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May 7th, 2012
12:22 PM ET
42% of nation to be obese by 2030, study predictsAfter years of rising obesity rates in the United States, recent statistics show the rates may have steadied. But that may not be enough, according to a new report released on Monday - it estimates about 42% of the U.S. population will be obese by 2030. The report suggests an additional 30 million Americans will be obese in 18 years. This would cost an additional $549.5 billion on medical expenditures, according to the report in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. “If you could keep the obesity rates at today’s level, you would save $550 billion,” said Eric Finkelstein, lead author of the report. About 35% of U.S. adults are obese today, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Finkelstein and co-authors estimate that 11% of the population will be severely obese by 2030. Severe obesity is defined as a body mass index over 40 or being roughly 100 pounds overweight. Obese people have shorter life expectancies and greater lifetime medical costs, “suggesting that future healthcare costs may continue to increase even if obesity prevalence levels off,” wrote the authors. “Those individuals have much greater risk of early mortality, diabetes, heart disease,” said Finkelstein. “They’re much, much more expensive and they’re on the rise, partly because 50 years ago, it was really, really hard to weigh that much. You’d have to eat all the time.” But modern convenience has made an abundance of cheap and easy calories available, he added. The authors calculated the future obesity and severe obesity prevalence based on population factors such as gender, age, race, ethnicity, employment data and recent trends. Prior estimates assumed the level of obesity would continue unabated. “We thought those estimates were too high,” said Finkelstein, health economist at Duke Global Health Institute. “A better way would be to look at underlying factors of obesity like fast food prices, price of alcohol, internet access, changing demographics.” They also looked at variables such as the cost of healthy food, grocery prices, the number of fast food restaurants and annual household income. The projections were based on data from a 2008 study of adults. It did not include children - where one out of three is overweight or obese. “We just looked at adults,” said Finkelstein. “The reality is obese kids almost certainly become obese adults. Our estimates may be conservative.” “We’re almost surely wrong in our forecast,” he added. “That’s the thing about forecasts - they are guesses. This is our best guess. The world changes, if new drugs or technology comes out, if the government comes out and makes major changes, lots could happen. If in fact we’re wrong and obesity rates are less, I’d be happy.” Anti-obesity efforts such as recreational facilities, better urban design, work site health promotion, new drugs and technologies could help, wrote the authors.
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Disgusting. A nation of fat pigs.
Congrats, you have a 42% chance of being one of those fat pigs.
I mean seriously...what other mammal on earth eats and eats and eats until it becomes dangerously, morbidly obese? haha...our country is so F'in ugly. I mean think about it, 1 in 4 are fat, 1 in 20 – 30 are good looking at all, our country is brutal. We put people like Rosie O and that fat comedian lisa lampanelli on TV. They probably have to use a wide angle lens for both of them.
Considering it's 42% of the people, and that's BY 2030, I'd say the majority of people, especially now, are not obese, so it's only a nation of partial fatties.
Anyway, there are fat people the world over. It seems like most of the people in almost every nation (that has much food) have as many fat people. No pride or reason to be elitist about the citizens of a country being better than another, they all have the same problems for the most part, especially obesity.
Dale, that's not how statistics work. If a group has a 42% chance of being obese, it doesn't mean that each individual in the group has a 42% chance of being obese. What you're doing is just like the old joke about saying that the average family has 2.5 kids, and then expecting individual families to actually have 2.5 kids.
yeast infections (probably from antibiotics), corn and corn derivatives. they are just making us sick with allergies and infections. “biodegradable packaging” is a tip-off for what is most likely, corn. i can't even buy vitamin c that isn't corn. its not on the label. you have to get sick first to find out what's in it.
Well said LOL
According to bmi im obese. Im 6ft tall weigh 210lbs. I have maybe 5 extra lbs on my stomach, but im obese? These "numbers dont take weight from muscle into account. according to the "numbers" at 6ft tall i should only weigh 165-175lbs. At 165 id be skin and bone very little muscle. I think if they used a reasonable set of criteria the numbers wouldnt be so bad, theyd still be horiibly high but not 42%
@Larry – You just described Andre Ward, the current WBC Super Middleweight champion. I think he would argue with you that he was "skin and bone and very little muscle". He is 6'0" and fights at 168.
Regardless, I was just making a point. Who cares what the label calls you. If you are in shape, you are and you know it. If you are the ideal BMI, but get winded running a flight of stairs, then what is the point? Eat well, sweat more. Improve daily. There ya go!
