet, another reality check

I went for my annual physical today and asked the staff at the clinic what sorts of conditions they are seeing during the pandemic and the latest surge.  They responded that there is a uniform increase in fatigue, depression, metabolic disease and weight gain.  It reminded me of the New York Times telling us to go easy on ourselves if we have had some weight gain during the pandemic.  I am not an exception, since having shoulder surgery in mid-August, I am up 10lbs.  I suspect our girth has had a much bigger impact on hospitalizations during the pandemic than we want to think about.  No one is adding, “skip dessert” or “maybe skip dinner” to “Wear a Mask and Wash Your Hands.”

Yet more than 42% of the population is considered obese.  That condition alone dwarfs all other conditions combined for COVID victims that carry very significant increased chances  of hospitalization and death. While the market for wearable fitness technology  more than doubled since 2014 to more than $50bn annually in 2019, such props generally have not made a measurable contribution to long term wellness. For that, it would take a change in our values toward health and the accountability of the food and health industries to return to even turn of the century levels let alone the less than 15% obesity rate from 1990.

For me, the pandemic has also been a time of reflection and recommitment to my belief that a long-term focus on health is a 20- or 30-year ROI worth pursuing.  I am equally confident we need to see both social and business model improvements over the next 10 years if we are to have a chance to change the health curve for future generations.