Americans spend about 90 percent of their food budget on processed foods. That is nearly 9 percent of their total income.

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Flamin' Hot Crunchy Cheese Cheetos =

Corn meal enriched (corn meal, ferrous sulfate, niacin, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid). Nearly 1/3 of all corn crops in America have been genetically modified.

+Salt: High salt intake is a major cause of cardiovascular disease and increases the risks of heart attack and stroke. One serving size of this packaged food contains 9% of daily sodium intake.

+Sugar: Promotes obesity, tooth decay, and heart disease in people with high triglycerides.

+Food starch modified: May contain gluten. May cause diarrhea in infants. Most likely genetically modified.

+Monosodium glutamate (MSG): Shown to destroy the nerve cells in the brains of laboratory mice. May cause allergic reactions ranging from migraines, seizures and other nervous system disorders. Also known for the emissions of toxins made during its production that can pollute ground and drinking water.

+Yeast extract autolyzed: Often contains MSG.

+Colors artificial include (red 40 lake, yellow 6 lake, yellow 6, yellow 5). Red 40 lake is an artificial color that many tests have show to be harmful. It has been banned in Denmark, Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Austria and Norway. Yellow 6 has been proven to increase the incidence of tumors of the adrenal gland and kidney in lab animals, and has multiple known carcinogens, and has therefore been banned in Norway. Yellow 5 is a coal-tar derivative that is reputed to be a catalyst in ADD, asthma, migraines, thyroid cancer, and lupis.

+Soybean oil partially hydrogenated: Contains trans fatty acids that enter cell membranes, block normal cell function, and cause a rise in blood pressure.

+Cottonseed oil partially hydrogenated: Contains trans fatty acids that enter cell membranes, block normal cell function, and cause a rise in blood pressure.

+Soy protein hydrolyzed: Often contains MSG.

+Corn syrup solids: Considered to be a contributor to obesity.

+Natural flavors: FDA does not require listing ingredients that fall under the FDA's list of natural flavors even though some products may contain hundreds of compounds and chemicals and may even include substances that many people have allergies to like MSG or HVP.

+Disodium inosinate: May be prepared from meat or sardines. May trigger gout and is not permitted in foods for infants and young children.

+Disodium guanylate: May be prepared from yeast or sardines. May trigger gout and is not permitted in foods for infants and young children.

+Sodium caseinate: May contain MSG.

+Other Ingredients Generally Recognized as Safe for Consumption: maltodextrin, cheese cheddar (milk cultured, salt, enzymes), vegetable oil contains one or more of the following (corn oil, soybean oil (or), sunflower oil), sodium diacetate, disodium phosphate, disodium phosphate, sodium citrate, whey, onion powder, whey protein concentrate, buttermilk solids, garlic powder, lactic acid, milk non-fat solids, carrageenan.


Diet Mountain Dew =

Carbonated water: Studies suggest that the rise in esophageal cancer in the US is associated with the rise in consumption of carbonated beverages.

+Nutrasweet brand of aspartame: Tests on lab animals have shown a connection between low doses of aspartame and leukemia, lymphoma, and brain tumors. Lifetime consumption of aspartame is likely carcinogenic and the cause of multiple neurological disorders. Originally considered unfit for consumption by the FDA, Nutrasweet hired Donald Rumsfeld to pressure the legalization of the product.

+Potassium benzoate: Known to cause headaches, intestinal upset, hyperactivity in children, and may cause asthmatics to react badly.

+Caffeine: Increases the risk of miscarriages in pregnant women and inhibits fetal growth. Consumption of more than 2 servings a day may increase the risk of osteoporosis.

+Natural flavors: FDA does not require listing ingredients that fall under the FDA's list of natural flavors even though some products may contain hundreds of compounds and chemicals and may even include substances that many people have allergies to like MSG or HVP.

+Brominated vegetable oil: Leaves small residues in body fat that may be carcinogenic. Banned in the UK, Canada, and California has declared that baked goods containing more than a certain level of the chemical must bear a cancer warning on the label.

+Yellow 5: A coal-tar derivative that is reputed to be a catalyst in ADD, asthma, migranes, thyroid cancer, and lupis.

+Other Ingredients Generally Recognized as Safe for Consumption: Orange juice concentrated, Citric acid, Citrus pectin, Potassium citrate, Gum arabic, Erythorbic acid.



Sources:

Diet Mountain Dew Information. Food Facts.com. January, 2008.
http://www.foodfacts.com/members/item_info.cfm?id=23582.

Cheetos Item Information. Food Facts.com. January, 2008.
http://www.foodfacts.com/members/item_info.cfm?id=30970.

McDonald's French Fries Item Information. Food Facts.com. January 2008.
http://www.foodfacts.com/members/item_info.cfm?id=5734.

Pizza Hut Ingredient Statements. Pizza Hut. January, 2008.
http://www.pizzahut.com/Files/PDF/ph_ingredients.pdf.

Food Additives. Center for Science in the Public Interest. January, 2008.
http://www.cspinet.org/reports/chemcuisine.htm.

Rumsfeld Nutrasweet Folleys Now Hurt US Troops. Mercola.com. December 10, 2004.
http://www.mercola.com/blog/2004/dec/10/rumsfeld_nutrasweet_folleys_now_hurt_us_troops.

Americans Spend Less Than 10 Percent of Disposable Income on Food. Salem-News.com. February 3, 2008.
http://salem-news.com/articles/july192006/food_prices_71906.php.

Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation. New York: Perrenial, 2002.

According to the United Nations, 852 million people in the world face starvation. That is close to 1 of every 8 people.