Oh come on. You cant predict weight gain of a population 18 years ahead. Thats just absurd.
It's called trend analysis. There's plenty of data to make such predictions.
yes, actually you can. You just aren't smart enough to understand statistics, progression graphs and data trending.
I was recently looking at some charts that showed the obesity rates in the states with the highest rates in 1985 were lower than the states with the lowest rates in 2010. In just 25 years!
It's not the people, its the food... The food has been modified to kill the people... Since the birth of Monsanto the American people have grown 5x's the rate as people of 2 decades ago... But that aside there is nothing funnier than seeing a whole family full of Fatsos...lol
it's not the people. it's the food. stop eating take out everyday lazy people
Oh come on you can't blame the food, blame the people who eat more than they need. If someone eats more fatty foods than they need, of course they are going to get fat! Why blame the fatty foods for doing what they are supposed to do?
How about accepting responsibility for what you put in your pie hole! Stop ordering a number 4 super sized with a diet coke!
Deluded person. I have never in my life seen a hamburger or any food for that matter, jump up off the plate and force itself down someone's throat. People, stop blaming everything else. When it comes down to the persons choice to be what they are. Not only are we a nation of fatties, but of those who have no clue as to what personal responsibility is. Pffff. >.<
Watch the video 'The future of food, 2007. It is free and it is a mind opener.
How is it the food, when 70% of the people aren't obese currently? I;m pretty sure it's the food some people eat, the amount they eat, their genes, their life style and so on, some combination of those things, depending on the person, rather than the food. Granted, it sucks that the most healthy, natural, best-for-you foods are so much more costly, but there's a lot of people to feed, a lot of greedy corps and a lot of uncaring people.
I just returned to a small rural town in america from several months overseas. I am shocked, because I suddenly noticed 75% of my hometown population in Idaho are fat or even morbidly obese! its crazy the majority of people here are fat! how can this be happenning. people are over fed and lazy! thats why this is happening. america has lost its pride and lost its motivation. if you let your self get fat and you know it took years of sitting, you are to blame.
It's easy ....cut physical education, feed your kids McDonald from birth. Sit in front of a computr screen of so kind all day. Easy to understand why this is happening.
catmando2, to be fair, I bet you anything that you take away computers and fast food burger joints and you'll still see a high amount of obese people. The problem is, there are a lot of people that literally love to eat; they live for eating.
I betcha the fatties in the picture do NOT walk or ride their bicycle to the store, or move away from the TV or the Nintendo much. I have eliminated TV and do 75% of my errands by bicycle. I do no high-fructose corn syrup or microwave (kills nutritional value) food. I don't eat food that has hydrolyzed fats (anything pre-packaged). I have lost 42 lbs since last October. The proof is in the pudding: what the govt and big corporations want you to eat (cheap crap) costs you more in the long run.
I'm 43, I lift 4 days/week in the gym, run or go for walks on the other days. I telecommute a few days a week and use a treadmill desk/walking office at home since my work is computer based. I make healthy choices with what I eat but also enjoy the food in my diet. I stay in shape and healthy because I choose to do so. What I do isn't tough and anyone can do it. You just need to take responsibility for your actions.
I see plenty of obese people walking, you just have to consider how much walking they'd have to do in comparison with how much they eat; it's not all about how active you are. It's funny how people blame TV, video games and fast food. This problem existed before then and would in spite of. The problem is people eating too much. These people live to eat (literally). It's not the sitting, it's that they love food and don't eat to give their body energy and life. Plenty of thin people sit around watching TV and playing video games.
Also, good luck finding too many foods with no high-fructose corn syrup. I try and avoid it, too, but it's in damn near everything. I'd rather it be refined sugar (cane or beet) any day over hfcs being in everything. As for a microwave killing nutritional value or food, that's kind of ridiculous. It definitely is the worst way to cook food for taste reasons, but it doesn't remove nutritional values.
Anyway, it's unfortunate that the good foods are 5 or more times as much cost-wise than the crap they use fillers (gluten, etc) in.
This reply is for TIM. High Fructose Corn Syrup is VERY bad and it's in everything AND it's the cause of obesity as well as many other health problems in this country. Also, sucrose is JUST as bad – so you shouldn't be eating any cane or beet sugar either. There are a number of studies, some of which are not complete, but the research conducted thus far very clearly points to a number of ways in which sucrose, as well as high fructose corn syrup, affect health in a negative way including the obesity epidemic. Watch this 60 Minutes story that aired earlier this year: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B56Gpf1f5_A
I have no problem charging obese people higher health insurance premiums given the massive amount of money it takes to treat obesity-related disease. We live in a society where obesity is a disease at epedemic levels and yet it's 100% curable. Food manufacturers/corporations throw millions of dollars into lobbyists to keep their crap on the shelves and in the restaurants so I wouldn't bank on the government fixing this.
