Why is America Overweight?

Most people in the United States are either overweight or obese. People who weigh too much are at a very high risk of heart disease, diabetes, and many types of cancers and various illnesses. Being obese is no longer considered as just eating too much, but is now considered to be a serious chronic disease. Not only is it not healthy to be overweight, but there are also consequences, such as social discrimination in children and adults.

In the last few years, obesity rates have sky rocketed by more thank 60 percent among adults
For instance, a decade ago, type 2 diabetes was unheard of in children and adolescents, in fact the medical term was "Adult onset diabetes". Now children of all ages are suffering from type 2 diabetes, asthma and the numbers are getting worse.

And how can we not be? After all it seems that everywhere you turn there is literally a fast food store in every corner, I admit that the food can be very tasty and even addictive, but very unhealthy. If you think about what the average person consumes in their daily routine its enough to make you sick.

Overweight in children and teens is generally caused by lack of physical activity, unhealthy eating patterns, or a combination of the two, with genetics and lifestyle both playing important roles in determining a child's weight. Our society has become extremely less active. Television, computer and video games contribute to children's inactive lifestyles.

How do we stop it? Its easy to say, but is very difficult in practice. The answer is to eat less bad food, eat fewer calories, eat more healthful food, try and cut out the junk and exercise more. This is really the best and successful way, but when we are given the choice of the a chocolate bar or a salad, I am guessing that most of us will go for the chocolate bar. Why? We know they aren't good for us, but sweets taste so good. In fact we are surrounded by such big portions of high calorie foods, Its so easy to gain but its excruciating to lose.

Here are some useful tips that I found to help do the trick:

1.Choose smaller portions. This is especially important when you really want that treat. A one-ounce single serving of baked chips isn't going to be nearly as fattening as wolfing down half of an 18-ounce bag of chips.
2.No more seconds. Dish up your meals on plates and serve them that way instead of family-style. It is too tempting to load up another pile of mashed potatoes when the bowl is sitting right next to you.
3.Become a Healthful Shopper. Buy fresh fruits, berries, nuts, and vegetables and stay out of the junk food aisles.