Are we inadvertently creating a ticking health time bomb? Controversial as it may seem, we are confronted with the reality that the solution to the childhood obesity epidemic might be more harmful than the problem. In this episode, we dissect the alarming trend of utilizing weight-loss drugs and surgeries as quick fixes for children as young as six. But, we take it a step further, questioning the role of society, the food and pharmaceutical industries in this crisis, and the impact on the health of our future generations, particularly within Black and Hispanic communities. We dive into the urgent necessity for proper education and preventative care to curb the rise of chronic illnesses like diabetes.
What if the answer to the obesity problem lies not in a syringe but in a balanced spread of wealth and knowledge? We challenge the approach pharmaceutical companies are taking with weight loss injections, which may potentially fuel a worsening health situation. On the other side of the coin, we advocate for a more proactive stance towards healthcare, emphasizing education and preventive measures to reverse pre-diabetic conditions. This conversation is not just about the health of our children, but also the generations to come. Join us as we explore these challenging topics, and tune in for a fresh perspective on healthcare and wellness.
Are we inadvertently creating a ticking health time bomb? Controversial as it may seem, we are confronted with the reality that the solution to the childhood obesity epidemic might be more harmful than the problem. In this episode, we dissect the alarming trend of utilizing weight-loss drugs and surgeries as quick fixes for children as young as six. But, we take it a step further, questioning the role of society, the food and pharmaceutical industries in this crisis, and the impact on the health of our future generations, particularly within Black and Hispanic communities. We dive into the urgent necessity for proper education and preventative care to curb the rise of chronic illnesses like diabetes.
What if the answer to the obesity problem lies not in a syringe but in a balanced spread of wealth and knowledge? We challenge the approach pharmaceutical companies are taking with weight loss injections, which may potentially fuel a worsening health situation. On the other side of the coin, we advocate for a more proactive stance towards healthcare, emphasizing education and preventive measures to reverse pre-diabetic conditions. This conversation is not just about the health of our children, but also the generations to come. Join us as we explore these challenging topics, and tune in for a fresh perspective on healthcare and wellness.
Welcome to the Wealthy Generation Podcast. I am your host, naomi Jerez, your Bronx race Dominicana wife, mother of two new BFF and food and holistic health coach. I went from living a surface level healthy life to learning firsthand how to live my best life, rooted in wellness, and get my status back. Whether you're a wellness enthusiast, a food lover or simply curious about creating a healthier, more vibrant life, this podcast is your guide. We're going to dive deep into topics that will inspire you to make positive changes and elevate not only your well-being but those of generations before and after you. Stay tuned for exciting conversations, expert interviews and a whole lot of inspiration that will lead to action. Welcome to the Wealthy, wellthy Generation Podcast with me, your host, naomi Jerez. Hey there, welcome to another episode of Wealthy Generation Podcast. That is WELLTHY and today's episode is right in line with creating healthy, wealthy generations, generations that are well, and in what is going on in society today, there is a clear indicator that there is a problem with generations and the issue with health is getting younger and younger and younger, and I feel and believe that we are, just as a society, taking the absolute backwards approach to trying to solve these health issues, especially for young people, and I mean young people, I don't mean people in their 20s. By young people I mean, like children, like under 10 years of age children. Okay, recently, in these past few weeks, there was a news article or like a publication, that there is now going to like the pharmaceutical industry is now going to start trials of weight loss injection drugs for children as young as six years old, and this is, I hope you gasped right now. I hope you gasped. I hope your eyes are wide. I hope you are questioning what's going on, because I certainly have, and this is actually not the first time that you know a proposal for such extreme intervention on little kids has been presented and has been tested. Earlier this year, around January, there was another publication that came out suggesting that children have weight loss surgery like bariatric surgery.
Speaker 1:
Now I really want to be careful and mindful on this topic, because I know that there might be certain children, certain individuals who might need this kind of intervention. You just never know. You never know what a family or a child is experiencing, what they're suffering with, and this kind of intervention can really help them live a healthier life. So I'm not discounting that and I want to. I want you to know that I think that all of these solutions are valid and possible and like, worthy of having, and I think we're lucky as a society that we do have a lot of options.
Speaker 1:
But where I think where it's taken too far is when it's so normalized, when it becomes the option and there are basically everything else is kind of discarded and that's the go to and it's pushed on to people. Right? And you might say, like, how is it pushed on? Well, first of all, it's pushed on unconsciously with commercials, with advertising. The US is one of the countries that allows for pharmaceutical advertising everywhere on the internet, on TV, on the radio, in magazines I mean anywhere. You can put advertising on billboards, you can put pharmaceutical advertising.
