Background: In 1960, the United States had the longest life expectancy of any nation in the world. Now, a little over fifty years later, life expectancy in the United States has fallen to the 26th position in the world. Our question for the presidential and Congressional Candidates is this: How do you, as elected officials plan to improve American life expectancy in the next four years? Is this part of your Real Change Strategic Inflection Point plan or not? 

Dear Secretary Clinton, President Elect Trump, Governor Johnson, Dr. Stein, Congressional Candidates and Elected Leaders,

We the undersigned, in the upcoming presidential election have the following questions of you, as candidates for president and congress of the United States. Your answers may help determine our votes. Our most pressing public health policy questions follow:

1.    What is your plan to improve the U.S. general population life expectancy from 26th position in the world in the coming four years? Please provide any relevant actions you have in mind, as well as what solutions you expect to result from those actions.

2. Based on what you know and your own experience with public policy, why do you believe life expectancy in the United States has fallen from best in the world in 1960 to its current position, only the 26th best in the world? Please educate us based on your experience and knowledge of public health policy.

3. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has noted that obesity in children has more than doubled – and more than quadrupled in adolescents – in the past thirty years. With that in mind, how do you plan to address childhood obesity and obesity-related health concerns? Please cite specific policies and programs, either already in place that you aim to strengthen or new programs and policies that you plan to implement when elected as President and Congress members of the United States of America.

4. Noting how life expectancy in the United States has trended relative to the rest of the developed world in the past fifty years, why do you consider yourself capable of creating Real Constructive Change at current Strategic Inflection Point Model that would cause in American health, and as a result, better American life expectancy?

5. As president-elect and Congressional elected officials, you will have the opportunity to place trusted physicians and other healthcare experts in positions of power where they can effect Constructive Real Change – positions such as the Surgeon General of the United States, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director, and the Secretary of Agriculture, as well as leadership positions in the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), USDA and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  Among other esteemed physicians and their colleagues, we would like to present the following doctors of high esteem and renown for your consideration, especially considering their work in looking at life expectancy and related concerns:  Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn; Prof. Colin Campbell; Prof. Dean Ornish, M.D.; Prof. Robert H. Lustig, M.D.; Dr. Ellsworth Wareham; Dr. Neal Barnard; Dr. Michael Greger; Dr. John McDougall; and Dr. Joel Fuhrman.

Can you address our concern that some of these positions of responsibility – positions with the power to effect the greatest change – have perhaps already been given to top donors or special interest groups? Or can you assuage our suspicions by nominating other equally skilled physicians with past goods deeds for those positions, and address why they might be an even better fit for these important public health and public policy positions? Otherwise, how can we trust that you have a plan in place, and that your policy will be both transparent to the American people and effective in creating Real Change for American public health policy? So far we have identified these 9 brilliant minds out of 916,264 U.S. licensed physicians as good role models for other physicians to follow. These trusted physicians and leaders have become candles with the shining guidance light for our journey through dark complex Can Of Worms Tunnel in past 3000 years history of medicine. We will add to this list in future.

6. Numerous scientific studies have demonstrated the dangers of Sugar – and especially High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) – and the high levels of sugar (especially in the form of HFCS) consumption present in the standard American diet (SAD). One such example is the following video clip, courtesy Prof. Robert H. Lustig, M.D. A UCSF Pediatric Endocrinologist, he shared the following information with public and elected officials on July 30th, 2009: Sugar The Bitter Truth https://youtu.be/dBnniua6-oM .  Noting how elected officials have failed to respond in the seven-plus years since, how will you address the endemic levels of American obesity today?

Data Facts FYI:
7. Lastly, we present the following facts and figures for your review, with the hope that they underscore just how serious a public health issue this is.

The 2011 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Report shows that U.S. life expectancy currently ranks 26th in the world. In 1960, American life expectancy was the best in the world. Even though the United States doesn't have the highest life expectancy among OECD nations, it does have the highest share of health care spending: Healthcare costs made up 17.7 percent of U.S. GDP in 2011, nearly double the OECD average among other nations of 9.3 percent. Additionally, the United States spent more than twice per capita ($8,508) on healthcare costs than did other OECD nations on average ($3,339). How will you, as President of the United States, help make American healthcare expenditure more effective?

The same OECD report also notes that the obesity rate in the United States is currently the highest in the world among OECD member countries, at 36.5 percent. For reference, the American obesity rate in 1978 was 15 percent. For further comparison, the average obesity rate in other OECD member nations was 22.8 percent in 2011. As President of the United States, and elected officials how will you address our current obesity epidemic to help stay – if not outright decrease – the rate of obesity in United States?

