Obesity rules! America, Britain, and other countries in the “collective West” getting progressively fat.
Annotated by Patrice Greanville
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Obesity is extremely common in America, as well as the UK, and parts of Western Europe, and for many the cause is the same: working class background, unsteady employment, or long stretches of unemployment, and economic insecurity. They constitute a "precariat". So their situation is nothing to laugh about. This precariat, say our betters, is fueling the rise of populism.
USA's Obesity Epidemic: Heart Attack Grills, Fat Camps and Plus-Size Beauty Pageants | Documentary
Sep 14, 2021Never in all its history has America been so obese. With 160 million Americans severely overweight, in this documentary explore increasingly aggressive treatments as well as the counter-trend of body positivity and 'Miss Plus' beauty pageants. Despite repeated government efforts to encourage the population to slim down, the obesity rates just keep climbing. Faced with this staggering figure, healthcare professionals are trying to find new, more efficient and more aggressive treatments for this illness… We meet Casey, one of the few people whose weight has become a matter of life and death, and travel to Arizona to see an innovative new academy helping young girls learn healthy habits and slim down. Despite the rising obesity crisis, a new movement is shaking up the United States: body positivity. Through lucrative social media accounts, popular magazine covers and even successful ‘Miss Plus’ beauty pageants, overweight Americans are learning to flaunt their curves and love themselves no matter their size.
Meanwhile, in the once proud British realm...
Our StoriesIn this powerful documentary we get an inside look at the NHS hospital fighting the obesity epidemic in the UK. Subscribe to Our Stories: https://bit.ly/3lzSXhv One of the UK's biggest and busiest obesity units opens its doors to allow an exclusive insight into the battle with the bulge. Sunderland Royal Hospital is at the heart of one of the fattest places in the country and deals with thousands of patients turning to surgery to beat their obesity. But before they go under the knife, they need to come to terms with why they're overeating. At 47 stone, 29-year-old Terry is one of the biggest patients the unit has ever treated. He has been housebound for over a year and is being admitted to help him confront his addictive behaviour. He's pathologically obese, but why? This film was first broadcast: 12 Dec 2012
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