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CDC: More people obese now than in 2007
The number of obese people in the United States has increased by 2.4 million since 2007, according to a CDC special report released Tuesday. The report also says that 9 states – up from 3 in 2007 – now report obesity levels at 30 percent or higher (in 2000, no states were in that category). Not a single state has reached the 15 percent goal set in the CDC's "Healthy People 2010" initiative. "Obesity is a major public health problem," said CDC Director, Dr. Thomas Frieden. "We need intensive and ongoing efforts to address obesity, or more people will get sick and die from the complications of obesity, such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer." In addition to the added number of obese people, the report also explored the costs associated with obesity and related conditions. "In 2008 dollars, medical costs associated with obesity were estimated at $147 billon," Frieden said. "That translates into medical costs for people who are obese that were $1,429 higher per person each year, compared to normal-weight individuals." Frieden, and Dr. Bill Dietz, Director of CDC's Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity, went on to say that national programs like the Let's Move campaign and state programs that address health-related infrastructure are steps in the right direction. "Obesity is a societal problem, and it will take a societal response," Frieden said. |
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Get a behind-the-scenes look at the latest stories from CNN Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen and the CNN Medical Unit producers. They'll share news and views on health and medical trends - info that will help you take better care of yourself and the people you love. Recent Comments
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@Chuck, Jasper, Ga. You're just a peach, aren't you? I'm going to copy what I put in an earlier reply: It's always amazing to me how people like you think. Yes, there are people out there who are fat because they are lazy. Then there are people like me, who are very obese – however, I do cardio five days a week for 30 minimum, weights a couple of times a week, TaeKwonDo at least three days a week, eat a "clean" diet (mostly organic, no sugar, and mostly un-refined/un-processed food). And you know what? It doesn't matter – I have a health issue that is preventing me from losing weight. However, given my lifestyle I would bet a million dollars I am a whole lot healthier than a lot of "skinny" people! So, tell me, Chuck, how do I fit into your small-minded definition of a "lard butt"? Skinny most definitely does not always equate healthy!
Skinny may not always be healthy but it doesn't disgust people in restaurants and in public places. Do you ever smell yourself? Because we get a whiff of your BO every time you walk by.
@Chris – I'll say it one more time: what a small minded individual you are. I get it....you are troll just trying to elicit responses. Ooops...sorry if that is too much of a big word for you!
CB: your not telling us everything, just sounds like excuses from where I sit.
CB, I have PCOS too and I understand where you're coming from completely! No one even tries to understand, they just feel that they can judge us. B/c we must be doing something wrong right? There's no way the diet industry could be messed up and feeding you misinformation. Nope, its us, we're lazy and lack self control. WHATEVER!!! We know the truth.
I hope you will look into this b/c it really really helped me. I read a book called "Health at Every Size" by Dr. Linda Bacon (I know, the name is kind of ironic). I can honestly say that it changed my life for the better, and I sincerely hope that you'll find it helpful. Good luck to you, keep up what you're doing b/c the only thing that matters is your health and how you feel. You and I both know that a low number on the scale doesn't mean you're healthy, it just means you're skinny. I have skinny friends that I could run rings around in the health dept. These people just DON'T GET IT.
Now I have a friend that has poly-cystic ovarian syndrome. This is where she has cysts on her ovaries and they dont' exactly work all that great. Her hormones are screwed up. This makes her obese. She has always been obese. She did track and field in highschool and band. Didnt matter. She really cannot lose weight at all due to this condition.
So not everyone that is fat CAN help it. Be good to keep this in mind before judging someone who is fat. Though she may be the exception, not the rule.
Thanks, @RR...for me, that is precisely the health issue I was referring to above in my post.
Ok, so maybe .05% of people have an excuse. The rest are just lazy slobs who over indulge and act like they can't help it.
30 minutes changed my life. I bought a workout program in March of this year and moved my alarm clock up 30 minutes so that I could work out before work. In six months I'm down 45 lbs and in the best shape I've been in in 25 years. It's way too easy to be judgmental and critical of overweight people. It's also not that hard to change your mindset and simply find a way to get some exercise and reduce your caloric intake. But it doesn't happen by telling someone that they are fat and disgusting. It has to come from within. I just hope more Americans can get to a point where they quit complaining about their weight and do something about it.
I'm amazed at some people's responses: "The only possible way to heal it is to treat it like a disease and cure it with medicines, otherwise, it will continue to get worse."
SERIOUSLY, you really believe that? This issue stems from many different problems in our society – but is WELL within our control. The steps are: eating better food, eating less food, exercising more. Previous generations never had this problem because of their lifestyles which included these "steps" (often not by their choice).
The acceptance of obesity is another big problem. I really believe the fatter America becomes the more people justify it. We have better medicines to treat all the problems associated with obesity, so the consequences are not as severe. The more obese people there are, the less the obese feel inclined to change it. I have heard so many overweight individuals say something like: "I'm okay, my (family/friends/coworkers) are heavier than me. So I'm not doing that bad!" Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! Quit rationalizing it!
Preach on. This country has lost its identity. It was founded on hard work and pride and now it is founded on fast food and lazy people who "think" they're actually healthy. Fat people are gross and should be ashamed to walk outside.
Not so fast Tom, the typical american diet has never been healthy, folks grew up on the meat and potatoes diet, really the difference has been that our lifestyles have become more sedentary than ever and we get less sleep. We have created an environment that forces us to live far away from employment, jobs with little physical labor, and we sleep less than 6 hours a night. All of these thing contribute to poor health.
