The grip of USA's healthcare system against the dimension of the food industry

: how obesity is becoming unstoppable

Abstract

This Thesis aims to understand the relation between the food and healthcare industries, in order to perceive if any (or both) of these groups might have some hidden interest in preserving the current obesity’s worrying scenario, threatening both USA’s and the rest of the world’s economy, well-being and integrity. By having a systematic review of 57 modelling and database studies, one learnt that the healthcare system reform didn’t ease down the expenses from treating obesity and related diseases, but instead turned them into a public expense. The lost productivity caused by obesity costs to employers already $73.1 billion per year, while the medical costs are expected to justify 16–18% of USA healthcare expenses by 2030, all these becoming unsustainable for the taxpayers. The obesity problematic has been growing since 1970’s, due to subsidies that support the overproduction of corn, but today is turning huge due to the access to higher quantities of cheaper food that the high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) facilitates. One concluded that are not the health decision-makers who intend to maintain this situation, but food lobbyists like Monsanto Corporation that, together with the energy industry, are building a monopoly too powerful to fight against. Thus, more papers like this should be developed to increase people’s awareness and to grow the strength of those who truly support the sustainability of the public health and the economy, both of USA and the rest of the world.

Date of Award	18 Feb 2016
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Susana Frazão Ferreira Fernandes Pinheiro (Supervisor)