People obsessed with weight loss diet! Do not believe me? Just adjust any source for publicity ... I was instantly with the latest diet systems and "Hollywood" foodfads.
Here in America, we have built a thriving industry trying to control our weights and address the consequences of over-indulgence. The cost of weight loss and obesity associated with therapeutic health is amazing ... Americans alone spend about $ 114 billion every year! Even with all this attention to weight loss, we continue to pack on the pound as never before ...
- A massive 64 per cent of adults in the United States are overweight, about eight per cent of previous estimates.
- Among children and adolescents aged 6 to 19, 15 percent or nearly ninemillion people are overweight ... triple the rate in 1980!
- Nearly one-third of all adults are now classified as obese.
For Americans, modern life may be very easy. Our cushylifestyle means that we have spent less energy and therefore need a few measures to maintain normal body weight.
Think about it for a moment ...
Entertainment no longer requires energy expenses. In fact, it is usually the opposite. We are now entertaining ourselves in the comfort of our home while watching TV and chewing on our fast food. Whether it's television, computers, remote controls or cars, we move less and burn fewer stars. The common activities that were once part of our normal lives disappeared ... such as climbing the stairs, pushing the lawnmower or walking to get somewhere.
And please do not misunderstand me ... I appreciate comfort to rest as much as the next person. But here lies the problem ...
With all our modern amenities and a "cushy" style that we have not adjusted our calories to make up for spending calories. We consume more calorie-rich foods than ever before. Consider a few of the following examples comparing what we eat "today" versus 1970 (US Department of Agriculture survey):
- We currently eat more grain products, but almost all are refined grains (white bread, etc.). Cereal consumption has jumped 45 per cent since the 1970s, from 138 pounds per person per year to 200 pounds! Only 2 percent of wheat flour is consumed as whole wheat.
- Our consumption of fruits and vegetables increased, but because the fries and chips were included. Potato products represent one third of the "product" options.
- We drink less milk, but we have more than doubled our consumption. Cheese is now superior to meat as the first source of saturated fats in our diets.
- We have reduced red meat, but we have more than offset it by increasing the amount of our chicken (covered and fried), Swat in general, we eat more than 13 pounds of meat today than we did in the seventies.
- We drink three times more milk-free soft drinks than in the 1970s, when milk consumption was twicethat of pop.
- We use 25% less butter, but put a small amount of vegetables on our food and salad, so our total consumption of added fat increased by 32%.
Sugar consumption was another reason for our growing lines. Eating sugar is simply out of the charts. People consume nearly twice the amount of sugar they need each day, about 20 teaspoons on a calorie diet in the day of 2000. The added sugar is mostly stored in fast foods, such as pop, cookies and biscuits. In 1978, the government found that sugars accounted for only 11% of the average person's calories. Now, this figure has doubled to 16 per cent for normal American adults and 20 per cent for American teenagers!
Unfortunately, family nutritious dinner days seem to be replaced by fast food and immediate operation. We are gradually accepting that it is "OK" to sacrifice healthy foods for convenience, and that the larger parts of the service are worth a better value.
We've realized the time we consume a lot of calories and time to start doing something about it! Every one of us can decide today that healthy eating habits and exercise will become an abnormal part of our lives!
We can begin to explore our values, ideas and habits ... Slowly and deliberately get rid of unhealthy habits and activities and begin to live a more productive and rewarding life. Remember that it took a long time to develop bad habits as you work towards your goal!