At the end of the day people are responsible for their own actions. If they can't put down the fork or get their butt off the couch then I have no problems with making them pay with their wallets for their gluttony.
Yeah once you start charging people for cigarettes to pay for their cancer treatments, then AFTER that I'd be all for it.
Sorry, but thanks to the wonders of Obamacare, insurance companies aren't allowed to "discriminate" between (notice I didn't say 'against') folks who are healthy/inexpensive and those who are unhealthy (e.g., overweight) and, um, expensive. Ironically, this diminishes the incentive–financial, at least–to stay healthy (e.g., fit). Thus driving costs, um, up. Tell us again, Mr President, how this plan _saves_ us money....???? Oh! Just like college loans! I get it.
In reply to Bart, there should be differentiation between pre-existing conditions. If you were behaving in such a way that was blatantly deleterious to your health, then I'd be all for increasing premiums for those people. The problem is now, that if you have ANY prior history (in my case, childhood asthma, and I'm fairly skinny), they can deny you coverage. We'll go back to having that problem, as the supreme court is looking to shoot down healthcare reform, as always, along party lines.
It's one thing to disapprove of people being overweight, but to ridicule and insult fat people is just horrible. There are a lot of things I don't approve of...any alcohol or drug use, promiscuity, having kids by multiple partners, religion, and tobacco use for starters. I would never go around and show so much hatred towards people who either does or finds comfort in those things. It's not my job to be a moral police.
We are all guilty of lacking self-control at times. We are all guilty of making bad choices at times. I would much rather see someone find comfort in food than alcohol or drugs, at least obesity only harms yourself. Think about how many innocent people die every year from drunk driving. No one starts out to drink and drive, but it happens. Just as no one starts out to be obese. The difference is that drinking is completely within your control while eating is not. You can't become an alcoholic without taking that first drink, but food addiction is different, you have no choice but to eat in order to live, so in that sense it's much easier to become addicted to food.
In a perfect world no one would be obese. Of course in a perfect world we wouldn't have child abuse, addicts, stds, starvation, abortions and so on. The thing is, this isn't a perfect world. We are all human and we all make mistakes and sometimes do the wrong thing. Before bashing overweight people you need to ask yourself if you've ever done anything you knew you shouldn't be doing, I'm sure all of us would say yes because that is what makes us human. The truth is, it's comforting to bash other's to make ourselves feel superior, but the fact remains that we all make poor personal choices at times. Sometimes those choices only hurt ourselves, sometimes they hurt others as well. But I think we are all going through this life doing the best we know how with our current knowledge and situation. Nutrition and healthy eating has always interested me, and I would love for more people to feel that way, but I also know that some people are just not ready for that yet. It's not up to me to judge or tell anyone how they should live. It's also not up to me to make anyone feel worthless because they eat too much, or drink too much, or smoke too much, or whatever. We are all human and all have our own set of battles to deal with. Less judgement and more compassion would go a long way.
I don't care what people choose to find comfort in as long as their choices don't affect others. If someone wants to get fat that's on them but when their medical costs start to drive up the cost of coverage for others simply b/c of their lifestyle choices then I have no sympathy whatsoever. It's no different than when parents have obese children. It's not the child's fault for the decisions their parents make on their behalf. That's abuse no matter how you want to paint it. It's tough enough being a kid but when you're fat it's exponentially worse.
Your analogy makes no sense. There are consequences for drunk driving and for crimes resulting from drunk driving. But people aren't held accountable for being fat and driving up health care costs and medical coverage for everyone else. Obesity may be a "disease" but it's also 100% curable. It's no different than someone who smokes and gets lung cancer. It's your choice and your responsbility, not others.
Michelle, I hear what you're saying, but I lump obesity in with all the other vices you mentioned. The common denominator is that they don't have to happen, but DO happen because of poor choices or weakness on the part of an individual. I run 3-5 miles a day, play tennis 4-5 hours a week and watch what I eat. It's hard work, and I'm as busy as the next person, but I take personal responsibility for my own life and health. If an obese person doesn't even care enough about their own life to take control, and basically puts no effort into weight control, why SHOULD others be compassionate?