Front page article in yesterday's Wall St. Journal about how the demand for electronic gadgets was outstripping demand for other household goods. Reading further into the article, it turns out that people were forgoing trips and other cultural activities for the comfort of plopping themselves in front of their big screen TV's and home entertainment centers. One woman interviewed cancelled her trip to Europe in favor of buying a big TV with surround sound. Calculate how many calories are burned sitting on the couch vs. touring around on foot and it's not hard to see why we're so soft and plump.
The true problem no one mentions is that this trend to be obese started about the time food manufacturers replaced cane sugar with high fructose corn syrup because back in the 1980's sugar cost sky rocketed. If you would read the food labels on almost any food item in the store, hfcs is listed. This ingredient is not processed by the body, and as such, the calories from this item goes directly to fat storage. The cheapest food available to feed families contain hfcs. The only way to eat is basic fresh fruit, vegetables and meat. Now the problem comes in because this is more expensive. The other problem is that most obese people, whether they know it or not, are gluten intolerant, meaning, anything that contains wheat should not be ingested. That is the rest of the food in the store, since wheat is a main ingredient in most foods. The gluten in wheat will cause extreme cravings in people who are sensitive to it. Sugar has the same effect, in any form. Once these 2 ingredients are eliminated from the diet ( and yes, there is withdrawal like you wouldn't believe) the weight comes off rather easliy. Now, anyone would like to try this? Yes, there are lazy people, and yes there are people who have health issues and take certain medications that will not allow you to lose weight, but there are alot of obese people out there where these 2 ingredient have to be eliminated. I like to see all the "normal" people try this. I have, it works, but it is pure hell. I have to feed the rest of my family and I have to make a separate meal for myself. And to just let you know, being obese does not mean that you are unhealthy. The doctors, when and if I go to them, cannot understand why I don't have high blood pressure or diabeties. The only time I ever go to the doctor is when I have a virus or flu, which is rare.
We're all going to have to pay for your fattness later in life when you are constantly in the hospital and using a hoverround to get from room to room. There is a cost to obesity and everyone has to foot the bill for you lazy people. You say you're healthy? Try jogging a mile and see how "healthy" you are.
@Chris...what a small minded individual you are.
They need to make a calorie neutral alcohol. I lost 80 pounds and was at a healthy weight for my height (Subway diet... it works!) for a good 8 – 10 months. Then I started frequenting bars and BAM it was back in about 3 months. Why is everything that is so awesome, so bad?
One word. MODERATION!
2 major issues for us in the US.
1. Too many people in America are obsessed with your outward appearance as defining health, which is flat out wrong. SuperModels are skinny (if not emaciated), but most of them smoke, and eat "just enough" to prevent passing out during the day only so they can fit into a size '0" outfit. And for many that lifestyle contributes to bulemia. But they're not what you would call overweight, but certainly not healthy at all.
Also, just because someone goes to the gym and can lift hundreds of pounds in weights doesn't mean they are healthy either, even though they're outward appearance shows muscles bulging from their arms and chests. They may physically have gained muscle mass, but their heart couldn't last a 5 block run without giving out.
2. More people are obese in the US for 2 big reasons: 1. We've created our social infrastructure around cars for transportation instead of walking. It used to be decades ago that everything was mom and pop stores for wahtever you needed, It may not have been right on your corner, but the stores were not too far for walking back and forth to your home. Now, everything has been taken over and consolidated into a Walmart, which is normally too far away to walk to. – 2. Healthy food is more expensive than cheap processed food to buy. Unless you live near a farmers market, there's no way a person/family can afford to buy all of their food from a Wegmans, or wherever thats sells all organic meat, dairy, fish, vegetables, etc. But the food industry is a very powerful conglomerate that markets billions of dollars into what you can and can't eat in this country. So even if you want to eat healthy in America, it's pretty much confined to those that are financially well to do, or live near crops that are grown on a farm.
DS, maybe it's us? I'm also from Philly. Worked at Penn for nearly 20 years. Wasn't until about 2005 that a supermarket appeared on campus (which, as DS knows, is in a very poor neighborhood). Prior to that, the closest true market was in Upper Darby, to which residents would have to bus, el or pony up for a cab. It's very difficult to lug groceries for a family on public transportation, especially if you have little ones you have to cart along with you.
Some people make bad choices, definitely, but many others have no choices. When you have a limited budget and limited access, you feed your children whatever you can afford that fills their bellies.
DS,
People are just lazy and don't exercise. Don't blame it on cars....don't blame it on economics, don't blame it on access to "better" food. America eats like crap and expects some miracle diet to work. If you travel to other countries people are not obese like here. Why is that? Because people are f'ing lazy.
DS is correct, being healthy does not mean that you will or will not be obese. You cannot tell if someone is unhealthy by looking at them. There so many factors that cause weight gain including stress and lack of sleep. If you don't get enough sleep you can screwup your metabolism, that is a fact, you need sleep as much as you need to eat right and exercise. But folks forget about that.
We have created lifestyles that encourage poor health, we live 40 miles away from work to live in "safe" neighborhoods and have to commute an hour everyday. You get up at 7 to get to work @8:30 then work until 6 and get home by 7, so the temptation is too eat whatever is the quickest. Our food industry has not helped by putting sodium and sugars in everything that we eat either. Why does Kelloggs Raisin Bran have 250 mg of sodium? folks eat that everyday because they think it's healthy.
For a couple of years I was among the fittest at my duty station, scoring 90 and above on my PT (Air Force). A few months back, I was diagnosed with a medical condition and the medication they put me on caused me to gain 50lbs in a matter of two months, but they refuse to take me off of it. I work out for two hours five days a week, run with my dog on my off days, eat healthy... I have been told I don't eat enough by our resident fitness specialist, even. What am I to do?
