education about food would help. nutrition courses starting from a young age (veggies=smart choice, fried cheese=bad choice) carrying right through high school (insoluble fiber=smart choice, saturated fat=bad choice) that steadily increases the depth/complexity of what is essentially the same information would help.

caloric density is the main factor in choosing healthy options, but what is equally important is giving people the free time and resources to devote to both preparing food and the act of choosing itself (planning/prepping meals, grocery shopping, logging or otherwise tracking intake). when both of a family’s adults’ work day has to include an 8.5-hour shift with 2 hours of commute/preparation time, child care, cooking, cleaning, exercise, reading a couple of books per month, and more, you have to start prioritizing. the first things to go are cooking, exercise, reading, recreation. so the more the working class gets squeezed, the more a work day starts to look like: a 10-hour shift if you’re lucky enough to qualify for overtime, eat on your commute from a fast food place, get home and feed said garbage to your children whom you are steadily poisoning now (just look into the effects of the ingredients and additives that go into a mcdonalds meal and tell me you would ever eat there again if you weren’t hopelessly addicted to those ingredients and the convenience), and then half-assing the rest of your life’s upkeep because you have no energy from being overworked, getting no exercise, and eating trash day in, day out.

the obesity epidemic is 100% a problem of modern capitalism. it stems from min-maxing your life’s profitability in terms of how you use your time and money. gym memberships are expensive and a routine requires 10 hours a week you don’t have. hiking trips and other outdoor activities take time and equipment you can’t afford. proper diet and cooking take time and money you don’t have. it self-reinforces when you no longer have energy to develop new habits and can no longer see a way out of it.

it’s gotten so bad that now people are cutting children and social interaction out of their lives because they don’t have the time, money, or energy.

instead of improving these conditions, the current US regime’s solution is to force us to submit by outlawing abortion and probably contraceptives at some point, to tie healthcare to employment status, to reduce public assistance and welfare, among other social paradigms that isolate us and disempower us.

if it doesn’t fit in my pocket, i won’t carry it. i do not accessorize.