This page shows the startling rise of obesity in America, starting in 1985:

Obesity Epidemic: US Temporal Trends

It really is amazing – even more so because I do not know a single person who wants to be obese. Every social cue says “don’t be obese”. Every health advisory says, “don’t be obese”. Mating rituals in America say, “don’t be obese”. Your body itself says, “don’t be obese”.

So the obvious question is: why is this obesity epidemic happening?

Type “causes of the obesity epidemic” into Google. People talk about all the obvious things like the rise of fast food and the increase in sedentary lifestyles caused by TV and automobiles. The only problem is that TV and automobiles and fast food have been around for decades.

There has been recent research into social causes, but that doesn’t make a lot of sense since most social pressure is saying, “don’t be obese.”

We spoke earlier about high-fructose corn syrup, especially in soda, and many people blame it:

How high fructose corn syrup works

We spoke recently about stress:

Why don’t people in France get fat?

This article puts forward the theory that MSG and aspatame cause brain damage that leads to obesity:

Damage to the hypothalamus from MSG and Aspartame

And so on. The only problem is that this epidemic hit quickly, and none of these explanations really explain why.

Here is my theory. I have to say this tongue-in-cheekly at the moment because I have no direct evidence. However, there is plenty of circumstantial evidence. I think food companies must have discovered a secret new addictive chemical that acts a lot like nicotine in cigarettes. This new secret chemical makes food addictive. Manufactures use the chemical because food manufacturers want people eating more. There is no denying this simple fact: For any food manufacturer, nationwide obesity is a very good thing.

Whatever this new chemical is, I can say without hesitation that pizza contains high doses of it. Just last night Leigh cooked a couple of frozen pizzas for dinner. We all sat down at the table. I ate the pizza even though I know it is bad for me. Once I had eaten one piece of pizza I was compelled to eat another, and then a third. My conscious brain knows that I should not eat pizza, but what I will call my “food brain” overpowered it and forced me to consume the pizza. A secret addictive chemical would explain that kind of behavior.

Think about it and you will realize how right this theory feels. It explains Doritos and McDonald’s french fries and many other things.

When I mention this theory to Leigh she laughs and says, “How could there be a secret ingredient that isn’t listed on the label???” My response is that it would not be a secret if it were listed on the label. They could be hiding it. But it makes you think about a more insidious possibility: what if food manufactures have discovered a combination of legitimate, non-secret ingredients that, when mixed in the right proportions, causes a chemical reaction that creates the new, secret addictive chemical?

Over the next couple of years we will find out if my theory is correct or not. Remember that you heard about it here first…