Another Millennial Millstone

photo illustration by Sarah MacKinnon and Richard Redditt

The questionable sustainability of Social Security, the rising cost of education, the dicey job market (the recession of 2008, anyone?), international terrorism, climate change. It has long been acknowledged that Millennials' life is littered with new and daunting challenges. And here's another one. A recent study has found that, even at the same levels of food intake and exercise, it's harder for millennials to maintain the same weight as adults 20 to 30 years ago. Jennifer Kuk, a professor of kinesiology and health science at York University in Toronto, explains. “Our study results suggest that if you are 25, you’d have to eat even less and exercise more than those older, to prevent gaining weight," she says. "However, it also indicates there may be other specific changes contributing to the rise in obesity beyond just diet and exercise.” Kuk names three possibilities: the greater number and level of chemicals to which this generation is exposed; the growing use of prescription drugs, many of which have weight gain as a side effect; and today's diet, which includes more antibiotics and hormones in the animal products, and more artificial sweeteners: http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/09/why-it-was-easier-to-be-skinny-in-the-1980s/407974/