My point here is it's not the person's fault 100% of the time. I'm desperately hoping to get this weight off, but am exhausting my efforts and no amount of dieting or fitness seems to be helping. The medical folks have told me I'll be on lithium for life... That said, with the lithium I have to be extra careful when I am working out because I can easily get dehydrated and get lithium toxicity, which can leave a person paralyzed or dead. And, it can cause thyroid issues, as well.
I've become pretty bitter toward those who are overweight just because they sit around and stuff their faces because at this rate THEY have a better chance of losing weight faster than I do! Oh, the irony of it all...
Take a look at the Atkins "diet"–references to it are all over the web. It works for me.
The problem is that society has made it seem that being fat is ok now. You can't tell a person that they're fat or they get insulted, they make certain dept. stores that used to be for petite women are now being made for plus size girls, Bun-less sandwiches, etc.... c'mon
Fat people are disgusting.
And you are stupid.
And so are you. LOL
Doctors need to stop using the word obese to be PC.
Its medical nature makes it impersonal, implies victimhood and removes all fault from the fat person. It gives the fat person the idea that it's a medical condition out of their control, only curable by a pill or operation.
The food industry needs regulating. The junk we eat is literally killing us. GM foods need labelling and most corn derivitives, preservatives and colors need to be completely banned.
School meals need to be overhauled and subsidized if necessary. We can ensure future generations get the right start in life. Kids should be taught home economics. Practical lessons in cooking, diet & nutrition are sadly needed.
Well..guess what? For some people it's not their own fault. Obese is a proper term. However, I do agree with you regarding school...and would like to add not only do the meals needs to be overhauled, schools need to do away with "candy" prizes for things. I make my kids' lunch on most days (why pay for lunch when I know what they will be eating when I make it?) but let them have a school lunch a couple of times a month. But thing that appalls me is the amount of CANDY they bring home. Schools need to stop giving out candy as rewards.
So long as the country continues to adhere to the fiction that weight gain, or the lack of weight loss, is related only to the consumption of fat and calories, people are going to go on getting fatter. Dr Atkins was right.
BRB. BOWFLEXING.
The problem with the CDC is tha tthey use BMI to measure Obesity. BMI is no where NEAR accurate. I am at 16% body fat and because I have more muscle I still weigh 220 pounds. The CDC says that because I am weighing in at 220 that I am Obese yet 16% body fat fully falls within the Athletic catagory. I think they need to get up to date with the times. There are a LOT of heavier people in this country, but not all of it is because of being fat.
I agree. The BMI calculator reckons it's acceptable for a 5'8 man to weigh 130lbs. I'd be checking for tumors at that weight.
Alan-"The problem with the CDC is tha tthey use BMI to measure Obesity. BMI is no where NEAR accurate. I am at 16% body fat and because I have more muscle I still weigh 220 pounds. The CDC says that because I am weighing in at 220 that I am Obese yet 16% body fat fully falls within the Athletic catagory. I think they need to get up to date with the times. There are a LOT of heavier people in this country, but not all of it is because of being fat."-I agree, the BMI is as F.O.S. as most laypeople are when it comes to fitness, when I was 30 years old, I was 210 with a 51" chest and 36" waist on a 5'-7" frame, yet I could run uphill all day and if I didn't tread water in a pool, I would sink like a stone, yet one dumb*ssed doctor actually said I was 'overweight' and wanted to put me on a low-calorie diet and pills that would've killed me, I actually overheard a P.E. teacher tell a student that people like me had artificial bodies because we all took pills and shots to get as thick as we were!! To this day, even though I am now truly overweight, folks that don't know me can't possibly believe how much I weigh when they find out, it gets annoying.
maybe the govt. should look at the food industry in this country...when it is considerably cheaper to feed a family on McDonalds than to buy fresh foods, this is the result. At least where I live it is almost impossible to get around without a car. You could bike to work, but you would be risking your life competing with the cars. We need more bike paths in our towns. I just visited Munich and they have lanes throughout the city just for bikes that are not on the roads, so it is much safer.
I blame this on our selves. Children especially have become lazy. We hardly see adolescents riding their bicycles or playing out in the park. We are glued to the latest technologies and watch non-stop television while eating bon bons. They are putting themselves at risk at an early age for cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Adults, childcare providers, or even close peers of the same age need to encourage them to do some sort of physical activity before it becomes to late. Warn them the consequences, because no children want to develop type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease at a young age.
If its not only the child who is obese, but the whole family. We need an intervention. Everyone needs to be involved in some sort of activity that will motivate everyone to be healthy and stay healthy. There are MANY activities that the whole family can get involved with such as kick boxing or even Zumba. Better now than face the consequences later
Every Fatty McButterpants has an excuse. All they care about is un-hinging their jaw and walking up to the buffet. There is no thinking about what is in the food, how little calories they actually need, and what the long-term consequense are for what they are eating. Pure gluttony and selfishness. Welcome to the ME decade. Oh, and stop telling me you are big-boned because I have never seen a fat skeleton.
Why are the churches so silent on this issue? Isn't gluttony one of the seven deadly sins?
I think a lot of people are making valid arguments of some of the causes of obesity (additives to food, cheap and easy fast food, larger portion sizes, increased sedintary lifestyle, etc.). However, I think that everyone is overlooking another contributing factor – increased consumption requiring both spouses to work and the rising divorce rate. For the first, in order to afford a larger house, an extra car, cable, highspeed internet, etc, many couples have to work. There is no longer someone at home cooking fresh and healthy food. As to the second, the rising divorce rate also contributes. A single mother (or father) has to work her butt off to take care of her children. After working eight hours a day as well as taking care of the children, there is little time left in the day to cook healthy meals at home. Fast food on the other hand, is cheap and convenient. Now add in contributing factors such as a sedintary lifestyle (more t.v., movies, video games, desk jobs where one sits eight hours a day like mine), increased portion sizes, etc, and viola! a morbidly obese society. That's my theory anyways...Have a good day.
