Fight the Fat: One-Third of America Is Obese
Obesity Deaths Slowly Overtaking Tobacco as One of the Worst Killers in the United States
COMMENTARY | Obesity is one of the fastest growing killers in the United States. According to Reuters, one-third of Americans are considered obese, and there are 300,000 deaths per year that are attributed to being overweight. Conversely, in a typical year, about 443,000 deaths are caused by tobacco.
Though I hear time and time again the phrase "fat is beautiful," the truth is, fat can kill. Fat itself is not beautiful. The person within may be a beautiful soul, but it makes my heart sink when I hear someone utter that phrase. Why? It is not because I'm cruel, but I imagine the toll that fat takes on a person's body.
The ill physical effects that obesity has are endless, and it has nothing to do with a person's appearance. I have known some strikingly gorgeous overweight women who are beautiful on the inside and out. The problem is not about looks; it is about the fact that obesity will physically impair you, and will, in all likelihood, cause your early demise.
With the ever-growing issue of healthcare in the United States, obesity plays a big factor. The healthcare bill in America is an extra $66 billion a year due to obesity. $66 billion. That is a problem. Financial issues, however, are certainly one of my concerns, but not the biggest. Obesity contributes to a host of other health problems. Just some of those include diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, joint problems, respiratory problems, sleep apnea and cancer.
It is hard for someone who is obese to really enjoy life. I have had friends who have a difficult time just walking across the room because they are so overweight. Most outdoor activities become impossible to participate in. Going to the fair or even a farmers' market becomes an arduous task. There are some people who spend their lives on the couch because they are barely able to move.
Losing weight is not easy, and many people have a genetic predisposition for being overweight. I understand that, and would never ridicule someone for being obese. However, I often wonder how difficult it must be to go through life this way.
Studies have shown that if the trend in America for obesity continues the way it has, half of the people in the United States will be obese by 2030. That's a scary figure.
What can be done to change this alarming pattern? We need to make people aware that although a person's looks have little to do with true beauty, the fat itself is not beautiful. Instilling a lifetime of healthy eating habits in our children is of utmost importance. Encourage our kids to find healthy foods they enjoy. Don't force feed them, instead giving them a variety of different foods; when they discover they like something that is good for them, make that item a part of their diet. Encourage outdoor activity as much as possible, and participate with them. Kids learn by example. If you aren't active, more than likely they won't be either.
Let's all work together to change this troubling pattern that is slowly taking so many lives.
Though I hear time and time again the phrase "fat is beautiful," the truth is, fat can kill. Fat itself is not beautiful. The person within may be a beautiful soul, but it makes my heart sink when I hear someone utter that phrase. Why? It is not because I'm cruel, but I imagine the toll that fat takes on a person's body.
The ill physical effects that obesity has are endless, and it has nothing to do with a person's appearance. I have known some strikingly gorgeous overweight women who are beautiful on the inside and out. The problem is not about looks; it is about the fact that obesity will physically impair you, and will, in all likelihood, cause your early demise.
With the ever-growing issue of healthcare in the United States, obesity plays a big factor. The healthcare bill in America is an extra $66 billion a year due to obesity. $66 billion. That is a problem. Financial issues, however, are certainly one of my concerns, but not the biggest. Obesity contributes to a host of other health problems. Just some of those include diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, joint problems, respiratory problems, sleep apnea and cancer.
It is hard for someone who is obese to really enjoy life. I have had friends who have a difficult time just walking across the room because they are so overweight. Most outdoor activities become impossible to participate in. Going to the fair or even a farmers' market becomes an arduous task. There are some people who spend their lives on the couch because they are barely able to move.
Losing weight is not easy, and many people have a genetic predisposition for being overweight. I understand that, and would never ridicule someone for being obese. However, I often wonder how difficult it must be to go through life this way.
Studies have shown that if the trend in America for obesity continues the way it has, half of the people in the United States will be obese by 2030. That's a scary figure.
What can be done to change this alarming pattern? We need to make people aware that although a person's looks have little to do with true beauty, the fat itself is not beautiful. Instilling a lifetime of healthy eating habits in our children is of utmost importance. Encourage our kids to find healthy foods they enjoy. Don't force feed them, instead giving them a variety of different foods; when they discover they like something that is good for them, make that item a part of their diet. Encourage outdoor activity as much as possible, and participate with them. Kids learn by example. If you aren't active, more than likely they won't be either.
Let's all work together to change this troubling pattern that is slowly taking so many lives.
Published by K.C. Dermody - Featured Contributor in Travel
K.C. Dermody is a freelance writer, writing for YCN, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Sports, and OMG! Yahoo as well as other web content projects, and working on a historical fiction novel based in ancient Ireland. She... View profile
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2 Comments
Post a CommentGood stuff. As a parent I find that a real sore spot is the school lunch programs. Because of budget cuts and an entrenched custom of serving "cheap" food at schools, the lunch programs are abominations. At a time when childhood obesity is a genuine epidemic we should be moving fast in the opposite direction, and be serving natural, unprocessed, unfrozen nutritious food to our kids. We should all be embarrassed.
Good article.