Obesity crisis in America is at breaking point - "Fed Up" filmmaker

Los Angeles (AFP) - A documentary film features the unhealthy eating habits of the Americans, and the United States food industry's responsibility in fighting the rising obesity levels.

"Fed Up" filmmaker shows the reason why obesity in the US is increasing (2 out of 3 Americans are overweight), despite of increasing gym membership and shoppers buying more healthy and low-fat alternatives on supermarket.

Stephanie Soechtig the director of the film said, "Obesity has been a problem for the last 30 years and I think we are reaching the breaking point." "At the end of the day, I think it comes down to money, I thinks there's a lot of money in the food industry and it influences politics, unfortunately."

"Fed Up" was opened on limited release in cinemas across the US last Friday, May 9. It exposed how the food industry has able to

The film, which opened on limited release in US cinemas Friday, shows how the food industry has managed to influence the US Government to recommend that 25% of calories come from sugar. This figure was negated by the World Health Organization which stated that the figure should be 2.5 times less.

"I think we can say that the US government is right now more interested in making money than taking care of its society," Soechtig added.

The Obesity problem is not just in the United States, WHO also warned Jordan, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Venezuela which has more than 30% of its population are obese or overweight.

The movie shows 3 kids battling obesity to no avail despite of giving efforts to diet and exercise. They still continue to gain weight because of the temptation of sugar-rich foods that are easily available in the country.

Cafeteria at schools offers unhealthy food for kids, like hamburgers, pizzas, nachos and hot dogs.

The movie also said that back in 2006, 80% of high schools had contracts with soft drink companies and in 2012, half of all schools served fast food.

Back in 1980, there were no cases of type 2 diabetes in children and teens aged 8 to 19 in the United States. After just 2 decades, there are now 57,638 cases recorded.

Healthy Asparagus, Low Calorie

Asparagus is a spring vegetable that is native to Europe and is a  widely cultivated as a vegetable crop. You can only eat young asparagus shoots since once the buds open the shoots becomes woody and hard.

The great thing about asparagus is it's low in calories and it is also low in sodium. It is a great food when you want to lose weight. It is also a good source of Calcium, vitamin B6, zinc, and magnesium. It also have dietary fibre, selenium, protein, beta-carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin K, thiamin, riboflavin, rutin, niacin, folic acid, iron, phosphorus, potassium, copper, and manganese.

However, asparagus is known for its effect on urine. It cause a disagreeable smell in the urine.     

Here's a Asparagus healthy snack recipe:

Asparagus Bruschetta

18 asparagus stalks
1 tsp olive oil
1/8 tsp each salt and ground black pepper
3/4 cup smooth ricotta cheese or creamy goat cheese
3 tbsp finely chopped mint or chives
18 toasted baguette slices
3 tbsp finely grated lemon peel
Ice water

Fill a large frying pan with water to a 1/2-inch depth. Let it come to a boil. Fill a large bowl with ice water. Cut and discard tough ends of asparagus. Thrown the asparagus into the boiling water. Cook until tender crisp, from 2 to 3 min. Drain well. Immediately plunge asparagus into ice water. Let it cool then drain. Pat dry with paper towels. Cut asparagus in half diagonally. Place in a medium-size bowl. Drizzle  with oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Mix well.

In a small bowl, stir cheese with herbs. Spread over baguette slices. Top each with asparagus spears. Garnish with lemon peel.

Good for 6 people.

Amount per serving (3 bruschetta):

8.2g proten, 6.2g fat, 24.9g carbohydrates, 1.6mg iron, 109mg calcium, 334mg sodium, 2.3g gibre, 187 calories.

Great source of folacin.