The Deadly Toll of Obesity on American Men

Obesity and men's health gap. Obesity now affects about 40% of American adults, and it's proving especially deadly for men. While men and women have similar obesity rates, men seek treatment far less often. Only about 20% of bariatric surgery patients are male, and just 22% of those on anti obesity drugs are men. Even when prescribed medications, studies show men are more likely to stop using them. The health stakes are higher for men. They are more likely to accumulate visceral fat around the organs. That type of fat fuels inflammation, blood clots, insulin resistance and arterial plaque. This leads to higher rates of heart disease, diabetes, and early death. Experts say untreated obesity is one major driver of the five year life expectancy gap between men and women. That's right, it's five years. Men die five years younger than women. Nobody ever seems very concerned about that or sees it as a scandal. Doctors emphasize that obesity is not simply a matter of willpower. Without better outreach and treatment, millions of American men will continue to live shorter, less healthy lives. Okay, what's the bottom line? We have not just an obesity epidemic in the United States, we have an obesity epidemic killing men. That's right. It's killing men at much higher rates than women because too many men are just absolutely bullheaded and stupid. Oh, I'm not obese. I'm just hefty. I've got thick bones. No, you have diabetes, you have obesity. And you have a great chance of dying at least five years younger, earlier than your spouse. Why would you want to do that? Let's dig a little deeper here. Now, America is filled with people who eat horrible food, eat way too much food, don't exercise and don't sleep enough. And that's a lot of the Western world. It's frankly not just the Western world. It's a lot of the industrialized world. It's a huge, huge problem. We now have 70% of Americans either obese or overweight or diabetic or all three. And it seems to be getting worse. Now, one bright spot has been over the last couple of years, these GLP1s, these drugs that make you simply crave less food and crave less junk food. Some cases crave less alcohol. And that has helped a lot of people. But for whatever reason, women are much more likely to use it. Now, a skeptic could say, well, that's because there's so much pressure on women to look like fashion models. If that's your take, fine. But there's also pressure on men to be big and burly and strong. And people associate girth, which is kind of a polite way for saying obesity, with being manly. And unfortunately, many, many men in America still think it's not masculine to take a drug to go to a doctor. Women, to their credit, realize, eh, something's not working here. I'm out of breath, I'm not sleeping well, I can't touch my toes, maybe I need a change. They're willing to go to their doctor and say, what else can I try? Bariatric surgery is one method. The glp, these GLP ones, the Ozempics, the Wegovies is another method. Women, you gotta give them credit, they're at least willing to try it. And that is saving their lives. Because again, the statistic that people always just accept, well, that's just the way it is. Women in the United States live five years longer than men do. And maybe it's not just because that's the way it's supposed to be. Maybe it's not just because they are the stronger sex. Maybe it's because a lot of men are so stupid that they're not willing to admit that they have a problem. Again, I'm not fat shaming anybody. I'm not telling you you need to look better to appeal to me or your spouse or society or anyone else. I'm talking about death. Obesity is a killer. I'm talking about trying to reduce death. And if you're not willing to admit you're obese, then it makes perfectly logical sense to not seek out treatment. If you don't see a problem, why look for a solution? And unfortunately, that is what is happening. I mean, just hey, put on the warm up suit, wear loose baggy clothes, we all look the same, right? Well, not necessarily. And I say this not from a holier than thou perspective. At one point I weighed 218 pounds, and at my frame of five eleven and a half, almost six feet tall, that was about that far away from a obesity. So I know it's easy in America and a lot of places to become obese. It's called eat whatever's in front of you. Eat what tastes good. Eat what good. Eat ice cream. Eat processed foods that have lots of sugar and processed sugars and artificial sugars in them. Eat lots of food that has a lot of salt and processed carbohydrates in it. Eat a lot of food that has tasty, yummy fat. And by the way, don't move or exercise much and just go to bed when you feel like it after you've watched everything in Netflix and Don't get much sleep. That's an easy, easy prescription to become obese. And it happened to me, so I can understand why. But at some point you got to ask yourself, do I want to die? And I give credit to American women who are increasingly answering that question. No. If I have to get surgery to solve it, I'll do that. If I have to take a drug once a week and inject myself, I'll do that. Now, there is also a solution. And hang on, folks. Some of you are going to say that I'm being a demagogue here and I'm making it sound easy. I'm going to offer another solution. It's not easy, but it does solve the problem, too. It's called eat real unprocessed food. Don't eat highly processed food. Reduce your sugar intake to only sugar found in fresh fruit. Exercise every day. Get at least eight and a half hours of sleep a night. It's virtually impossible to be obese if you do those things. I realize it's not easy in a culture where we're surrounded by garbage, processed food all the time. I realize it's not easy if you live in a food desert and the only food in your neighborhood is at the 7:11 and everything is a processed burrito and a hot dog with cheese on it that looks like it's been spinning for the last 23 years in the same spot. I understand it's hard. But you know what else is hard? Dying. It's hard on you. It's hard on your family. So that's why I think all of us have to look a little deeper, a little harder, and be honest with ourselves. It's not about looking like a fashion model. But if you are obese and even overweight, you're really doing a lot of damage to your body and you're increasing the odds that you, in fact, will die.