* * * * *

The body mass index (BMI) of a an individual measures the relative percentage of fat and muscle in the body by dividing weight in kilograms by height in meters squared; meaning that since I weigh 62 kilograms and am 1.72 meters tall I have a BMI of 21.0. Normal BMI is between 18.5 and 24.9, overweight is between 25 and 29.9, and Obese is 30 or greater. America leads the world in obesity with 30.6 percent of the population having a body mass index of 30 and over. That means that over 3 of every 10 Americans is clinically obese. In contrast, only 2.6 percent of China's population is obese.

The average American has a BMI of 29.8 while the average Chinese has a BMI of 21.1. The average adult height of a American is 1.694 meters, which means that the average weight is 85.4 kilograms (188.3 pounds). The average adult height of Chinese is 1.641 meters, which means that the average weight is 56.8 kilograms (125.2 pounds). US America's adult population numbers approximately 222,000,000. China's adult population numbers approximately 951,000,000. That means that the America's cumulative adult population weighs 19 billion kilograms (42 billion pounds) while China's cumulative adult population weighs 54 billion kilograms (119 billion pounds).

If Chinese adults weighed as much as American adults, it would add 27 billion kilograms (60 billion pounds) to China's total human body mass. That is greater than the entire weight of the American adult population by 142 percent. If we consider fat and water to be of the same density where 1 kilogram of fat equals 1 liter, then that would mean 27 billion kilograms (60 billion pounds) of fat could fill the coliseum in Rome 1,000 times.

Vice versa, if Americans had a body mass index of 21.1, which would be considered healthy, then American adults would weigh approximately 60.5 kilograms (133 pounds). That would eliminate over 5.5 billion kilograms (12 billion pounds) of human fat from the planet's surface. This year, Sudan will be short 720 million kilograms of food for its starving people. Therefore, America's excess fat alone could fix Sudan's food shortage for over 7.6 years.

America's population with diabetes is 19.5 million, 6.5 percent of the population. China's population with diabetes has grown to over 50 million, 3.8 percent of the population. That number is expected to grow to 100 million by 2025. In the past 10 years, China's childhood obesity rate has doubled. Over 8.1 percent of urban children are obese while only 3.1 percent of rural children are obese. This is still far behind America's childhood obesity rate of 15 percent.

A study by a Cornell University nutritional biochemist named T. Colin Campbell revealed that US Americans consume 10 times more animal protein and 15 grams a day less fiber than the average Chinese. In addition, whereas Chinese only get about 15 percent of their calories from dietary fat, Americans get close to 40 percent. Campbell concludes that if Americans could reduce their calories from fat to 15 percent, they could reduce their risk of developing degenerative diseases like diabetes and cancer before the age of 65 by 80 to 90 percent.

* * * * *

There are now over 790 McDonald's outlets and 1,200 Kentucky Fried Chicken outlets in China. In 2005, McDonald's opened its first drive though in China. McDonald's plans to open 300 new outlets in the country over the next 3 years, more than half of which will have a drive-thru.


Sources:

Chinese Children Taller and Heavier. Xinhua News Agency. December 31, 2006
http://www.china.org.cn/english/health/194691.htm.

Americans are Heavier Than Ever. Aramark. April, 2007.
http://www.aramark.com/PressReleaseDetailTemplate.aspx?PostingID=854&ChannelID=321.

Human Height. Answers.com. April, 2007.
http://www.answers.com/topic/human-height.

Chinese Body Mass Index Is Much Lower as a Risk Factor for Coronary Artery Disease. American Heart Association, Inc. 2004.
http://www.circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/109/14/e184.

Body Mass Index. Answers.com. April, 2007.
http://www.answers.com/body%20mass%20index.

Rights: Millions of Starving Shame the World, U.N. Says. International Press Service News Agency. April, 2007.
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=35166.

Obesity Skyrocketing in China as the Chinese Adopt Western Diets, Lifestyles. News Target. August 18, 2006.
http://www.newstarget.com/020042.html.

Obesity Explosion May Weigh on China's Future. National Geographic News. August 8, 2006.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/08/060808-china-fat.html.

Calculate Your Body Mass Index. National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. April, 2007.
http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/bmi-m.htm.

Chinese Diabetes Population Over 50 Million. International Diabetes Federation. November 9, 2004.
http://www.globalnews.idf.org/2004/11/chinese_diabete.html.

Study: 73M have diabetes or are at risk in U.S. USA Today. May, 2006.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2006-05-29-diabetes-study_x.htm.

Serious Food Shortages Emerging in Southern Somalia. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United States. April, 2007.
http://www.fao.org/News/GLOBAL/GW9711-e.htm.

Sudan: Food Shortages Spreading Beyond Conflict Areas. Refugees International. 2004.
http://www.refugeesinternational.org/content/article/detail/5134/.

China Studies Link Diet to Disease. Cornell University. Spring, 1995.
http://www.rso.cornell.edu/scitech/archive/95spr/cna.html.

McDonalds Expansion in China. China Business News & Observer. April 17, 2007.
http://cbnando.com/Html/Economic/2007-3/1/170942207.html.

Consumers in China Push Fast Food Expansion. Finance Markets. July 27, 2005.
http://www.financemarkets.co.uk/2005/07/27/consumers-in-china-push-fast-food-expansion/.

North America—USA—Health Statistics. Asia—China—Health Statistics. Health Statistics—Obesity by Country. Nation Master. April, 2007
http://www.nationmaster.com/red/country/us-united-states/hea-health&all=1.
http://www.nationmaster.com/red/country/ch-china/hea-health&all=1.
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/hea_obe-health-obesity.