- The following was written in light of over indulgence and is not intended to offend persons with unavoidable weight difficulties due to physical impairments.
Our over indulgence is catching up with us, but yet millions of Americans everyday keep buying and consuming Big Macs, Whoppers, Supersized this or that, pizza, potato chips, and anything else that accommodates our busy schedules. We choke down this junk everyday and in some cases, every meal. This unfortunately not only adds pounds to our bodies, but subtracts years of healthy living in a country without socialized medicine.
In our society we ban: dangerous toys, sales and use of controlled substances, smoking in indoor public places, TV commercials relating to tobacco/ hard liquor, helmet laws, and other health hazards. Are fast food restaurant corporations next? Should they be held responsible for our fat asses, bulging guts, and huge hips? What happened to self responsibility? Did someone force you to enter McDonalds? Over 300,000 Americans die each year from conditions related to obesity. A whopping 60 percent of adults are currently considered overweight or obese. According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), 34 percent of American children were overweight in 2003-2004, compared to 28 percent in 1999-2000.
If you are a hog trough parent, most likely you will raise this type of offspring. Our children seem to assimilate the behaviors their parents. If we adults possess good eating habits and regularly exercise, most likely our children will adopt a these habits and positive outlook, then evolve into happy, healthy adults. They are our kids, not Ronald McDonald's! Does Ronald change their diaper or finance their college needs? We're charged with the leadership and reward of parenting.
Obesity, like smoking to a large extent, is an avoidable condition and leads to a number of avoidable diseases: hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, and some cancers. Obesity also is a large contributor to mental depression, lack of self esteem, and motivational problems (laziness). For the ones that do not seek professional mental help, we usually self-medicate with a good dose of high calorie sugary pick me up. This behavior only heightens or magnifies the fat content and state of mental depression.
America's obesity epidemic will dwarf the threat of terrorism if the nation does not reduce the number of people who are severely overweight, the Surgeon General said back on March 1, 2006. Is this possible? Why would our Surgeon General say this if it weren't true?
What about health costs? Between 1987 and 2002, private health spending attributable to obesity increased more than tenfold, from $3.6 billion to $36.5 billion. Treating obesity-related illnesses and complications adds billions of dollars to the nation's health care costs. What does the future of Medicare hold if this trend continues? Let's not forget about the affects of obesity on our costs of our private health insurance.
We tend to have quick, snappy answers for the drug-addict, the alcoholic, and the smoker. We say things like just say no or just quit. What about the other avoidable tendency of overeating, causing oneself to become overweight and later obese?
The rate of obesity in The Netherlands and Sweden is only one-third of that in the U.S.A. In Germany it's only one half, and these folks are the meat and potato types.
Fad dieting doesn't have good track records. Healthy, permanent fat loss results from following a healthy, nutritious diet, regular exercise and gradual weight loss. Most dieticians and doctors agree on this.
We Americans are getting bigger, slower and sicker by the day.
Can this trend continue?