Our Health: The Crisis of Un-Fun

There is a crisis unfolding that is just as stark for the human race as our teetering economic system or the risk of climate change.  However unlike the other two, this one isn’t politically divisive, it’s a problem most of us agree on and there are tangible steps we can take to address it.  It’s our weight.  With two-thirds of Americans overweight or obese and over 100 million with Type 2 diabetes or pre-diabetic, NPR summed up the impact of our obesity epidemic in a crystal-clear sentence.

Our children may become the first generation of Americans to die at younger ages than their parents.

Given this dark prediction, you’d think we’d all be out jogging and there’d be a run on granola and carrots at the stores.  Yet, the fast food drive thrus near my home are still as packed as ever.  So, where’s the revolution?  As I mentioned above, there seems to be all the right conditions for an easy win.  Yet, we are stuck in the no-man’s-land between what we know and what we do.  Of course, a great deal of research is showing us that losing and managing weight can be an extraordinarily difficult process.  From our body’s biological resistance to weight loss to our inability to overcome the overwhelming pull of processed foods and the  advertising that supports them, it’s no easy task.

But I think there is more to our resistance to healthy living than the research suggests.  When it comes right down to it… it’s just not fun.  Where is the fun in saying no to French fries?  In going to the gym after a long day’s work?   Seriously, how can a lowly piece of fruit compete for your child’s attention with fruit-like cereals exploding with colors, marshmallows, and exciting animal mascots?

Fun and joy are virtually absent from discussions, campaigns, and marketing around the weight crisis and healthy living.  In fact, fun seems to be the monopoly of the other side.  While cartoon birds, rabbits, and Leprechauns are  having the time of their lives on cereal boxes and commercials, appeals to your health have the same feel as your worst marmy school teacher – workout more, don’t sit around, turn off the TV, eat less, don’t eat that, watch your calories or else...

So, what do we do?  Corporations and advertisers can certainly step up to the plate and reign in their marketing, especially to young viewers.  This week, Disney made a bold move by banning junk food ads on their children’s networks.  This is a great first step and one that hopefully others will follow.  However, we need more than just a leveling of the fun playing field – change has to tip the other way.

We need a full-on, out-of-control fun reset around healthy food and exercise.  We need a tractor beam of joy that pulls people into these behaviors because it makes them feel good physically and emotionally – not because they are pushed into the behaviors out of a sense of guilt or responsibility.  Let’s see those cartooned creatures chomping on an apple and playing a game of soccer with friends.   Let’s see our whole food and health systems start talking about healthier meals as things that actually taste good and an active lifestyle as something that can bring joy, entertainment, and social connections to our life.  In short, we need to stop focusing on the idea of depriving ourselves for some greater good and just start having some fun.