Obesity is a Growing Problem

People across America are crying out for help. Mississippi is in the lead where a whopping one out of every three people is obese. Mississippi also ranks highest in adult hypertension and second highest in adult diabetes.

Two thirds of our adult society is overweight. And according to the fourth annual report from the Trust for America's Health, the government needs to treat this trend as an epidemic that threatens the health of Americans and put in place a national plan to combat obesity.

Public opinion finds 85 percent of Americans believe that obesity is an epidemic. Ten of the 15 states with the highest rates of adult obesity are located in the South. Eight of the ten states with the highest rates of overweight children were also in the South.

CDC's, Dr. William Dietz, said our fat problems are linked to the greater availability of food, an increase in television viewing, and more availability of soft drinks.

Justin Wilson, senior analyst for The Center for Consumer Freedom, said there are two simple ways for people to lose weight. "closing their mouth, going for a walk. It's the world's easiest diet plan."

Jeffrey Levi, Trust for America's Health's executive director said society can help people make good choices.

"If we want kids to eat healthier food, we have to invest the money for school nutrition programs so that school lunches are healthier," he said. "If we want people to be more physically active, then there have to be safe places to be active. That's not just a class issue. We've designed suburban communities where there are no sidewalks for anybody to go out and take a walk."

Dr. James Marks, senior vice president at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation said, "Unfortunately, we're treating it like a mere inconvenience instead of the emergency that it is."

The food we eat today is much different than what our grandparents and their parents ate, due mostly to the fact that our lifestyles are entirely different. Many of us eat fast foods much too often. Furthermore, most of us are far more sedentary than they were years ago. Matter of fact, a lot of us sometimes eat out of sheer boredom.

Obesity is truly a growing problem and what we need is a little more self control.

"You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful... they will slander others and have no self-control... They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God... Stay away from people like that!" (2Timothy 1)