As a side note, my mother was a stay at home mom. My father worked and we lived within our means. Smaller house, one used car, eating out for special occassions only. My mother shopped every other day and would walk to the store with my brother and me (a two mile round trip). Combined with youth sports and having our tv/video game time limited (forcing us to actually go outside and play), my parents managed to raise two healthy, thin, and fit men.
When will insurance companies start charging higher premiums for those that cost more to insure? There's no reason for the healthy to subsidize those who can't take care of themselves.
Take it form an Obese person, who has alway been obese and in my elder years has become morbidly obese, truth be told it is laziness, I have made no conscience effort to control my weight until now that I'm older and don't want my feet cut off, Our sedentary lifestyles ARE the issue. A DR. Explained to me that our bodies are pre-progammed to store fat through evolution because when we had to hunt for our food, our bodies immediately store fat to conservere energy, because you may not eat againn soon, if you really think about it, Fat is just unused energy, that's all, so if you have a high fat diet, with lots of sugar and you dont exercise to burn off at least some of it you'll just get fatter, I do agree we need healthier lifestyles, now with that said, people complaining about insurance rates and such, get a clue insurance rates will be whatever the insurance companies want them to be, if everyone WAS healthy Insurance companies would loose so much money, becasue no one would need to go to the Dr as much, aside form a checkup here and there, the truth is we need healthier lifestyles, Physical activity, and education on health, not apathy. Like one guy said get off your butt walk up the stairs, and don't take the elevator, get a burger but leave the fries, walk to the mail box, (Ive seen people drive to it) Walk during breaks at work, It starts with baby steps.
If walking was viable to many people, I'm sure they would do it. For instance, where I live everything is hills, I still have gigantic tree-trunk muscle legs from walking it as a kid and I haven't done it in 4+ years now. I would love to bike to work, but when you have to push your bike up a 45 degree incline every half mile because you aren't Lance Armstrong, it's not very convenient. Additionally, roadways around here are not very accessible to anything but vehicles. Most main roads don't have sidewalks and have big signs declaring "Motor Vehicles Only: Pedestrians Prohibited". You have to be in one of the big student population areas to have bike lanes, sidewalks, trails, and other accomodations that make it practical. As bad as it may sound, people just won't stray from the easy way. If there was an easily accessible and safe way to get places in something other than a car, you would see much more foot / bike traffic.
@Brian
Infrastructure is a huge issue. I grew up in the inner city (when it was a nice place to live) and all the kids on the block walked to school in the morning, home for lunch, back to school and home again. We were tapped several times a day by our own parents and elderly neighbors to run to the store for this or that. We walked to friends' houses, the local pool, shopping areas.
Now I live in the suburbs and the kids walk nowhere. My particular neighborhood has a nice walking trail but it doesn't go anywhere. I can't send them out for milk, or to walk to a friend's house. Most of our roads don't even have a decent shoulder let alone a sidewalk. I've moved the majority of my cardio workouts inside because it's too hot to run during the day and too dangerous at night. I've had to jump into ditches to avoid drivers not paying attention and had a friend literally run off the road on her bike (she broke her arm and several ribs; the guy never stopped).
I would love to walk everywhere; I enjoy the exercise aspect of walking when it's functional and I'm actually going somewhere. I doesn't even bother me that the post office is two miles away; if my exercise for that day is walking the four miles, I'm happy to have it, but in reality, in many areas it's just downright dangerous.
In the time you took to write that you could have exercised for 5 minutes.
Chris, if you're talking to me, you're blowing smoke. I'm a personal trainer and group ex instructor. I'm also 40, have four children and I'm a size 4. I work out every day. I'm in great shape, but I'm also educated enough in my field to know the obstacles people face and that there are no simple answers.
As a species we're not meant to sit around on our butts. We're programmed to be physically active, and when you're not then you begin having health problems. I often hear people say (lie) that they're happy with being obese. I find that hard to believe as they gasp for air and sweat while talking, taking up two seats on the plane, while stuffing their face with fast food. Come on people, use a little common sense and eat crap in moderation and get a little exercise!!! Try it...you might like it!
Silly me, but I believe that, excepting the gross minority (well under 1%) of individuals with legitimate health issues which case the maintenance and/or gain of excessive weight, we have become a nation of weak-kneed, fat sissies. We blame society for our being overwight, and we blame the marketers for our childrens' weight issues.
Wake up. The onus is on the individual and the parent. The responsibility lies with us, not with some Big Brother medicinal attempt to keep Diabetes in line. How about the novel idea of preventing Diabetes? The marketers have even developed an entire industry for diabetics, once a minority and now growing at rampant rates, to enjoy sweets. Why don't they spend their research dollars on prevention? Because there is no money in prevention.
I have spent the last 10 years either watching what I eat or exercising, but never both in unison. I sat idle, overwieght by a cushy 35 pounds. As a 4-year USMC veteran, I should have known better.
In one year alone I have lost 16 pounds, and I am on target to reach 185, the weight at which my doctor wants me, by December 23. No excuses, no BS.
Change up your routine to prevent muscle memory, watch what you eat and exercise. Eat less than you burn and you will lose weight consistently and healthfully. Forget the Master Cleanse nonsense, Adkins Diet Death trap or any other 'diet' that purports the quick fix.
