An Epidemic Nobody Seems to Notice or Care About - Being Overweight

Americans spend over $66 billion on weight loss products each year ranging from swanky gym memberships, to meal plans, to weight loss pills and products. Yet, with all this money being spent…

• 70% of adults in the U.S. are overweight.
• 41% are clinically obese.

What this means for you is if you’re at a social gathering with ten other people, seven of you are overweight, and four of you are clinically obese. Look around you and observe other people. What do you see? You will observe more overweight people than any other time in history. Think about that for a minute. Seven out of every ten U.S. adults are overweight, and that does not include kids. Unfortunately, this epidemic is getting worse. Over 43 million Americans start a diet or weight loss program each year. However, 90 to 95 percent of diets fail. 

Too Many Options?

If you were asked how many books were sold about diet and weight loss or how many magazine and internet articles were written in the last five years, what would you guess? Maybe 10 million? 25 million? Or, even 50 million? Honestly, I don’t know the answer. However, I do know there are over 50,000 books about diet, weight loss, nutrition, fitness, and healthy eating currently listed on Amazon alone.

This begs the question, if there is as much information available about weight loss, dieting, health, and nutrition, why is the trend for being overweight increasing? Obviously, there is a gap between wanting to be thinner and doing what is necessary to shed those unwanted pounds. There is something overwhelmingly incomplete in what is being taught about maintaining a healthy weight.  Perhaps, the issue is how it’s being taught?

Further, with all that weight loss information being touted, who or what do you believe? If you read or listen to one medical expert, they will tell you what to do to shed your unwanted pounds. Another medical expert will say that person is wrong and give you another opinion. Still, a third medical expert will tell you the first two are both wrong.

For example, have you heard of the Paleo diet, Keto diet, Mediterranean Diet, South Beach Diet, The Zone Diet, The Vegan Diet, The Atkins Diet, Nutrisystem, Medifast, Jenny Craig, or Weight Watchers? There are hundreds of different diets being touted. 

Did you know…

• 61% of nurses in the U.S. are overweight.
• 70% of people hospitalized in the U.S. are there because of food related issues and being overweight.
• More 29 million Americans have Type 2 Diabetes. 
• One in four people with diabetes don’t even know they have it.
• An estimated 86 million Americans are prediabetic.
• Without weight loss and exercise, 15 to 30 percent of people with prediabetes will develop Type 2 Diabetes within five years.
• Excess weight increases the risk for Type 2 Diabetes.

Are you aware…

• According to research from the American Cancer Society, being overweight is linked to an overall increased risk of cancer.
• Excess weight may increase the risk for many health problems, including, but not limited to:

-          High blood pressure

-          Heart attack, heart disease, and strokes

-          Sleep apnea

-          Osteoarthritis

-          Fatty liver disease

-          Kidney disease

-          Pregnancy problems, such as high blood sugar during pregnancy, high blood pressure, and increased risk for cesarean delivery (C-section) 

Are you aware…

• An estimated 70% of the U.S. population is chronically dehydrated.
• People often eat when they are thirsty. Instead of eating, they should drink pure water.

If the facts stated above are not enough to convince you to reduce weight, what will?

Processed Food

Maybe the real reason so many people are overweight is because of the processed food we eat. What is the reason for the rise in U.S. citizens being overweight? Perhaps it’s because we don't realize that food manufacturers are scientifically engineering our food to optimize the bodies craving for salt, fat, and sugar. Howard Moskowitz coined the term, “Bliss Point” to refer to this phenomenon. Moskowitz was trained in mathematics at Queens College and experimental psychology at Harvard. He was hired by food manufacturers during a 30-year period starting in the 1970’s to determine the perfect amount of sweetness, saltiness, texture, and richness for various products.

Bliss Point is used in the formulation of food products to find the perfect balance of the three main components our bodies crave – salt, sugar, and fat. It’s a complex process pinpointing the exact combination of ingredients that flash our neurological pleasure zones so that we never get the “satisfaction” signal that tells our brains to stop eating. Like the Rolling Stones, you can’t get no satisfaction. In other words, the foods developed by food manufacturers are addictive.

So, what does this mean for you? It means food manufacturers are turning you into food junkies. The food companies only care about their bottom line and not your health. The food being processed is made so that it becomes addicting. As with most things that are addicting, it can be deadly.

What can you do about it? Act! (Action Changes Things.) According to Dr. David L. Katz, M.D., who refers to Michael Pollan, a simple solution to reduce weight in a healthy and sustainable manner is to eat mostly whole (holistic) foods, not too much, mostly plants, avoid processed foods, and drink lots of pure water. I would add one more thing to Dr. Katz’s list: Get adequate sleep. 

Simple yes? But not so easy to do. If it were, we would all be healthier. Unfortunately, most of us have a SAD food intake. SAD stands for Standard American Diet, is the primary cause of chronic disease and illness. But no matter how much proof or evidence exists on the health benefits of eating a mostly plant-based diet, the fact remains that most Americans will never give up their processed foods and SAD, fast food, lifestyle.

What Can You Do?

For starters, drink more pure water, avoid or, at least, reduce your consumption of soda and diet soda, control your portion sizes, and slow down. Take the extra 5 or 10 minutes to eat a meal. If your work schedule is such that you can’t take 15 to 20 minutes to eat a meal, perhaps you should re-think your priorities. After all, what good is the money you are earning if you can’t enjoy it? Worse, what if you need to spend it on medical care?