| The most threatening epidemic facing Americans | | | | consumption adds up to less than 10% of the |
| today is not a deadly virus, it is obesity and the | | | | American diet with statistics even lower for our kids, |
| resulting often deadly diseases it can cause, such as | | | | leaving us with a nation of overfed undernourished |
| diabetes and cardiovascular conditions. In fact, Type | | | | people with toddlers quickly joining the club. It is |
| 2 diabetes is being diagnosed routinely in teens and | | | | almost as though obesity has simply become a |
| young adults where it used to be a disease of later | | | | common condition of being American. It is no surprise |
| years.Over 60% of Americans are overweight with | | | | then that America is the fattest nation on the |
| about 20% of the population considered obese. While | | | | planet.What can we do? Change has to start at |
| adult obesity is a major problem, the alarming | | | | home. Families need to get away from prepackaged |
| increase of overweight children has tripled, from 5% | | | | over processed foods and the addiction to fast food |
| to 16% between 1963 and 2002 according to the | | | | convenience and get back to the basics of preparing |
| National Center for Health Statistics, which charts the | | | | healthy meals at home. In addition, schools need to |
| most recent trends for the U. S. Centers for Disease | | | | become health promotion advocates by offering |
| Control and Prevention. Here is the kicker, in an article | | | | healthier choices, replacing vending machine selections |
| published March 17, 2005 in the New England Journal | | | | with healthier options and promoting physical activity. |
| of Medicine, University of Chicago researchers | | | | Health and nutrition education is imperative for these |
| contend that life expectancy for Americans could | | | | changes to become viable. Transformation will not |
| drop by two to five years in the next half century if | | | | happen over night, but small consistent changes can |
| the current trend continues. Unlike previous studies, | | | | add up to big results.What will the outcome be if we |
| their calculations were not based on past mortality | | | | do not change? According to statistical history and |
| trends. Instead they used data on obesity rates and | | | | the trend escalating at the current rate, we could |
| previously published studies on which factors | | | | become a nation of almost exclusively overweight |
| contribute to obesity shortening lifespan.What is going | | | | people in the next half century. The negative chain |
| on? According to a study done by the School of | | | | reaction and consequences that this will cause could |
| Epidemiology and Public Health and Nutrition at the | | | | very likely leave us so weak and sick we cannot |
| University of California at Berkeley, up to one third of | | | | recover. The U.S. is already groaning under the |
| the American diet consists of empty calories from | | | | weight of providing social security and Medicare |
| chips, soda, alcoholic beverages, sugary desserts, and | | | | benefits to an aging population. |
| snacks. To add insult to injury, fruit and vegetable | | | | |