Do it the way normal people have always done so.
I use caloriecount.about.com which is free and puts mypyramid to shame. I don't like counting calories, but this database has an unreal ability to quantify all of your nutritional intake versus physical activity to keep you on track.
No excuses; no BS.
Is this really a surprise? Diet and exercise are the only sure ways to not just lose weight, but keep it off
And while everyone knows this, no one really does it! Even me, I'm overweight and work in an office, but I make time after work to exercise and I've stopped being a drive-thru regular. In just the last month I've lost ten pounds, and that has me excited for the months ahead. I know that what works for me won't work for everyone, but the statement "you only get out of life what you put into it" is true – put in grease + lazy and you'll get heavier, excluding any special conditions.
four words: high fructose corn syrup. look it up; it's in everything in the U.S. now. Our food is poison today. You won't find our diet shared anywhere else in the world either; that's why this is not a big problem in Asia.. and even in Europe.
I used to be really fit when I had more time, before a wife, three kids and a boss who thinks that I'm his personal property. Ten years later I look in the mirror after a shower and get really pissed. Next yo-yo that comments about my weight I swear I'm gonna ram my ex-400 lb. benchpress elbow in his face and fracture one of his eye sockets...
One of the big problems that may not have been addressed already is that healthy or fresh food is more expensive. Possible breaks in prices could help some of those "food stamp" people afford to lead healthier lives.
I agree. Walk through an organic market and grab a few items and the price will surprise many. It is the same as people who spend $250 a month on their cell phone so they can have unlimited texting, and spend $50 a month so their brat can sit and play XBOX online, and these people complain that "times is so tough". Stupid.
I am not fat, greasy and overweight. I am sick of all of the excuses that obese people make. I do NOT eat processed food. They don't have to either.
I walk whenever it is practical to walk. I take moderate exercise. They could too. If commonsense will not help them, then perhaps making them pay for the extra services they require will. Double charge them for public transport if their azz goes over the seat boundary. Quadruple the tax on high sugar items.
Ha! and stop prescribing hoverround chairs to people. The day people start using those is the day they will never see their wanker again.
Make gym memberships tax deductable. People will sign up to gyms just for that, and then during the course of the year they will end up going to the gym just to get their money's worth. If nothing else gets me to the gym, its the idea that I wan't to put my $50 a month to good use!
True. but we can't all afford gym memberships. lol For me I usually go for a jog arond my neighborhood. Or go cycling around the park.
It's not as simple as "not stuffing your face" as some of you have put it. Take my example. I became overweight at 32. I ate the same, got the same amount of exercise, but was gaining weight. I still eat 1-2 meals a day. Not big meals. I have no time (nor ever had the desire to work out at a gym). Since I am the sole source of income for a family of 5, we are unable to make healthy choices due to the cost of food. It is EXPENSIVE to eat right, and, unfortunately, I am unable to purchase the foods that I know we should have.
In order to keep my kids fed, I must buy starches, carbs and various other fillers to make the small amount of meat and veggies I can buy stretch. And forget about fruit. They say 5 servings of fruit a day per person. At 90 cents per orange(for example) is 4.50 per person or 22.50 per day for 5 people or 675 dollars per month just for fruit. Our entire food budget is only 350 per month for a family of 5. The financial strain is one of the real culprits. And have any of you been to a farmer's market these days? Their prices are as bad as my grocery store!
Dude, when you hit your 30's your metabolism slows. To quote Ron Burgundy....ITS SCIENCE! You have to adapt. Also, eating 1-2 meals a day makes it worse as your metabolism slows even more. Eat 3-5 small meals a day so you don't gorge yourself 1-2 times. I know food cost money but saying because you can't provide 5 servings of fruit to your family a day you are just going to say F it? 1-2 servings would be worlds better than none! Education is the biggest problem here. People are just not smart enough to know better.
Also, grow a garden! That's cheap.
so you are saying that the only way you can survive is to knowingly poison your body?
scott- Normally, i'd be the first throwing stones at you, but you do make a good point that i don't think a lot of people realize. Healthy good food costs a lot. I eat fresh, organic, local (when possible), fresh fish from the monger, etc. I pay a fortune in groceries for just my husband and I on a weekly basis! You would cry at the amount! But we are blessed to be able to afford it and we're both very slim and in great health.
BUT- When we were young, just starting out and scraping just to pay the rent, we ate pasta, ramen noodles, and whatever we could afford (which wasn't much). But NONE of it was healthy.
Scott- hang in there and don't let anyone give you cr@p for doing what you must to care for your family. Good luck.
Chris, growing a garden is inpractical in some areas because of Short growing seasons and if you live in New Jersey, your water billing rates are very high. And you have to deal with pests (rabbits, squirells, gohpers, insects).
Scott, here's a solution for you, try to pruchase your fruit from farmers markets and purchase frozen veggies. Frozen veggies are not prohibitally expensive and have the same amount of nutrients as do fresh veggies. You get frozen veggies for less than $2 in most supermarkets for about 20 ozs or so. So you would be still getting your recommended amount of fruits and veggies without breaking the bank. You could also purchase dried fruits like prunes, raisins, and also get unsweetened Natural applesauce which is simular to eating an apple. Stay away from OJ because it lack the fiber of oranges because the pulp is filtered out and has almost the same amount of sugar as a soda.
I am a single income provider for a family of 6, so I feel your pain. However, we eat well. Brown rice is not expensive, Wheatberries are not expensive and other whole grains are not expensive. When they take the place of a part of the protein, you will find that it is quite affordable.
