| |
| |
|
Weight Loss Information |
|
|
|
Little Known Facts About Changes In Our Diet
To say that Americans are obsessed with dieting is an understatement! Pick up any magazine, tune-in or turn-on any source of advertising and you're bombarded with the latest diet schemes and food fads. More often than not, they are endorsed by some familiar Hollywood celebrity, or promoted using some other cleaver technique. It's no mystery that the weight-loss industry has built a thriving empire. In America, for example, we spend about 35 billion dollars every year on an assortment of weight loss products and plans. In addition, we spend another 79 billion dollars for medication, hospitalization, and doctors to treat obesity-related problems. Even with this, the obesity epidemic continues to spread. Sadly, we have become the heaviest generation in our Nation's history. The National Center for Health Statistics reports that we have some very good reasons to be concerned about our weight-gain. Americans, for example are packing-on the pounds faster than ever before and weight-related medical problems are taking center stage. Diseases like heart disease, diabetes and yes...even certain forms of cancer have all been linked to obesity. Here are a few of the surprising statistics about our weight: - A whopping 64 percent of U.S. adults are either overweight or obese. That's up approximately 8 percent from overweight estimates obtained in a 1988 report. - The percent of children who are overweight is also continuing to increase. Among children and teens ages 6-19, 15 percent or almost 9 million are overweight. That's triple what the rate was in 1980! - Nearly one-third of all adults are now classified as obese. At present, 31 percent of adults 20 years of age and over or nearly 59 million people have a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or greater, compared with 23 percent in 1994. (The BMI is a number that shows body weight adjusted for height. For adults, a BMI of 18.5 - 24.9 is considered normal. A BMI of 25.0 - 29.9 is overweight and 30.0 or above, is considered obese.) Modern life both at home and at work has come to revolve around moving from one "seated" position to another: whether it's television, computers, remote controls, or automobiles, we seem to be broadening the scope of our inactive endeavors. At times, life seems to have gotten almost too easy! For entertainment, we can now just sit-down, dial-up our favorite TV program or DVD movie and enjoy hours of uninterrupted entertainment... And all those simple calorie burning activities that were once a normal part of our daily routine not so long ago? Long gone! You know the ones I'm talking about...activities like climbing stairs instead of using escalators and elevators. Or, pushing a lawn mower instead of riding around on a garden tractor. And what about that daily walk to school? Now, our kids complain when the school bus happens to be a few minutes late getting to the bus stop! Along with the convenience of our affluent lifestyle and reduction in energy expenditure, have come changes in our diet. We are now consuming more calorie rich and nutrient deficient foods than ever before. Here are a few examples of what we were eating in the 1970's compared to our diet today (information is taken from a recent U.S. Department of Agriculture survey): - We are currently eating more grain products, but almost all of them are refined grains (white bread, etc.). Grain consumption has jumped 45 percent since the 1970s, from 138 pounds of grains per person per year to 200 pounds! Only 2 percent of the wheat flour is consumed as whole wheat. - Our consumption of fruits and vegetables has increased, but only because the U.S.D.A. includes French fries and potato chips as a vegetable. Potato products account for almost a third of our "produce" choices. - We're drinking less milk, but we've more than doubled our cheese intake. Cheese now outranks meat as the number one source of saturated fat in our diets. - We've cut back on red meat, but have more than made up for the loss by increasing our intake of chicken (battered and fried), so that overall, we're eating 13 pounds more meat today than we did back in the 1970s. - We're drinking three times more carbonated soft drinks than milk, compared to the 1970's, when milk consumption was twice that of pop. - We use 25 percent less butter, but pour twice as much vegetable oil on our food and salads, so our total added fat intake has increased 32 percent. - Sugar consumption has been another cause of our expanding waistlines. Sugar intake is simply off the charts. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, people are consuming roughly twice the amount of sugar they need each day, about 20 teaspoons on a 2000 calorie/day diet. The added sugar is found mostly in junk foods, such as pop, cake, and cookies. - In 1978, the government found that sugars constituted only 11 percent of the average person's calories. Now, this number has ballooned to 16 percent for the average American adult and as much as 20 percent for American teenagers. The days of the wholesome family dinners so near and dear to our hearts, where we all sat around the kitchen table to discuss events of the day, are now a part of our sentimental past. They have been replaced by our cravings for take-out and fast-food. We have gradually come to accept that it's "OK" to sacrifice healthy foods for the sake of convenience and that larger serving portions mean better value. And, since I have been throwing-out statistics, here's one more: Americans are consuming about 300 more calories each day than we did twenty years ago. We should actually be eating less because of our decreased activity level, but instead are doing the opposite! Decide TODAY that healthy eating and exercise habits will become a permanent part of your life! Begin to explore your values and thoughts and other areas of your life where change may be required, and then take action. Begin slowly, but deliberately to make improvements in the areas you identify. And remember, it has taken a very long time to develop your habits, and it will take some time to undo them?so be patient! Tim Robinson is the owner of Weight-Loss-Diet-Search.com. Visit this site for fresh health, weight loss and dieting articles, useful books, guides and software, and latebreaking health & fitness news.
