Getting Fit: Obesity can be a killer!
“We have got a serious crisis on our hands — not to mention on our backsides, stomachs, and thighs.”
Obesity is the second-leading cause of preventable death in America. The key word there is preventable.
Obesity is an epidemic that has hit America hard. We are no longer a nation of “Hold the pickle, Hold the lettuce…”, we are now a nation of super size this, giant size that, and please make that a double. Portion sizes in America have gotten way out of hand. “We have super sized ourselves into becoming the fattest country on the earth.”
There are approximately 97 million Americans who are overweight or obese. Over the past 20 plus years, obesity and its related illnesses: Heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, osteoarthritis, stroke and many other illnesses, have accounted for more visits to the doctor than anything else. More than 300,000 Americans will die — yes, die — from the consequences of being overweight. If this trend continues, more people will die each year from being fat, than will die from smoking.
In the 1990’s 63 percent of men and 55 percent of women were overweight, and the average person’s weight increased by 10-15 pounds. Do you fall into this category? Also, $40 billion dollars were spent on some sort of gimmick or weight loss diet plan.
The truth is simple. If you watch what you eat and exercise, you can lose that weight.
Again, the average female goes on a diet, loses the weight, goes off the diet, gains back that weight plus some, only to have to diet again and again. “One of the biggest things behind the obesity epidemic is that we are seriously under-exercising and not eating right. We start the day as a desk potato and end the day as a couch potato.”
Why should we be concerned with our weight? Not only are there numerous health reasons, but we are influencing our children.
A lady in the gym told me Friday morning that hopefully her kids will see that both her and her husband are working out in the gym, and that they will pick this habit up in their lifestyles. Generally, what this lady said is true.
Studies have shown that parents who exercise and eat healthy, will usually have kids that exercise and eat healthy also. Parents who are couch potatoes usually have kids that are couch potatoes. Experts estimate that 25-30 percent of all children ages 2-17 are already overweight, obese, or are at risk of becoming obese, due to a lack of their parents awareness. If a child is battling weight now, what are they going to do as an adult? Are they decreasing their life expectancy at an early age?
When a child or adult consumes more food than is needed for daily activity, excess fat accumulates on the body and overtime this can lead to obesity. Children today are more overweight and far less active than they were 20 years ago. Think back now to when you were a kid. I’ll bet that you used to come home from school, do your homework, and then it was outside to play until Mom called you for dinner, which was usually at dark. I know that’s what I did. Today, children come home from school and turn on the TV. If a child spends four or more hours in front of a screen (TV or computer), they are 50 percent more likely to be overweight or even obese. Studies also show that “fit and healthy children are the ones who are scoring higher on achievement tests.”
Let’s face the facts. If being fat was like contracting SARS, we would move heaven and earth to become health and fit. “Some of us are eating ourselves into an early grave.” So go ahead and make the commitment not only for yourself, but for your children to start eating healthy and to start exercising.
I would again like to thank those people who have e-mailed me or stopped by USA Gym with questions, you all are inspirations. If you have a question, please e-mail me at [email protected] label it “fitness question,” write to me at Paige Northcutt, P.O. Box 7281, McMinnville, TN 37111, or stop by USA Gym. I would love to talk with you. Until next week, HAVE A GREAT DAY!!