Speaker 1:
In the US there are pharmaceutical companies that go into doctors offices to pitch their medicine. In medical school they are taught how to use reactive care with pharmaceuticals and with surgery. So my, my problem with this is that it's the go to solution. All right, because I'm going to try not to go through this rabbit hole, but it makes these companies big money. Big pharma makes big money off of making sure that communities stay not well. Eventually, they know what's coming. They're very smart, they have scientists, they have a whole staff that predict and can see what happens.
Speaker 1:
Now, now they're going for kids and it makes me really, really upset, because these medications are so intrusive, you know, they're so hurtful. I've heard of adults who have taken these kinds of injections and they have had terrible side effects. And how do you explain to a child what's going on in their body if they have nausea and diarrhea and a really upset stomach and all of these other things going on? Like, how do you explain that to them? How do you help them in that process? Right, and at the same time, their kids, okay, they're not feeding themselves, they're not buying their own groceries, they're not buying food outside. Usually, you know, we can assume that there is an adult taking care of these kids. All right, and if you read the literature I've been doing extensive research on this, looking at credible sources of this kind of information, including, like, the actual trial literature, which is actually public for people to see they always mention things like oh yeah, we're talking to families about how to live a healthy lifestyle, about healthy food choices and movement, okay, okay.
Speaker 1:
So my question is why isn't this not the first approach before medicine? Okay, how are we not teaching these habits on a grander scale, on a family level, instead of administering this drug and, at the same time, trying to teach these habits, right? People of color, between African American and Hispanics? They take the cake. Adults, okay. On obesity in the United States between 40 here I have this that's actually here in front of me. I'm looking at Forbes Health, right, and they say that black adults have the highest rate of obesity in the US, 49.9% compared to 45.6 Hispanic adults. I don't think that's much of a difference, right? And if the parents are overweight or unwell, then what habits do you think it's being passed down to the children? Okay, so this is why I'm so passionate about generational health, because the adult or the caretaker can really have an influence on the health of other family members, more importantly, the young ones in the family, the kids and the children.
Speaker 1:
So, when we're looking at what's happening, why aren't, why isn't this issue being approached from the lens of? Okay, I'm not sure what's happening. Why isn't this issue being approached from the lens of? Okay, let's create this space where we have a team, where the families are taught about food labels. The families are taught how food works in the body. The family has to pour through therapy and mindset work to see if they have. You know what their coping mechanisms are. Maybe they have some sort of addiction going on. Let's see what their schedule is like, what their financial situations like, how's their stress level really kind of like what I do, like a coach or a team who can help at the family level make these changes how to cook, how to make adjustments in their cooking. Are they scared to cook? Do they not know how to cook? Did they not learn this skill? What kind of movement can they incorporate as a family? See how that works with the support and with the appropriate education and tools and skill set.
Speaker 1:
And then give it like a year because there's patients in this and creating these changes. The same way, they're doing these trials for about two years. How about they do this other kind of trial that I'm proposing, for two years and see what happens? But why don't they do this? Why don't they take that approach? Well, it's a lot more expensive. You probably have to hire a lot more people. It doesn't make you a quick buck. If you make people so well that they won't need your medication, you're going to lose money. So it's like let's show them a little bit, but not too much. Let's give them a little taste of success and prove our trials right, but not too much. Let's make sure that they come back in a few years and need something else.
Speaker 1:
And that is so f'd up and people are just so consumed by this approach that I've seen conversations between adults where they expect things right, like one of the main chronic conditions that stem from this is diabetes, and if you listened to the last episode, I spoke a lot about sugar, why you may feel like you have a sweet tooth and what to do about it, right? So this is kind of like right in line with that, where most of the time one of the chronic diseases that occurs with obesity is diabetes and people are not really told when the warning signs come up in their physical. When they get their blood work done, they're not tested well or they are not. When they're tested, they're not given a warning when you know the numbers are creeping up and you should do something about it to prevent pre-diabetes and diabetes in the first place.
Speaker 1:
Pre-diabetes is 100% reversible. As I said in the last episode, I was pre-diabetic and no one told me about it in my earlier 30s. So I am actually don't even want to think if I would have continued the same lifestyle that I was before, where I would be at closer to 40 with my health, if I had not changed things for myself. So I've seen in chats where you know the person says, oh, this country is not doing right by its citizens. They changed the insurance and now to get the injection you need to be actually diagnosed with diabetes. And I am not diabetic yet, I'm pre-diabetic.
