Obesity Problem Will Not Go Away On Its Own
This Fredricksburg, Virginia-based Free-Lance Star op-ed underscores the urgency of taking action as soon as possible on the issue of rising obesity rates in America.
In the article entitled "Obesity: It's everyone's responsibility," the author laments that the U.S. life expectancy rate will fall by as many as five years in the next few decades.
"That's right--for the first time, the average life span is due to drop, and obesity is a major culprit."
The National Institute on Aging said the rate of obesity growth in the United States must be slowed down as soon as possible.
In fact, one health official shares the grim new that "today's younger generation will have shorter and less healthy lives than their parents for the first time in modern history unless we intervene."
I have been championing this cause ever since I was able to lost 180 pounds in 2004 by following a low-carb lifestyle combined with regular exercise. It is an issue that will not go away if we ignore it. This bull needs to be grabbed by the horns and brought down or else we will suffer the future consequences of our poor health choices in the coming years.
The National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion stated the obvious in a recent report which said an obese child is more likely to stay obese when they reach adulthood. That's what happened to me. I was a fat kid my entire childhood and it only got worse as I got older. I am lucky that I was finally able to overcome my obesity problem before it caused me major health problems. Unfortunately, though, others aren't quite as fortunate.
People who are obese are at a higher risk for cancer, asthma, osteoarthritis, stroke, heart disorders and disease, high blood pressure, and even death.
The saddest part is that all of these symptoms are preventable if people who accept personal responsibility for their weight problem and tackle it themselves. That's some tough love that took me a very long time to accept and do something about myself. I know how hard it is, but my story proves it can and MUST be done.
The story bemoans the fact that U.S. public health and medical experts have not done very much to deal with this problem of obesity as it has gotten dramatically worse.
Why should they? Why do we need the government to step in and tell us to eat a low-fat/low-calorie/portion-controlled diet and workout three hours a day to get healthy? Clearly, that advice is not resonating with the vast majority of Americans based on the obesity statistics. What we need is to look at all health options and place them on the table for discussion. That includes the low-carb approach that is all but shunned by much of the health industry as "unhealthy" or "dangerous."
What is it going to take for the experts to realize their advice has been a failure? Isn't it time we start trying something new to help people with their weight problem? As noted in the article, an obese person has to deal with much more than physical health problems because of their weight. There is clear issues of "discrimination, greater physical pain, and lower energy levels" as well as mental issues of poor self-worth and lack of confidence.
The author of this story concludes that while becoming obese is a personal choice that people make about what foods they eat and how much activity they implement into their lives, it becomes all of our problem because "we are all affected" by it through more cases of disease, soaring healthcare premiums, lost productivity and disability.
Obesity is my problem if I'm the one who is obese. But does that mean I don't have a responsiblity to try to help others deal with their obesity problem if I have found an answer that works for me? Absolutely not! In fact, it is my duty to share with everyone I know my story of success livin' la vida low-carb so it can spur others to enjoy similar results. They sure aren't gonna hear anything positive about the low-carb way of eating from the media!
The author of the article writes, "Something must be done--now."
That's exactly right! We need to take action and help each other before the problem of obesity gets worse than it already has.
In the article entitled "Obesity: It's everyone's responsibility," the author laments that the U.S. life expectancy rate will fall by as many as five years in the next few decades.
"That's right--for the first time, the average life span is due to drop, and obesity is a major culprit."
The National Institute on Aging said the rate of obesity growth in the United States must be slowed down as soon as possible.
In fact, one health official shares the grim new that "today's younger generation will have shorter and less healthy lives than their parents for the first time in modern history unless we intervene."
I have been championing this cause ever since I was able to lost 180 pounds in 2004 by following a low-carb lifestyle combined with regular exercise. It is an issue that will not go away if we ignore it. This bull needs to be grabbed by the horns and brought down or else we will suffer the future consequences of our poor health choices in the coming years.
The National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion stated the obvious in a recent report which said an obese child is more likely to stay obese when they reach adulthood. That's what happened to me. I was a fat kid my entire childhood and it only got worse as I got older. I am lucky that I was finally able to overcome my obesity problem before it caused me major health problems. Unfortunately, though, others aren't quite as fortunate.
People who are obese are at a higher risk for cancer, asthma, osteoarthritis, stroke, heart disorders and disease, high blood pressure, and even death.
The saddest part is that all of these symptoms are preventable if people who accept personal responsibility for their weight problem and tackle it themselves. That's some tough love that took me a very long time to accept and do something about myself. I know how hard it is, but my story proves it can and MUST be done.
The story bemoans the fact that U.S. public health and medical experts have not done very much to deal with this problem of obesity as it has gotten dramatically worse.
Why should they? Why do we need the government to step in and tell us to eat a low-fat/low-calorie/portion-controlled diet and workout three hours a day to get healthy? Clearly, that advice is not resonating with the vast majority of Americans based on the obesity statistics. What we need is to look at all health options and place them on the table for discussion. That includes the low-carb approach that is all but shunned by much of the health industry as "unhealthy" or "dangerous."
What is it going to take for the experts to realize their advice has been a failure? Isn't it time we start trying something new to help people with their weight problem? As noted in the article, an obese person has to deal with much more than physical health problems because of their weight. There is clear issues of "discrimination, greater physical pain, and lower energy levels" as well as mental issues of poor self-worth and lack of confidence.
The author of this story concludes that while becoming obese is a personal choice that people make about what foods they eat and how much activity they implement into their lives, it becomes all of our problem because "we are all affected" by it through more cases of disease, soaring healthcare premiums, lost productivity and disability.
Obesity is my problem if I'm the one who is obese. But does that mean I don't have a responsiblity to try to help others deal with their obesity problem if I have found an answer that works for me? Absolutely not! In fact, it is my duty to share with everyone I know my story of success livin' la vida low-carb so it can spur others to enjoy similar results. They sure aren't gonna hear anything positive about the low-carb way of eating from the media!
The author of the article writes, "Something must be done--now."
That's exactly right! We need to take action and help each other before the problem of obesity gets worse than it already has.
posted by Jimmy Moore at
7/22/2005 10:50:00 AM
1 Comments:
Great points, Sandy and Adam! I'm afraid you are right as sickening as the notion of a "cover-up" sounds. How can we expose this scam and get the word out to more people? Sure, I've got my blog and book, but surely there's more we can be doing to make a REAL impact.
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