We don't subscribe to the Organic nonsense, since few foods truly are anymore. Just balance your meals and they will fit your wallet...it just takes a learning curve. Is your family worth the self-study?
Study the Mediterranean diet. Smaller meat portions, higher grain and produce intake and significantly lowere mortality rates from food related illness.
Sounds good to me, and you can do it brother!
Count daily calories intake is the key, whatever you eat. If you set a goal for yourself: eat at most 1200 calories a day, you won't gain a pound.
I haven't even seen anyone post about fatties on planes, in theaters, etc. You fat people think you deserve a seat that fits your fat arses and it should be exactly the opposite. Stop making the rest of the people around you uncomfortable with your body odor and inability to fit in a chair. If I couldn't fit in a chair ONE time I'd go home and do something about it. i guess the embarrassment is outweighed by the desire to eat more fries....nom nom nom. IMO fat people should pay more for plane tickets, movie tickets and should be put in their own section.
Chris, were you neglected as a child? My God you have so much hatred in you. We should never include all fat people as having the same problem. True, the majority have little or no will power, but there are those who have medical issues that prevent them from losing weight. Thankfully, I have never had a problem, but I grew up to try to understand what that person may be going thru and not to judge them. You should try it sometime. BTW, I love your ignorance. All fat people smell. LOL You are priceless.
Nope I think that Chris is one of those people who have never been overweight or someone who recently lost a lot of weight and wants to condeem everyone who can't do what he does. I used to be like that, when I lost my weight and went fromm 335 to 215 I used think that if I can do it anyone can. When I saw people struggle with their weight and eat unhealthy food, I would always be in their face about what they were eating and beating my chest for doing things the right way. One day my wife pulled me aside and explained to me that I was not helping the situation but hurting the situation and folks were tuning me out. I now only offer small advice to people and whenever I get the chance I bring a healthy item to any outing or get together at a person's home. I always assume that no one thinks to bring veggies or fruit to a barberque, so I bring them because if given the opprontunity folks will eat them. I try to uplift folks now and work my hardest to not destroy them.
Chris is just malcontent. He doesn't seem to have a happy bone in his body and the only thing he can do is whine and complain. I would normally not say this because it truly is harsh, but it sure would be an eye opener for him if something were to change and all of a sudden he gained weight and couldn't take it off. Self-righteous people such as he are just pathetic.
Well. Some people aren't born as fit and healthy as you Chris.
It also has to do with their genetic and lifestyle. I'm sure they aren't that bad once you get to know them.
"One of the big problems that may not have been addressed already is that healthy or fresh food is more expensive."
As someone who recently lost 40 pounds (and removed herself from the obesity statistic), I assert that this is a handy excuse, but it's not entirely accurate. In the beginning, certainly, healthy and fresh foods seem more expensive. But as you go on, you eat less - smaller portions per meal, smaller quantity of food overall - and your food costs actually go down. (Plus, "whole foods" fill you better and fuel you better. All that inexpensive, processed food fills your belly, but it doesn't provide lasting sustenance, which then just sends you running back for more within a very short amount of time.) That's been my observation, anyway. People need to just shift their perspective a bit.
Right on Nifty!
That was my point higher up. Healthy foods saves money in the long run, but we are just such a quick fix society that we fail to keep our eyes on the prize.
Preach it!
Knowledge is the one weapon that the food marketers don't want us to possess!
I think you are right. I was in France last month, you could see Americans a mile away, they were the fat ones, fat kids, fat parents. Meanwhile the beautiful French women, well dressed, lots of bling, nice shoes and bags...riding a bike like it was the most natural thing in the world, in downtown Paris. No excuses there.
I simply do not accept this lame excuse that healthy food is too expensive to buy. If you live in a rural area, then grow your own food. If you have a backyard,the grow your own food, if you live in a big city tell me one where you cannot buy reasonably priced healthy food by getting off your azz, riding your bike (thats free) and buying it.
Wow. Reading these posts makes me think of an earlier America. When the bigger problem was alcoholism. And when people said it too was a self-control issue. And made fun of drunks. And told them to just stop drinking and stop being loosers. And the government tried to ban alcohol. And then found out government regulations to "just say no" didn't stop drinking behavior, only the realization of tax dollars. And the medical community stood mute. And it took a guy name Bill to provide some type of solution to a problem people saw as a joke, even ridiculing those in recovery. And it took until 1957 for the medical community to class alcoholism as a disease. And it took another 20 years for Americans to actually believe that it was a disease.
A disease involving addiction and biochemical reactions to a substance you ingest orally that, taken in excess, drove bad behavior, further abuse and endangered health.
And image. Alcohol is a substance not required for life. Imagine having to drink three times a day if you were a recovering alcoholic.
Seems to me the issues, arguments, criticisms, judgments, and human suffering are similar. The treatment to obesity should be holistic – medical, social, individual and cultural.
Or, we can all keep pretending obesity is not really a disease. And just kick the next alcoholic we see passed out in the street for being a self-indulgent, lazy whiner.
The increase in the obesity rate in the U.S. is due to the fact that the average person wants everything to be easy and quick. Why should they have to wait for something? There are so many conveniences and all kinds of food available that can be popped in the microwave or purchased at a fast food chain; why should they take the time to fix a good meal? Rather than eat a balanced diet of protein, fruits and vegetables, they choose to load up on carbs, sweets, and fats. And don't expect them to exert themselves physically...they don't get off the couch, they don't take the time to get up earlier or change their habits to fit in more physical exercise in their daily lives...take the stairs, park further away, etc. Losing weight and maintaining a good weight takes a tremendous amount of effort. It is NOT easy for most people. It's time for people to take responsibility for their own actions and stop blaming their excess pounds on someone else. Every person has it in their control to make the right kind of changes to get healthy. There are no shortcuts, no magic pills to make it happen. That's the bottom line. Each and everyone one of us has a choice.