Speaker 1:
Women seeing people, women speaking this way and just expecting and just waiting to become diabetic because they assume that nothing that they can, I guess, do nothing about it. Nobody has taught them, nobody has shared with them that this is something that they can reverse and they don't need to aspire to have diabetes and then get this weight loss injection is really, really a systemic problem that is happening. No one shares that this could be reversible. No one teaches you how the doctors don't have appropriate training when it comes to food. Every few of them do, and that is mostly if they have taken an actual like branch of their education and also have a degree in like nutrition or clinical nutrition or something like that, and I know a few doctors who do, but most of them do not. So they don't know how to guide you, they don't know what to tell you. They only know what they've been taught, which is reactive care, which is to expect these things, and then you use these drugs.
Speaker 1:
So why don't we try and nip it in the butt from the start, creating generational health, making sure that our kids never have to aspire to get these conditions because we taught them so well about how to take good care of themselves, how to understand food become a habit that they move their bodies, become a habit that they eat a certain way, that, if possible, avoid ultra process foods and know the difference in the food labels. It just is so complicated here because everything is about how much money can you make, and it would be wonderful if we could just start with the basics, start with teaching the parents, showing like how can we reevaluate the resources and the funding that clearly there is a lot for for things that are convenient, and reassess how to use it to actually create a healthier society? How do we hold these the food industry accountable? How do we hold the pharmaceutical industry accountable? How do we actually care for our society? How do we make food more accessible? How do we make food more affordable? How do we create spaces and communities where every single restaurant or food option is not a fast food option?
Speaker 1:
In my neighborhood, I'll tell you, I have checkers, dominoes, pizza hut, popeyes, white Castle, wendy's, ihop. I know I'm missing a few of what's around here. That's already seven, that's right. In my neighborhood, mcdonald's, kfc I knew I was missing some. Now I'm up to nine, okay, and I go to none of them. So in order for me to get takeout, I have to drive somewhere else because I am out of the delivery zone for other restaurants that I want to purchase food from. Okay.
Speaker 1:
So to be in these areas where all of these restaurants are so prevalent, it makes it difficult, especially if you don't know about these foods and how damaging they can be, to make other choices, because, as humans, we go for what's convenient. Which facts? Yeah. And on top of that, they make these foods addicting. That's why they're there. They hire people to make these foods addicting. I know I've spoken like on a lot of things, but there's just so many connections that happens to get to this point. Right, I hope you're deeply disturbed that they think that one of the main solutions for children is the weight loss injection or weight loss surgery. I think it says a lot about how much society cares and how much they want to invest in other methods. And again, why don't they start by showing people how to just be healthy from the start? Because then in the long run you won't need the medication, you won't need them and they don't want that.
Speaker 1:
I read a post the other day on Instagram and it said something like get your body to a place. Get your body to a place so pharma companies won't profit off of you. And that is the truth. Think about it. Think about not only prescription medication, but think about how much medication you buy over the counter. And I have to tell you, I used to walk around with a little pharmacy in my purse, especially Tums and Gas X and Advil and Tylenol, and I would get paranoid if I didn't have those things with me, because I knew that at some point throughout the day I was not going to feel well and I would always use it. And guess what? It's been years. I actually found a stash in like the little medicine cabinet that I have of all of these expired medications Like two, three years expired, because naturally I just don't feel sick when I go out anymore or at home. So I stopped needing these drugs and I learned how to heal or, if I do have an upset stomach or something like that, by using food or by using movement or by not getting to that place in the first place.
Speaker 1:
Okay, and I know tons of my clients who've gone to doctors about digestive issues and they don't know how to help them. I just spoke with a woman today who said that she got diagnosed with a digestive problem and they said okay, what did the doctor give you? And she's like, oh, they told me to buy pepsidase. You think that's fair? You think that's fair to her? I don't think so.
Speaker 1:
Okay, so I know I've gone on long enough about this, but this is this is an episode really to share my perspective and little pieces, because obviously it's such a like, such a large issue on information you might not be seeing, because if you're really not looking for it or if you don't have an eye for it or something, it's not really out there like that and it's not being shared on social like that, right. But there are things that are happening and our society is suffering and now they are going after kids and not teaching us as a society about food and having these resources available and movement and all of that and accessible, is really an attack on humanity, is really an attack on our kids. But it's so subtle. It's so subtle and it comes out as, oh, I'm trying to help when you know how sometimes your mother or like somebody's like well, if you're going to do it that way, then I rather you not help at all. It's kind of like how I feel about this.