The current Standard American Diet (SAD) is the leading cause of death in the United States, contributing to approximately 678,000 deaths each year due to nutrition- and obesity-related diseases such as heart disease, cancer, and type II diabetes. In the last thirty years, obesity rates have doubled in adults, tripled in children, and quadrupled in adolescents. This in turns means that nutrition- and obesity-related diseases will contribute to more American deaths in each coming year unless this tide is rapidly reversed. As President of the United States, and elected officials how will you turn the tide?

Renown Scholar Prof. Robert H. Lustig, M.D. UCSF Pediatric endocrinologist stated following critical points:

The High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)/Sugar  is a "Poison" or "Toxin" that augments body fat storage — thus representing a (or the) primary cause of the obesity now prevalent in the Western world.

“It’s not about the calories,” Dr. Lustig says. “It has nothing to do with the calories. It’s a poison by itself.” high-fructose corn syrup, which has already become what he calls “the most demonized additive known to man.”

Additionally, consider the role High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) and other additives have played in the evolving Standard American Diet (SAD). While many healthcare, insurance, and other public health officials view the obesity epidemic as a matter of “personal responsibility,” the widespread use of HFCS and other additives make them nearly impossible to avoid, especially in standard American diets.

However Dr. Lustig reject it based on following facts: the “personal responsibility” argument assumes that people can simply avoid sugar and other unhealthy additives by staying away from fast foods. But Dr. Robert Lustig, the author of the book Fat Chance  , avoiding sugar  — which he believes to be a major cause of America’s weight issue — may not be as easy as it seems:

One-third of the Sugar/HFCS in our diets comes from Soda and Sweetened Beverages, you can taste it. One-sixth is in desserts, you know about those as well, but half of all the Sugar/HFCS consumed in this country comes from food you didn’t know had sugar in it — like hamburger buns, hamburger meat, and salad dressing, for instance.
As President of the United States, how will you – and your public health policy experts – ensure that the American public is aware of what they are eating, and the dangers of HFCS and other additives in their food?

Lastly, let's look at how agricultural subsidies in the United States have contributed to the widespread use of HFCS and other additives, resulting either directly or indirectly to the increased production of unhealthy foods. The following article, published by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and titled “The Fat of the Land: Do Agricultural Subsidies Foster Poor Health,” makes the argument for us. This is not new data; this data has been at the fingertips of public health experts and policy makers for more than a dozen years. Further, this is not a small matter: USDA subsidies in the United States totaled $322.7 billion from 1995-2014. The American Heart Association has released the following related data: They estimate the cost of the American obesity epidemic to be $254 billion: $208 billion in lost productivity costs secondary to premature morbidity and mortality, and $46 billion in direct medical costs. If current trends continue, total healthcare costs attributable to obesity could reach $861 to $957 billion by 2030, which would then account for 16-18% of US healthcare expenditures.

 As a result, we do not believe – as many public health policy experts do – that obesity is a “personal responsibility” problem. We believe it is a systemic American problem, and one which our elected officials should be expected to address and fix. We believe it should be treated by physicians, addressed by public policy, and paid for by healthcare insurance companies. As such, how do you propose – citing specific policies and programs, either already in place that you aim to strengthen and improve or new programs and policies that you plan to implement when elected as President of the United States of America – fixing America's obesity epidemic, and helping return American life expectancy to the best in the world?

Please sign this Petition and share with your friends and family members. Feel free to provide me with feedback and comments.

Cyrus Marvasti

10/12/2016

Software Architect and ShortSearch CTO

You may contact me by Email: cyrus@shortsearch.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

The statement and questions above was prepared by Cyrus Marvasti as a Software Architect and researcher how to use Mobile Technology to prevent or reverse Childhood Obesity. I have been educated by brilliant minds lectures like Dr. Ellsworth Wareham, Prof. Colin Campbell, Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn , Prof. Dean Ornish M.D. and Late Prof. Bart Hoebel and sharing part of my thoughts regarding Strategic Inflection Point Mathematical Modelling for Real Change in the following video clip Slideshow:

[Hazardous Foods Update 4.0] To Honor Immortal Prof. Bart Hoebel's Life and Legacy for Exposing Truth Educating Public Regarding HFCS Health Hazard:https://youtu.be/ya2ZjiVnmUo

Due  to fact that I practice what I preach therefore I have changed my own lifestyle diet in past two years from Vegetarian to Healthy Veganism and I eat only Whole-Food Plant-Based Diet with excellent results, for more detail about my thought process please visit following URL:http://superfood.shortsearch.com/veganism

You may contact me by Email cyrus@shortsearch.com

My Twitter URL: https://twitter.com/CMarvasti