It's not as simple as you put it, folks eat these things because of their lifestyles, you live 40 miles away from work and have deal with practices and daycare because you want to live in a nice neighborhood that is safe, when you get home from being out 9-10 hours a day, the last thing that people think of is eating a healthy meal and exercising. So folks usually eat whatever is quick and forgo getting proper excerise and rest. WE have created this amtosphere everything being on demand and this is what is killing us.
There is no simple answer here. To CB's point, there are "obese" people who live healthy lifestyles, but have a medical condition or a natural tendency to remain heavier than the expected norm. I happen to know some of these people. That being said, for many obesity is a symptom of poor lifestyle choices. I think why those choices are made is specific to the person and there is no single sweeping solution to the obesity epidemic. Obviously using more energy than what you take in will result in weight loss. I don't think anyone will disagree with that. However, why someone takes in more than they need can have many reasons and those are the things that need to be addressed. One of those reasons maybe that processed foods and foods from chain places (fast food or sit down) are engineered to create cravings. Read The End of Overeating by David Kessler, a former FDA commissioner. The fact is there is a food industry that is dependent on a population that wants more and more of their product. Returning to a simpler way of eating and simply moving more has helped my husband and I end our struggles with weight and improve our overall health. I'd recommend that as a first step for just about anyone.
It is hard to lose weight once you put it on. For most peope, diets usually work only if you pay someone to help you. A free weight loss tracking website is sparkpeople.com. You can monitor your calories as well as your fitness.
Also, what the CDC is not pointing out, is that obesity is not the highest death group accord BMI or weight, really the report that CDC did in 2005, shows that the underweight group has the highest death rate of any grouping. This is because being underweight is significant sign of malnutrition. Lets stop jumping about obesity, obesity can be an indicator of bad health, however, there are many slim people who die from heart attacks, cancer, and so on. The reason is that some people have high metabolisms but that does not mean that they are healthy inside.
Eat right
Excersize
Sleep
the magic formula for good health. If you are doing these things you should not have anything to worry about.
You are right. But we are talking about the U.S.A here. And the number one epidemic facing our country is not "malnutrition" but "obesity" and "cardiovescular diseases" But yes you are right being too thin is not healthy either (trust me) I've seen some stick figures in my day. lol
What aggravates me the most about the fat and obese is that they can get DISABILITY, while others who REALLY need it cannot. I have multiple health problems, including some that people are getting disabilty for; yet since I have to work full-time to pay bills, no matter HOW BAD I feel or hurt, I am not able to get it. One of my doctors, who supports me getting it, said that I would be looked at as "too highly functional." Being a former fatty myself, I do NOT want to return to that just to get money(former size 18, now a 10) . One of the main cures for obesity is not eating as though you were in a race: slow down.
In ref to one that talked about the food stamp recipients not buying the right foods, I've seen that also. I've seen a combination of good and bad, and yes, they are eating better than my husband and myself because of we hard-working tax payers paying for it. For example, at the WalMart in the city where I live, a couple–looking PERFECTLY capable of working and making enough money to eat, the women pulls out the EBT card to pay for it. The guy that was with her, not her husband, knew what gravy train to ride: hers, with all the food stamp money. The cart was full of a variety of goodies.
So America, we are NOT STARVING. Our children do not play anymore, food is around every corner, and convience foods fill our freezers and pantries. We adults do not know what our own backyards look like because we are inside all of the time.
Our ancestors ate big meals made from scratch but got out and worked it off; that was the way to do it. My mother is a great example, living to 91 so far and worked inside and out since she was a small child. Wonder if ANY child could go and help anyone slaughter a hog, like my mother helped her father and brothers,so that the meat could be put in a smokehouse to have all winter long? I think not.
To Harry (NJ): I understand what you are saying however, I, too, had an hour and a half commute to and from work everyday and worked a 9 hour day, 5 days a week. By the time I got home, I was tired and didn't feel like cooking or exercising either. As a result, my weight started creeping up and before I knew it, I'd gained 20 pounds! I guess I could have pushed myself more to change some of my habits but at the time, it was easier to just eat whatever was around that was quick. I finally got fed up feeling tired and fat and have changed my tune and habits and am losing weight now. Again, this is a personal choice and that's what it all boils down to. We must stop making excuses.
Listen, I am not making excuses, it's just like everything else in life you have to reach a breaking point. By shooting up and down like (chris) about how lazy people are does not help anyone. I reached mine a while ago when I was 335, I cheated alot, by starving myself some days and working out like a maniac on others. But I did lose weight, but I did not have a healthy relationship with food. Insted I feared food and made everyone around me feel uncomfortable but barating them about their weight and thier habits. One day I had my wife pull me aside an show me what I was doing. Ever since then I have humbled myself and decided not to be harsh but instead to help.
People- Does anyone realize how much more expensive it is to eat healthy than it is to eat crappy processed foods? There is also a lack of availability of fresh produce in many inner cities. It's not surprising to me that the obesity rate has risen as the economy has tanked. Let's not blame everything on laziness...that's just not fair. Sure, everyone needs to take responsibility for what they eat and how active they are but when you are strugging to feed your kids, you do what you have to do.