If you take more than 30 seconds to type your comment out no one will read it.
get black people to chop wood for their welfare check, use the wood to produce electricity, fund the welfare program with elec sales.
There are a variety of reasons why this is happening. In my opinion, I believe Americans don't know how to eat healthy; I don't think the knowledge exists anymore. If you gave 100 random Americans full reign inside a grocery store, and explained that they should pick out foods to create a balanced, nutritional meal for themselves, I think they would instead purchase their favorite indulgence–what tastes good to them. Most people don't understand which foods are healthy, and which one could lead to heart disease.
and you would head for the liquor store
USA! USA! USA!
B ig
U gly
F at
F olks
E ating
T ogether
Roll out a junk food tax. If Fat Betty and her husband Fat Sam want to gorge on McSlopDonalds, then make them pay for it. In addition, if they want to fatten their children on this garbage tax the potato chips and garbage food as well. Use the tax to supplement the national health care system.
Wait. Why the hell should I pay extra for my Quarter Pounder because of fatties? Just make their medical insurance more expensive. Don't touch my McNuggets!!!
It's all Bushs fault !
I honestly believe one of the main reasons people in general are getting fatter is because for many Americans there aren't enough hours in a day. I know for myself it's a challenge trying to eat healthy because while it's necessary to eat three meals a day, since probably junior high it's been near impossible to actually eat something for lunchtime because I'm either dealing with work or school. I do my best to work out though but for some people it's not that easy...I know for other people once they get home from work, they have to work on things for work the next day, pick up kids, clean the house, pay bills, and etc etc. By the end of all that many people lack the motivation and energy to cook a healthy meal let alone start working out. My ex-bf would get home from work and gorge on quizno subs and drank massive amounts of dr. pepper, then he'd fall into a carb coma, play games for a bit because he was too lethargic to move, go to sleep for work, then rinse repeat...
You're just throwing out excuses to justify an unhealthy lifestyle. It's about priorities and responsibiliies. I'm married with two small kids, I work a full-time job and another part-time but I still make time to be in the gym lifting 4x/week and get exercise on the remaining 3. Parrt of your problem is lack of basic education when it comes to nutrition. As long as you're getting an adequate amount of calories from nutrient dense foods you're fine. The belief that you need 3 square meals/day or 6- smaller meals was disproven years ago. With my busy schedule I use intermittent fasting protocols so I'm only eating twice/day on aeverage, and typically in the evenings but I'm also able to stay lean but muscular as a result. Bottom line is if you eat with common sense and stay active you'll be fine.
@bigaugie, I'm not really trying to make excuses I myself am not obese though I think i could stand to lose a few pounds. As far as my lack of education when it comes to meals well I guess I can attribute that to what I've learned from teachers in school growing up as well as a fitness trainer from a gym. I suppose I'll look up healthy diets and see what more I can learn!
It's nice to see a productive answer out of 'bigaugie,' as opposed to
Big
Ugly
Fat
Folks
Eating
Together
...even if that acronym IS painfully accurate.
Three things that my family does, especially since I was overweight as a kid, teenager and young adult:
1) use our "salad" plates as dinner plates. Dinner plates are just huge.
2) keep the second helpings on the stove and away from the table. They are out of sight and out of mind.
3) don't congregate and socialize in the kitchen where all the food is. American homes are now designed around the kitchen, and that can lead to constant grazing.
No, no, no. Do congregate around the kitchen and the dinning table. Do prepare and sit down and eat meals with your families. Turn off the TV and enjoy each other. Serve water at meals. Keep the table stocked with loads of fresh seasonal fruits and encourage everyone to partake.
One observation I have made is that people are simply ignorant. They honestly think they are eating healthy half the time and some of the examples I hear working in Cardiology are absurd. Maybe people need to do a little research with those iPads instead of playing angry birds.
Thinking about blowing off exercising today? Watch this: http://www.viddler.com/v/ffc181d5?secret=30424353
Wow...I can't believe all the blatant insults towards large people on here. I'm 23 and have been obese since soon after my parents divorced when I was in 3rd grade. Until you have walked in a fat person's shoes, don't judge them. I've lost 60 lbs in the last 11 months and have another 50-70 to go to be at a healthy weight and I've never felt better. It takes a lot of self-control, epiphanies, personal reflection, and a series of positive events to muster the will to pursue big weight loss. Obesity for many is a vicious cycle...such as a tragic event or bout of depression or high levels of stress leading to food as comfort, to obesity, to low self-esteem or feelings of worthlessness to comfort food and so on and so forth. Our disgusting food supply doesn't help the situation and enables us to do this. Healthy food is often difficult to come by for low income families. I could continue to harp on this for several paragraphs, but I'm just saying that the vast majority of those who are fat are not fat and happy...and losing weight is very very difficult if you've never been skinny or you are going through tough times in your life.
