Thread by @DrLeanaWen

My latest @PostOpinions column is about the need for urgent attention to an epidemic that is responsible for 300,000 deaths every year: obesity.

As @Dmozaffarian told me, "the slow pandemic of #obesity has intertwined with the fast pandemic of #covid19".🧵washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…

Obesity is a major risk factor for diabetes, heart disease, certain cancers & worse outcomes from #covid19. With stress & food insecurity, 42% self-reported gaining weight since the pandemic, with an average addition of 29 pounds. 10% gained 50+ pounds. /2 apa.org/news/press/rel…

The experts I spoke to proposed numerous solutions, including seeing food as medicine so doctors can prescribe healthy produce for patients; changing policies around ultra-processed foods & sugary sodas; and recognizing that systemic racism is built into our food system. /3

“We live in a world where junk food is promoted in every way, in enormous quantities,” @marionnestle.

When 70%+ of Americans are overweight or have obesity, it can’t be seen as an individual problem. It’s a societal issue that requires major change at the policy level. /4

Addressing long-standing structural issues will be hard. Some will disagree that this is the time to do so.

But, as @harvardmed's @jasonpblock said, " it’s largely because of obesity that our children’s generation could have a lower life expectancy than ours." /5

.@Dmozaffarian calls for a “national collective awakening to address obesity and metabolic health.”

It will be a difficult awakening after a difficult year, but it would be tragic to emerge from #covid19 only to have years of life be shortened by another disease. /END