Americans are getting fatter every year, simple as that. We are packing on the pounds at an ever increasing rate and each year it gets worse. Many of us are sacrificing our health because of our addiction to super-sized meals at fast food restaurants according to obesity experts.
The fact is more than 60 percent of U.S. adults are overweight, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). And about 15 percent of children and adolescents ages 6 to 19 are overweight and this percentage is increasing each year.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention also says that poor diet and the lack of exercise takes it’s toll with more than 400,000 premature deaths attributed to these factors.
Overweight people are also likely to develop any number of preventable diseases such as gallbladder disease, stroke, diabetes, heart disease or high blood pressure.
Excess weight can also cause interrupted breathing during sleep (sleep apnea) and wearing away of the joints (osteoarthritis). Carrying extra weight means carrying an extra risk for certain types of cancer, including endometrial, breast, prostate, and colon cancer.
All is not lost though for those us that are overweight. By taking simple, easily achievable steps to improve our health America can reverse what can easily be called an obesity epidemic. That was the message from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in a national education campaign begun in March 2004.
Along with this announcement the FDA’s Obesity Working Group issued its Calories Count report which highlights actions that they are taking to help consumers make better choices about their diet.
Some of these actions include encouraging restaurants to provide calorie and nutrition information, strengthening food labeling and educating consumers about maintaining a healthy diet and weight.
Also included are increased enforcement to ensure food labels accurately portray serving size and strengthened scientific research aimed at reducing obesity and developing foods that are healthier and lower in calories.
