There is an obesity problem in our country. This is a fact that has become very apparent in the past few years. In addition, this problem seems to be plaguing every age group and every demographic. Even our youth are becoming larger, which is causing a growing concern among parents and the medical community.
In an effort to combat the problem of childhood obesity, many health advocacy groups and organizations are encouraging schools to get children moving and parents to encourage their children to start playing outside instead of allowing them to sit in front of the television with a game controller in their hands.
There are many different reasons for the increase in girth of the population, including a preference for fast-food diets and on-the-fly meals. The time of making a well-balanced and home-cooked meal and having the family sit down to eat together seems to have fallen by the wayside. So has the phrase “Make sure you come home when the streetlights turn on,” as many of our children are perpetually cooped up indoors these days.
Part of the problem is that we try to fit in too much in our day and end up making sacrifices when it comes to our health as a result of the constant rushing and stress. Everything moves much faster now, we do more things in a day than prior generations did, and because of all this fast- food joints and pre-made food manufacturers have stepped up in order to allow us to continue doing too much.
Not to mention, with the advent of new technology, food manufacturers have found cheaper ways to make foods and at the same time give them a longer shelf life. The problem? Many of these foods now lack any sort of essential minerals and vitamins. In fact, they are so packed full or preservatives and fats that all their nutritional value is lost.
And just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, a new study shows that not only are we not going to get any smaller, more of us are going to become overweight in the future.
The study included 4,117 white participants — almost 52% were female — and evaluated the likelihood that the individuals would become overweight or obese in either a short time (four years) or in the long-term (10 to 30 years). All the participants were involved in another study — The Framingham Heart Study.
After four years, 14 to 19% of women and 26 to 30% of men were overweight, while 5 to 7% of women and 7 to 9% of men were obese after four years.
After 30 years, the risks were about equal that the individuals would become either overweight or obese. At that time, one in two participants were overweight, one in four were obese, and a whopping one in 10 fell into the category of stage-two obesity.
The researchers concluded that, “the long-term risks for overweight or more, or obesity exceeded 50% and 25%, respectively, indicating a large public health burden. These estimates suggest that the future burden of obesity- associated disease may be substantial.”
This comes as a warning that we all need to boost up our exercise routines and incorporate a healthy, well-balanced diet into our life.
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Tags: Diets, exercise, obesity
