What the Health is a popular Netflix documentary that has received wide recognition of health debates in America and the rest of the world. It stars Kip Anderson, who is also the film producer.
The movie starts with an introduction of a film producer, Kip Anderson who terms his qualification as a “recovering hypochondriac.” Kip is seen trying to find out the link that exists between processed meats and dairy products, and the rapid rise in heart diseases and cancers as well as diabetes. The tone at this moment is quite dark which encompasses a dramatic music. Animal agriculture scenes are seen, followed by scenes of obese people working along the street. The film generally promotes a vegan diet, especially to those suffering from chronic ailments. Most often the word “terrifying” is mentioned when describing food. Kip is on a journey of unearthing a key potential health concern. Kip is seen making repeated calls to numerous major organizations only to be dissatisfied with the response he gets.
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Anderson’s film promises the viewers that indeed, there is one healthy way to eat, and it entails doing away with meat. Kip and co-director are focused on elaborating how diets are linked with diseases, and thereby help the viewers make better and healthier choices on food. As Kip stresses, most American health institutions have played a significant role in promoting the consumption of these foods.
The film emphasises on the consumption of plant-based foods, which are agreeably nutritious. Nonetheless, doing away with all kinds of meat and dairy foods to adopt vegan meals is a transition that can prove to be a challenge to a lot people, especially those are much accustomed meats ( Haddad, 2003 ). For an average person, scientific proof and research is readily available in books, journals and the internet. Worth to note is that there are studies that have established a relationship between processed meat and cancer. Conversely, there are studies that dispute this establishment. For a fact, plant-based diets have been found to be helpful in reducing body weights as well as minimizing the risk of chronic diseases. Anderson’s film fails to give a concrete scientific standpoint on diet and diseases. For instance, the movie cites chicken as the main source of cholesterol. This finding, however, has no specific scientific proof. Research has it that the main source of cholesterol is in eggs ( Weggemans, 2001 ).
The film is characterized by contradictory statements. In one scene, there are claims that milk causes cancer. The film also makes comparison between eggs and cigarettes which is vague, and whose direct link cannot be profusely established. These statements are ambiguous and are not founded on any scientific proof. As a matter of fact, they dispute the commonly known scientific facts on causes of cancer ( Danaei, 2005 ). What the Health fails to give health practical schemes that can be adopted in making diet changes.
In a nutshell, this movie is a mind-opener to critical health concerns pertaining to diets, particularly meats. However, the viewer of this movie should be sure to confirm the conflicting health claims contained in the movie by comparing them with the available scientific facts. The movie is not entirely facts-based. Scientific proofs only recognize risks involved in meats and daily meals. Contrariwise, this film depicts that the consumption of meats and dairy meals will actually lead to cancer.
References
Danaei, G., Vander Hoorn, S., Lopez, A. D., Murray, C. J., Ezzati, M., & Comparative Risk Assessment collaborating group (Cancers. (2005). Causes of cancer in the world: comparative risk assessment of nine behavioural and environmental risk factors. The Lancet , 366 (9499), 1784-1793
Haddad, L. (2003). Redirecting the diet transition: what can food policy do? Development Policy Review , 21 (5‐6), 599-614.
Weggemans, R. M., Zock, P. L., & Katan, M. B. (2001). Dietary cholesterol from eggs increases the ratio of total cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in humans: a meta-analysis–. The American journal of clinical nutrition , 73 (5), 885-891.
