'Fed Up': Obesity Crisis at Breaking Point Agence France-Presse
go to original May 20, 2014

FED UP - Official Trailer (RadiusTWC)

The US food industry’s responsibility in fueling rising obesity levels is put under the microscope in a documentary released in the United States this month.

“Fed Up” examines why, while there is a boom in gym membership and a surge in shoppers seeking low-fat alternatives on supermarket shelves, two out of three Americans are overweight.

“Obesity has been a problem for the last 30 years and I think we are reaching the breaking point,” director Stephanie Soechtig said in an interview ahead of the film’s US release.

“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.”

The film, which opened on limited release in US cinemas Friday, shows how the food industry has managed to persuade US authorities to recommend that 25 percent of calories come from sugar.

The World Health Organization says the figure should be 2.5 times less.

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

The problem is not unique to the United States.

The WHO has also sounded the alarm in Jordan, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Venezuela, among other countries where more than 30 percent of the population is obese or overweight.

In the movie, three children recount their efforts to combine diet and exercise to fight the flab.

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