But at the end of the day it's about choices and in many cases excuses. No one wants to be obese but no one is forcing you to be either. Life is full of set-backs, challenges, and adversities. How you deal with them determines your choice.
You can turn this around and look at the successes you've had with losing the extra weight you put on. At the end of the day it was your choice and your willpower to do it. There may have been contributing factors but it was you who did the work.
Many congratulations Andrew – and best wishes for your continued success
Congrats, Andrew. Keep up the good work. My girlfriend lost almost half her body weight. It took effort, but she said she was ecstatic when she got to the point that she was merely overweight, not obese
For obvious reasons, folks don't burn the fat they consume.....not working a desk job...they don't. Our society thrives on thinkers not doers. Instead of a metal processing machine, each worker has a keyboard and a monitor to watch a robot do what our forefathers did for themselves. This lack of physical labor coupled with high caloric manufactured food is what's turning us into a nation of fat Blobs!
why is tobacco even mentioned in this? people who use it have a lower weight typically! the government has a vendetta against tobacco when they basically support alcohol usage!
If obesity causes many issues which lead to premature death, won't it all even out?
I'm tired of people like Andrew that use cop outs like "Our disgusting food supply doesn't help the situation and enables us to do this" It is no-ones fault that you do not exercise your self control and stay healthy. I understand You cannot blame others for 'enabling' you. Stand up and take some damn accountability. Say 'I did this to myself, and I Will get myself healthy' don't just blame other people or situations. Life is 5% what happens to you, and 95% how you react to it.
2030? Unless these people doing the predicting have heard from God, they are most likely just arrogant fools paid to do a stay to support some political objective. 18 years is long time and a lot things could change. Predictions like this are only done so politicians can have an excuse to take more control of our lives. Maybe these people are related to the ones that predicted surpluses forever in 2000 or the ones that insisted that unemployment could be held under 8% if we passed the stimulus.
Please, this issue transcends politics. We'll still be a nation of fatties regardless of who's sitting in the Oval Office.
CNN, I beg your pardon. I believed the rate to have already been at 40% in 2012.
You don't need a strict diet what you do need to do is get off your lazy a** and exercise! I do not eat the "smartest" and I drink on the weekends (also forced to eat MRE's) and i'm in great shape. What I do is get up in the morning and run 5 to 7 miles and do weight training either at lunch time or after work. I'm not saying that you have to do that but you have to do something........you are embarrassing us all.
It's not the food, it's people who make excuses for their obesity, like, I just had a baby, I have no control, my parents were over weight, etc. I'm sick and tired of people making their obesity probblem my problem when they take no responsibility for it.
I think the government should bring back conscription. When every child, male or female, reaches 18 they should have to join the Army and get in shape.
I live in a town of 20,000 people. I'm 54, run 3-5 miles a day, and watch what I eat. On any given evening, only 20-30 people are at the Recreation Center where I work out. The rest are sitting in front of their TV with a bag of Doritos in their hand, or waiting 7 deep in the drive-thru at McDonald's. It's not just the food, or we would all be fat. 90% of people are just lazy and the only exercise they get is walking to/from the fridge.
Reblogged this on Drrichardaragon's Blog and commented:
Don't understand what you are eating? Do a food diary daily for two weeks and write down everything you eat and drink and see how much sugars and carbs you are eating. It will be an eye-opener.
Dr. Richard Aragon DC
http://www.nutritiondoc.co
The Chron O Meter is a great tool. I think it is free for those who have online access.
Studies show that dieting, even that considered “naturalistic”, among young people lead to weight cycling [Naturalistic weight reduction efforts predicted weight gain and onset of obesity in adolescent girls; http://ebn.bmj.com/content/3/3/88.full%5D
There is an evidence-based compassionate alternative to conventional dieting: Health At Every Size®. Please consider this alternative prior to making a decision that may result in weight cycling.
For more information on Health At Every Size, you can find a general explanation on Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_at_Every_Size) or find in-depth research-based information in the book Health At Every Size – The Surprising Truth About Your Weight by Dr. Linda Bacon (http://www.lindabacon.org/HAESbook/).
