Group 1 Talking Points
•Why do we hear more about homicides than dietrelated diseases? Which one can we prevent?
•Why have the obesity rates risen so much?
•How many people do you know who eat vegetables at
every meal? Who have diabetes? Why?
•If no changes are made to American diet, obesity will
surpass smoking as the leading cause of preventable
death
~57.8
In 2006, % of US deaths
attributable to heart
disease, diabetes, all
types of cancer and
stroke (many of these
diseases are dietrelated)
~7.9
In 2006, % of US
deaths from
homicide
13
% of adults who
were obese in
1960
34
% of adults who
were obese in
2008
Less than 15
% of elementaryaged children in the
US who consume
the recommended
daily allowance of
fruits and
vegetables
% of US Children born in
2005 that the Centers for
Disease Control (CDC)
predicts will develop
diabetes in their lifetimes
Group 2 Talking Points
• How does the obesity epidemic cost us money?
Where do these costs come from?
• Have you seen more fruit and vegetable OR
McDonald’s commercials? How does advertising
affect what we eat?
• Count off in the group, show how crazy it is that
2 out of 3 people in America are overweight.
Mention that this number is higher than in other
countries that eat more vegetables and exercise
more than us.
~$150,000,000,000
Annual cost of
the obesity
epidemic on
the American
economy
~$966,667
US Government’s
annual advertising
budget for
MyPlate
nutrition campaign
~$2,000,000,000
McDonald’s
annual
advertising
budget in the US
1 out of 3
Americans who
are obese
2 out of 3
Americans who
are overweight
1 out of 3
Fraction of
American kids
who eat
McDonalds daily
Group 3 Talking Points
• Subsidies=money that the government gives to farmers for free. The
more subsidies a farmer gets, the cheaper the food becomes. Since
corn gets a lot of subsidies, corn is cheap and gets put in everything,
i.e., high fructose corn syrup. Fruit and vegetables are not
subsidized much at all, therefore they cost more even though they
are easy to grow.
• Why so few farms? When more food is raised in factories, people
who run farms lose their jobs and their farms. Back in the day, no
food was raised in factories.
• How many miles wide is the US? Approx. 3000 miles. What’s wrong
with food traveling more than halfway across the country to get to
us? Less fresh, more chemicals are used, pollution, etc. When you
buy locally, all the money stays in your community.
Less than 1
% of USDA
subsidies that go
to fruits and
vegetables
More than
90
% of USDA subsidies
that go to farmers of
five crops—wheat,
corn, soybeans, rice,
and cotton
2,000,000
# of farms in
the US today
~17,000
# of US farmers
that leave their
land each year
1500-2500
Average # of miles
that food typically
travels from farm
to plate
6
% of US
Farmers under
the age of 35
7,000,000
# of farms in
the United
States in the
1930s
Group 4 Talking Points
• Back in the day, soda was dessert. Now soda and other
sugary drinks are drunk at most meals. Too much empty
calories and not enough water= 
• If you eat 1200 calories in one meal, then you will
probably eat more than 2000 calories in one day. Too
many calories and not enough exercise>weight gain.
McDonalds is a cheap way to get calories. At what cost?
• Do you run 10 miles after eating McDonalds?
• That’s just McDonalds, think about the papi stores,
cheesesteaks, Chinese food, etc.
• What happens when we recognize logos more than we
recognize fruits and vegetables?
~60,000,000
Number of
adult
Americans
who are obese
310,000,000
Number of
adult
Americans
Ounces in a
bottle of CocaCola in 1960
Ounces in a bottle
of Coca Cola in
2004
1200
Calories in a Big
Mac, Large Fries
and Large Soda
Approximate # of
miles you can
run to burn off
1200 calories
1
McDonald’s rank
among the most
recognized symbols
and logos in the
world
12-27
The number of years
diabetes removes
from a person’s life