The American Fatness Epidemic; the Reasons and Solutions to the problem.

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Title: The American Fatness Epidemic; the Reasons and Solutions to the problem.

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Author: Ted Crawford

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The American Fatness Epidemic; the Reasons and Solutions to the problem.

Copyright 2006 Ted Crawford

Obesity has become an epidemic in this country. The

American Fatness Epidemic has become our #1 health problem

in the United States as nearly 2 out of every 3 American

adults are overweight compared to about 1 out of 4 in the

early 1960s. Obesity accounts for greater than 280,000

deaths annually in the United States and is running neck

and neck with smoking as the #1 preventable cause of death

in this country.

Medical expenses and loss of income related to The American

Fatness Epidemic exceeds about 68 billion dollars annually.

We spend over 30 billion dollars annually on diet

products. So how did we get into this predicament?

Let’s take a look at the basics for a moment. It has to do

with our ancestors thousands of years ago. It goes back to

our genetics. Our ancestors were hunter-gatherers. Their

“job” was to look for food, protect their families and

merely survive. They were nomadic in nature for the most

part, and hunted and collected seeds, nuts, berries, and

perhaps planted a few crops as well. When food was

plentiful, they ate more and stored it as fat to keep them

from starving when food was scarce. When food was scarce

and they ate less, their bodies recognized this and their

metabolism slowed. Well, guess what? The physiology has

not changed! We still have that urge to keep eating more

than we need; and we do! The problem is that we do not

have any times when food is scarce and we continue to store

the excess as fat. Our bodies are very efficient at doing

this. We have more food than we know what to do with and

we keep on eating more than we need. The result: The

American Fatness Epidemic.

We are a convenience-minded society that eats too much and

moves too little. That’s it! Remember our hunter-gatherer

ancestors? Hunting now consists of finding our favorite

fast food restaurant and we gather by taking the bag of

food from the person at the drive-up window. We do not

even have to leave the car.

The two biggest problems which have contributed to the

American Fatness Epidemic and have become a " norm " in our

society are:

1. Portion sizes. Portion sizes have gotten out-of-hand in

the past couple of decades. Here is an example. I walked

into one of our favorite fast food establishments and

wanted to order a sandwich and small drink. No fries; just

the sandwich. The young lady who waited on me informed me

that I could purchase a “meal” with fries and a medium

drink CHEAPER than for the sandwich and small drink. Well,

that’s a deal! Why not? More food for less money! That

is what our society is up against. More is better! No it

isn’t. Not when it comes to calories, fat intake, and our

health.

2. We do not move enough! We watch too much television,

computers have become such a huge part of our lives along

with remote controls and video games. Here are some

sobering statistics to ponder:

20% of Americans are completely sedentary. 60% get no

regular exercise. 80% are not exercising appropriately to

achieve the desired outcomes. 64% of school age children

have no daily physical education anymore.

We’ve got an American Fatness Epidemic which is worsening.

A recent study showed that the risk of death from all

cancers is 62% higher for obese females and 52% higher in

obese men compared to women and men of normal body weight.

It is estimated that around 90,000 deaths a year in the

United States could be prevented by maintaining a healthy

weight.

So what is a “healthy weight?” We use the BMI (body mass

index) as an indicator for healthy weight determination.

It consists of your weight in kilograms divided by your

height in meters squared. 18.5-24.9 is considered normal

(healthy) weight, 25-30 overweight, and greater than 30

obese. The advantage of using the BMI is that it is one

set of numbers for all people of both sexes and it is

linearly related to health risk. In other words, the

higher your BMI is above normal range, the greater chances

of serious health disorders.

We have to adapt a lifestyle that is more like our

hunter-gatherer ancestors. We are creatures of habit and

habits are difficult to break; especially bad ones. So,

what do we do about it?

How about visiting your doctor? Unfortunately, I wouldn’t

count on his or her help. Doctors should be your coach,

but in reality your doctor is too busy most of the time to

go into any depth when it comes to diet, exercise, and

weight loss. Here is how it goes. Tell me if I am right.

You visit your physician and he or she asks you how you are

doing and what your problem is. He or she listens to your

heart and lungs, checks your throat or whatever else

bothers you, writes out your prescription, and maybe, just

maybe, tells you to lose weight and eat a more healthy diet

and exercise more. Sound familiar?

42% of obese patients are told by their physicians to lose

weight. 45% do not receive any diet counseling.

Most of our health care dollar is spent treating the

outcomes of poor lifestyle choices. We do not have a

health care system; we have a sick care system. Think

about it. The insurance companies will pay for the

treatment of those outcomes with medications and surgeries

and procedures, but very little is covered or devoted for

prevention.

There is no magic pill to lose weight; at least not yet.

There are a lot of reasons that we eat that has nothing to

do with hunger. There are many emotional and social cues

which cause us to eat when we are not hungry. That is

another HUGE problem! The easiest way to avoid this

pitfall is to rid your environment of the “bad foods” that

you grab and eat in these situations. If it isn’t

available, you can’t eat it! If it is bad for you, then

don’t bring it home! That is what I tell my patients. At

the same time, you shouldn’t deprive yourself either. It

is stupid to tell yourself that you are never going to eat

another piece of chocolate cake again. That is a set up

for failure.

Finally, don’t get hung up on your weight! Take care of

your lifestyle and make sensible choices and the weight

will take care of itself. You want to concentrate on

losing fat and becoming a healthy individual. By eating a

healthy diet and exercising regularly, you will build

muscle mass and lose the fat. I use the analogy of an

automobile when explaining this concept to patients. When

you are overweight and sluggish, it is because your engine

is out of tune and operating like a puny 4 cylinder Pinto.

When you give your body the proper fuel and begin

exercising, you gain more muscle converting your engine

into an 8 cylinder sports car which burns more fuel (fat)

and operates more efficiently. Keep that comparison in

mind and you should be on your road to a healthier happy

life.

About the Author:

Dr. Crawford discusses on our biggest public health problem

in his article " The American Fatness Epidemic; the Reasons

and Solutions to the

problem " ==>http://www.babyboomersdoc.com