This is just great news... More lard pressed into jeans and tank tops in the months to come. Donut rolls hanging over flat pancake butts to look at... It would be nice if Dr. Gupta volunteer his services to start a campaign of surgeons to start Lipo suctions immediately to avoid this unsightly disaster from happening.
Fat, dumb, and happy nation....
When I was a kid in high school we had maybe a couple of token fat kids, now days the skinny kids are the minority.
That's because there came a point when it was not ok to tease the fat kid.
Why is sleep loss not mentioned in this article? Truth is that TV doesn't make people fat. (I have just read a book about recent research on various subjects, including sleep and obesity.) After analyzing all data, there is only mild correlation between what people eat and how much TV they watch and obesity. The biggest correlation? Sleep loss. Just think about it. If you don't sleep, you are too tired the next day and laze on the couch – which makes it hard to sleep again, you stay up late and you eat. When you sleep, you don't eat!
The researchers also mentioned that the obesity research establishment has ignored those results, they prefer to invest billions into researching diet and exercise which has already been done to death and yielded very little results.
Pathetic doesn't even come close. The only sympathy I have is for those who have a genuine medical condition...namely a thyroid issue that they cannot control, or they lack the mental capacity to make normal decisons.
Everyone else should be discriminated to the max at both a social, corporate, and governmental level. Charged extra and ridiculed on a daily basis. Lives made miserable. It is absolutely disgusting that people are like this and claim ignorance.
In many places in the USA that threshold has already been reached. Obesity is very common among Americans and I'd venture to guess it's definitely over 25% of our nation's populace.
As mexico completes its take over of America, we will see this rocketing.
Americans: stop eating so much! Everywhere I go people are eating tons of junky food. You deserve to be fat! Stop it!
This is going to save Social Security.
oh please, Americans are whales now!!!!
I eat at least 3000 calories a day. I eat very little fat. I eat a ton of fresh fruit and vegetables. I buy my leafy greens by the case. I eat at least 10 bananas every day plus every other fruit I can get my hands on. I have more energy than people half my age. People, you can eat the calories and not get fat. You cannot eat the high fat, high sugar, highly manufactured garbage that is in the middle of the store. Get rid of the manufactured food and you will be able to throw your Tums away, get off your type 2 diabetic drugs, and your blood pressure pills. You might even get to live as long as your Granny!
I saw this guy yesterday and he was soooo huge I swear his – a s s – had its own congressman
I have a solution to this problem. We could simply bump up the BMI category values by 5~10 to reduce the obesity rate under 20%. Can I get Nobel prize now?
Enjoying the American dream huh
damn I want a burger, fries and a huge piece of cake right now.
People need pleasure. That's human. If all you do is work (usually at a job you hate or have no control over), do housework and care for children, maintain the cars, and the many other necessary chores of modern life, you don't WANT to exercise and eat only the foods that are good for you. The key to a healthy lifestyle is getting enough pleasure in forms that are not UNhealthy. Do things you enjoy more often and guilt-free. Pamper your body with pleasurable sensations. Add some beauty to your life. Once you get in the healthy "pleasure" habit, eating healthy and exercising will come naturally and won't feel like punishment and self-denial.
get these people on some medicaid and food stamps STAT.
The earth could also explode later this year. does it really matter?
Today's rate of 35% is quite scary enough
Seems to me most people posting here just like to criticize and are not at all serious about finding a solution to this problem. I like my Company's approach. They are actually doing something to improve things. I guess myCompany decided it was more cost effective to encourage healthy habits then to pay higher insurance premiums so it has been coming up with ways to motivate employees to get healthier. Whether it's by discounting healthy selections in the cafeteria or publishing a health magazine or sponsoring a popular walking program or providing educational programs on diabetes and other health issues or offering aeorbics classes on site or hiring a full time nutritionist or providing free physicals, etc. A fewpeople, like myself, take full advantage of what the Company has to offer but a lot of people are partaking in some way. I wonder how much money the Company will save in the long run. What I find most interesting is the way the culture at work has changed when it comes to health. It's a little more complicated than this but there is a lot less talk about fad diets and a lot more talk about exercise and natural foods and vegetables and what your HDL should be.
I beleive when parents take childre on bike rides every day and to the park after they cme home the children can settle down and do their homework. when parents make swimming, walking and tennis every summer the children will look forward to exercises daily and the family will stay slim and healthy, obesity will then keep out of the media/doctor's office. Diseases will likely disappear.