Health Update: This News Should Scare You

Mark Smith • May 8, 2023

Hello again friends:


Here is some grim news that is relevant to way too many of us. The first link shows the scope of the problem, and the second link gives you an idea about why it is so critical that we fix our food choices.


Global study predicts that more than half the global population will be living with overweight and obesity within 12 years if prevention, treatment, and support do not improve.


  • The World Obesity Atlas 2023, published by World Obesity Federation, predicts that the global economic impact of overweight and obesity will reach $4.32 trillion annually by 2035 if prevention and treatment measures do not improve. At almost 3% of global GDP, this is comparable with the impact of COVID-19 in 2020.
  • The majority of the global population (51%, or over 4 billion people) will be living with either overweight or obesity by 2035 if current trends prevail. 1 in 4 people (nearly 2 billion) will have obesity.
  • Childhood obesity could more than double by 2035 (from 2020 levels). Rates are predicted to double among boys to 208 million (100% increase) and more than double among girls to 175 million (125% increase) and are rising more rapidly among children than adults.
  • Lower income countries are facing rapid increases in obesity prevalence. Of the 10 countries with the greatest expected increases in obesity globally (for both adults and children), 9 of those are from low or lower-middle income countries. All are from either Asia or Africa.
  • World Obesity Federation calls for comprehensive national action plans to help countries act on new World Health Organization (WHO) Recommendations for the Prevention and Management of Obesity. The Atlas report will be presented at a high-level policy event on 6 March to UN policymakers, member states and civil society.
  • Acknowledgement of the economic impact is in no way a reflection of blame on people living with obesity, which is a chronic, relapsing disease.


https://www.worldobesity.org/news/economic-impact-of-overweight-and-obesity-to-surpass-4-trillion-by-2035


The mortality consequences of overweight and obesity have likely been underestimated, especially at older ages.


https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00324728.2023.2168035


Bottom Line:


Consider that today it is recognized that food choices (ultra-processed so called ‘food like objects’) and exposure to ‘obesogens’ are leading causes of illness that stems from being overweight or obese. Consider also that those that are overweight or obese have a life expectancy of anywhere from 4 to 20 years less, and that their medical costs and potential suffering goes along with increased health risks of all types. Please everyone, avoid these risks by eating clean, avoid plastics, keep moving, and reducing stress as part of an overall lifestyle upgrade. At this point, you should know what it means to eat clean, and taking these small steps can not only improve your lifespan, but by maintaining your health you are taking significant steps to safeguard those around you and the planet. You may not want to hear this, yet the way the current dominant healthcare system works, it is largely up to each of us to take control of our health if you desire to live longer and better…there is no other way. Learn as much as you can and reap the benefits of taking charge. Do you want someone else to be in charge of your health…or would you rather make sure it is a partnership that you are in control of? We all need to do our part to stay healthy as you owe this to yourself…this investment of time and learning self-maintenance skills will pay wonderful dividends like no other investment can. You will be so glad that you made the right moves to stay healthy.


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Health News Update: Inflammaging is Bad News

By Mark Smith • August 25, 2025
Hello everyone: I think I have mentioned inflammaging before but never really focused on it. So, let’s dig into this interesting topic. Inflammaging is when chronic, low-grade inflammation develops with age as dietary and environmental stress accumulates, contributing to the development of all of the various age-related diseases and health issues. It results from a loss of control over systemic inflammation, which tends to come from an unbalanced and dysregulated immune system. One of the key drivers of inflammaging is diet…which means that one of the key tools to slow and reduce aging is our what we eat as well as what we don’t eat. In this paper, the authors reveal that the typical Western Diet (what science calls the Standard American Diet or S.A.D.) is the best example of a pro-inflammatory diet pattern. “ Conclusion: Inflammation is a key physiological process in immunity and tissue repair. However, during aging it becomes increasingly more chronic. In addition, we found that certain foods such as saturated fats have pro-inflammatory activity. Taking this into account, in this review we have proposed some dietary guidelines as well as a list of compounds present in foods with anti-inflammatory activity. It must be taken into account that the amounts used in the studies that detect anti-inflammatory activity of these compounds are very high, and the intake of a single food to achieve its anti-inflammatory power is not feasible. (My Comment: what this means is that it is the overall dietary pattern that matters the most.) However, the combination of foods rich in compounds with anti-inflammatory activity could exert beneficial effects during aging and in pathologies associated with inflammation and in reducing the detrimental effects of foods with pro-inflammatory activity. Therefore, we can conclude that the compounds in our diet with anti-inflammatory activity could help alleviate the inflammatory processes derived from diseases and unhealthy diets and thereby promote healthy aging. Thus, we can use diet not only for nourishment, but also as medicine.” https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8389628/ anti-inflammatory diet and health aging https://www.healthline.com/health/5-minute-guide-to-inflamm-aging Bottom Line: We all must age, and how we do so is largely under our own control. To create an anti-inflammatory lifestyle is not that difficult, especially if you put it all together in stages. Start with a clean, whole-food, unprocessed plant-based food plan. And to begin, first focus on what you can add into your menus and use those additions to sort of crowd out the things that are more inflammatory…sugar, refined grains, processed and pre-packaged things. Set realistic goals such as going plant based one or two days a week, or even one meal…just start and gradually work up. It has to be doable so don’t stress. Next, start moving and doing regular exercise at least three times a week…and find what you enjoy doing and focus on that. Then add activities that de-stress you, whether that is socializing, church, meditation, prayer, yoga, etc. Overall, shift your attention to giving love to things that love you back. Sugar, drive-thru and processed food like thingies do not love you back but apples or kiwis or berries or veggies do. Sitting around does not love you back but going for a short walk after a meal does love you back. Hang out and give love to the people you really like to be with, they will most always love you back. Create a love you back lifestyle and see how you feel.

Health News Update: Blocking Internet on Smartphones Improves Mental Health

By Mark Smith • August 18, 2025
Hello everyone: I frequently hear about mental health issues with the people in our practice. They could be experiencing depression, or anxiety, feel flat, can’t focus or sustain attention, or may not feel well in general. These comments can come from anyone of any age…I can hear from parents about their kids, or it may be themselves experiencing these feeling. So, when I read this paper, it felt important to share it because we all seem to have mobile phones. Here is how the paper is summarized: “Concern about how smartphones affect users is widespread: half of American smartphone users—and 80% of those under age 30—worry that they use their device too much, and correlational research suggests that smartphone use is negatively related to mental health and cognitive functioning. However, few large-scale experiments have tested for causal effects. We report such an experiment, finding that blocking mobile internet for 2 weeks reduces smartphone use and improves subjective well-being (SWB) (including life satisfaction and positive affect), mental health (more than antidepressants), and sustained attention (as much as being 10 years younger). Despite the many benefits mobile internet offers, reducing the constant connection to the digital world can have large positive effects.” https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/article/4/2/pgaf017/8016017?utm_source=klaviyo&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=%28Email%20-%20Chris%20Kresser%20General%20News%29%20Chris%27s%20Friday%20Favorites&utm_term=randomized%20controlled%20trial&utm_content=randomized%20controlled%20trial&_kx=fARhTo_gi8X3B_2-MaeO_RyzUl9tvT3tr4re-Dy7cNQ.my75y6 Bottom Line: It seems like a smartphone ‘timeout’ can be very beneficial for mental, emotional, physical health and can be an important part of stress reduction. The world today, with nearly instant communications, the almost constant bad and anxiety promoting news, and the fast pace of data consumption can add up to significantly stress us out and pull us down…or just simple keep us distracted. From what I can see, a ‘timeout’ may be just what the doctor ordered.
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