Speaker 1:
I feel like the approach needs to be backwards. I feel like the approach needs to be teaching these skills and these habits and educating and, yeah, having these options of medications available just in case, not as the main and like hot new thing for you to try and do. I mean, they say some of the side effects can include stomach paralysis, like a complete paralysis of your gut. Now, if this is happening to an older person and that's their choice, fine, but if you freaking paralyze the guts and the stomach of your six year old kid, when maybe the solution can be as simple as take a walk or dance around in your house or not eat as many processed foods, the amount of medication that are given to young children, little kids is a little disturbing, and again, I'm not saying that it should be eliminated, it shouldn't exist, anything like that. I'm just saying that it's become the norm. Okay, and just because something is normal doesn't mean that is right or that is the right approach or that it's the only approach.
Speaker 1:
And as a society, we want to fit in, we want to be accepted, we want to feel like we belong and, of course, we just start falling like dominoes, one after the other, and look for these solutions. I've heard so many stories of people that have been offered these things, of children that have been offered these, and the people who are being offered do not get any support in terms of actual education and lifestyle change, and I think that should be the main focus. That is what I work on in my clients, with my clients. That takes time, that takes patience, that takes dedication, that takes so much love, that takes holding space. It takes a lot because most of the time is not such a simple problem with food and exercise. You know that already. Most of the time is just some deep rooted beliefs, some severe lack of education, a lot of trauma, many triggers. Your only coping mechanism Okay, and the industry makes you feel like you're broken and this is the solution and it will solve all your problems. But where has that gotten you? I highly doubt it.
Speaker 1:
I am a true believer in a holistic health approach where you are taking care of mind, body and soul and you are taught and educated, not just told what to do, and that is what I help my clients with. That is why they are able to reach their goals. That is why they're able to reverse whatever health conditions they have had, everything from IBS to Hashimoto's, to severe cystic acne, to stomach issues, to pre-diabetes, to high blood pressure, so much. And this has all been by using food to heal their bodies, by using holistic health habits and education to heal their bodies. They have gotten rid of their joint pain, they have gotten rid of their stomach distress, they have gotten rid of their brain fog and they're living their best life, their best life with all of the responsibilities, because they are all high achievers. They are all bad ass women making a difference in this world and they need all of the energy, all of the well-being that they can get to keep shining their light in this space, and I am not here to fail them the same way.
Speaker 1:
I mean, I think it's pretty unfair if you've been in and out of the medical system for 10 years and you've spent over $10,000 and every single year you get diagnosed with the new condition Like WTF, what is that? That was one of my clients and now she's basically reversed everything in a year with working with me and she's freaking thriving. That is what I do this work for. That is what I do this work for to see you thrive, to see you well, to see you living your best life, rooted in wellness, and also passing down your knowledge and creating generational health for those around you. And that is it, my friend. That is it for today.
Speaker 1:
Listen, if you know that this is that you need support with your health and your wellness, and you know that learning about food and how it heals your body can be a game changer for you, you have never tried to incorporate holistic health habits in the way where you are being educated and supported for a long period of time. I really invite you to book a consultation for one on one personalized food and holistic health coaching with me. Okay, you get weekly one on one meetings with me and you also have what's app chat support anytime you need it, because I understand how important it is to be in contact with your support system when well when you want to celebrate or you have something coming up, so you never have to wait for that next week to talk to me. Okay, there are many other bells and whistles to the program that I have, but I think that those are the top two. I love you so much. I cannot wait to see you on zoom. Go ahead and book a consultation with the link in the show notes, and I will see you next week.
Speaker 1:
Thank you so much for tuning into another episode of wealthy generation podcast. Your time and attention mean the world to me and I'm truly grateful for your support. Come and join my community over on social media by following me on Instagram at Naomi head is where you'll have access to real time healthy inspo and see what I'm up to in my own wellness journey on the daily. I invite you to keep elevating and evolving your holistic health journey by subscribing to my newsletter at Naomi hit is calm. You'll receive exclusive content, valuable resources and juicy stories straight to your inbox.
Speaker 1:
But here's the best part you have the power to spread the WEL wealth. Share this episode with a human who could benefit from this topic. Together, we can create wealthy generations. I will be back with another exciting episode next week, so make sure to subscribe to wealthy, wellthy generation podcast on your favorite platform so you always make time for your own. By the way, remember I am a certified integrative nutrition health coach. I am not a medical professional. This content should be listened to for informational and educational purposes only. None of it should be considered medical advice. Always reach out to a medical professional for your health care needs. Peace out.