PUT DOWN THE FORKS
For any parents out there: ENROLL YOUR KIDS IN SPORTS at an early age. Make sports and physical activity constant fixtures in their young lives. Not only do sports teach kids invaluable teamwork and social skills translatable to the workplace, but sports also accomodates them to routine physical activity which they will carry with them as they grow older. As a kid I played competitive sports 4 years of age (soccer, basketball, football, cross-country) through my junior year in college. Now as a young adult, although I don't play any organized sports anymore save the occasional indoor-soccer season, I feel an incessant urge to get at least 1-1.5 hours of physical activity a day if not more, even though I work a full-time job. If I don't, my body and my mind just feel like absolute crap. I may be an exorbitant case, but I attribute my healthy habits to the fact that I was raised in a home that championed physical activity.
If everyone in US become a vegetarian, stop drinking any soda/pop and cut 90% sugar and sodium daily intake, you would see obesity level drop 90%. It's about calories and what you eat. You'd never get fat if you don't consume more than 1200 calories a day.
I know a lot of fat vegetarians...
So do I. When I was in the Marines, the vegetarian in our unit was tubby and eventually was kicked out for his weight. It's not about meat v. veggies. It's about moderation and control, but that's tough for an awful lot of peeps.
It won't work! They' will lack many other nutrients that their body needs to function. like Calcum, Iron, Protein, Zinc, B-12, and a whole list of other stuff.
People and the authorities need to realize that until we cut out the carbohydrates we love, or most of them, we will get fatter. Unless you burn all the carbs you take in, you will store them as fat. 200 mg per day is too much for a recommended daily allowance. Read Dr. Walt Willett. Potatoes equal sugar. Pop, chips, crackers, bread equals sugar. Be active, but remember when you look at fat people: they were following the low fat recommendations which are not based on science. They ate crackers instead of cheese, their blood sugar rose and fell, and they were hungry so they ate more, didn't burn it off, and got fatter. Also it takes 10 hours at a very high level of activity to burn one pound of fat. A diet of non-starchy vegetables, low sugar fruits (berries), proteins and a very small carb intake will help you burn fat, lower your triglycerides, raise your HDL, lower your sodium and blood pressure and reduce the inflammation in your body that causes cancer. That's all folks.
"people will get sick and die from the complications of obesity"
What's the problem with this? Our planet's resources are already being heavily taxed and the population is exploding. In a short time, the Earth's resources will run out and we'll all die of starvation. Disease is one of the ways nature keeps the population levels in check. I believe it's done for a good reason.
"the report also explored the costs associated with obesity and related conditions." Again. what's the problem? Think about it. If these obese people (of which I am one) pass on, they won't need expensive health care. We won't need to collect all of that social security money from the system we've paid into all our lives. We won't need our families to provide thousands of dollars a month for years for assisted living and nursing homes. Why does no one ever take all of these 'saved' monies into account? I'd be willing to bet that if it were all added up, you'd be encouraging people to be obese! (LOL)
I can appreciate making the education available. I am tired of trying and trying to lose weight. Now, I just enjoy my life. If I lose weight, fine. If I don't, fine. Taking this no stress approach has lowered my blood pressure and has provided other 'healthful' benefits.
Just back off, people. I don't tell you how to live your lives. And there are plenty of "thin, in shape" people with expensive health problems too. I saw a perfectly healthy guy, who worked out, ran everyday and was the 'prestine' image of a male specimen croak from a heart attack. I've seen it more than once. Yet, my fat old self is still chugging along.
I don't want to get old. I deal with old, terminally ill patients every week! How come no one is out there saying that 'they' cost a lot of money and that education should be given to teach them to not get old? It's going to happen! Pay me now or pay me later. Either way, we're all going to cost society money. That's why we work all our lives.
Make exercising a part of your day. If you have to run an errand and it's withing a mile of home, walk. Park your car far away from the store not only will it make you walk but there is less of a chance of your car being dinged. Elevator or stairs? If it's 3 floors or under take the stairs. If you have dogs take them for a long walk daily. Not only is it good for you but also makes for a happy dog. By the way, a good walk is not just down to the end of the block and back. Try walking briskly for at least twenty minutes to get your heart rate up.
Exercise could never cancel the effects of the bad eating habits here in America. People are eating diets of 5000+ calories a day. And the more they eat badly, the less they will be able to exercise because of poor health.
They first need to start making realistic food choices. Instead of french fries, pick fresh cherries or fruit. Instead of fat filled meat and cheese dinners, try a vegetarian meal once or twice a week.
"Fat dumb and stupid is no way to go thru life"
Lots of excuses on here about lack of time or money to live a healthy lifestyle. If you feel you "don't have time" or "don't have money" to work out or eat healthy...
1) Cancel your cable service. You don't need cable, and it's costing you anywhere from $50-200 depending on your location and service package. It costs less to cook at home anyway, but this will ensure you have plenty of funds to buy healthy foods, join a gym, put the kiddies in team sports, take ballroom dance lessons, start your own garden, whatever it is you need to do. AND you'll be wasting fewer hours in front of the tube, so you'll have plenty of time to pursue healthy hobbies.
2) Prioritize. Sit down and make a list of all your expenses, obligations and daily tasks. I've been there with the 18-hour workdays and multiple responsibilities too. You HAVE time to work out and/or eat healthy, you just need to find it. If you have to get up at 4:30am to run or go to the gym, so be it. If you've got a free 2-hours on Sunday evening, make all your lunches for the week. If you've got 20 minutes of down-time at work, jot down a grocery list. The time is there...what you CHOOSE to do with that time is up to you.
3) Be accountable. Whatever your obstacles to healthy living are, identify them and troubleshoot a solution. There ARE answers and solutions to every problem, but you have to be willing to find the answers and put in the effort to change.