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Dieting Obstacle When Life Gets in the Way Dieting Dilemma No 1: When Life Gets in the WayThat pesky thing called life has a way of fouling up our the best laid plans. First you decide you're going to start keeping your car cleaner, thinking, "I'll wash it every Saturday morning. Making Diets Work -- How to Finally Lose Weight and Keep it Off Name a diet.. Is Avoiding Sweets Driving You Nuts? Put the Nuts to Work for You You can overcome the desires of your sweet-tooth by incorporating some intelligent snacking. Sometimes dieting and weight control can drive you nuts -- well, we're going to put those nuts to work for us. Dieting? What You Need to Know About Physical Activity What is the best form of physical activity?The best form of physical activity is what you will actually do often. That is it. Weight Loss Psychology- Sticking to an Exercise Program! IT'S NOT ABOUT THE NUMBERS!The health clubs are always racking their brains trying to figure out why they have such a hard time keeping members coming back. Most owners would argue that cash flow and profit margins are the most important reason to retain membership. Bat-Wings: The Dreaded Hanging Arm Skin After WLS Gastric-bypass surgery is only the first step many morbidly obese patients take in their total body make overs. One residue of massive weight loss is the dreaded "bat-wings". Snacking, Fear, Greed and the Gastric Bypass Tool Do you remember nodding your head with understanding during your pre/post WLS seminar when the speaker said, "Gastric bypass is only a tool, the rest is up to you." I nodded my head to the nurse dietician as she spoke to the room of fresh-out-of-surgery gastric bypass patients. Commit To Cardio Exercise For Permanent Weight Loss Everyone is looking for the secret to losing weight. Everyone wants it to be easy. Winter Weight Loss As our bodies move from Winter into Spring we can begin to really feel the need to "shed the winter weight". Whether we actually have weight to lose or not, this is an excellent time of year to give attention to our body's need to feel lighter. Maintaining Your Weight Loss Momentum Away On Vacation Going away for your holidays will also bring with it a good supply of temptation on the food front, unless you are on a survival course, climbing a mountain or camping in the wilderness on limited rations. The chances are you will be at a hotel, and if you have chosen a good hotel, it is likely there will be good food, often as much as you want. Have You Given Up on Weight Loss? Have You Given Up on Weight Loss? by Greg Landry, M.S I receive several email messages every day from people who have given up on weight loss. Hoodia - Its Basic Nature Part 3 Hoodia Gordonii a cactus plant found thousands of miles away in the Cape Town of South Africa, has become incredibly beneficial for people all over the world. Centuries ago, the simple tribal folk of South Africa cultivated the plant so that they could chew it and satiate hunger and thirst for three to four days. South Beach Diet - South Beach Diet Plan Information Perhaps you've had them too, nightmares about rice cakes, granola, and eight glasses of water a day. Do visions of diet supplements, green tea and mechanical scales dance through your head? If so, you are not alone. Weight Loss Woes Weight loss is an issue that affects men and women alike. Children, particularly young girls, are also starting to think about weight loss at younger and younger ages. Lose Weight and Feel Great Many people search for a pill, a special diet or some other quick fix to lose weight. The key to weight loss and good health is changing bad habits and developing a healthy lifestyle. How To Be A Big Fat Loser In 2005 Now that the temptations of the Holiday season have passed it is time to stop feeling like a big fat loser and become one by losing all the fat you gained. And I am here to tell you how to do it in seven easy to follow steps. How to Lose Belly Fat: Latest Secrets from the Research Labs, Part 1 In this series of articles, you will learn exactly how to lose belly fat, using 10 proven techniques from medical studies and laboratories around the world.Abdominal fat, also known as visceral fat, or belly fat, is not just a matter of vanity anymore. The Truth About Diet Myths How do we know what we know? Often, our knowledge comes from through repetition and stories. In childhood, we call them fairy tales or bedtime stories. Hoodia - An Elixir that Fights Obesity Part 1 Humanity is always in search of a wonder drug that ends all physical ailments. While it is a wishful thinking yet, there are areas where the dream is almost accomplished. Changing Your Eating Habits We are bombarded with advertisements pushing delicious looking, fat filled, and obesity producing food in our faces every single day. We hear it on the radio; see it on TV and on billboards and even in newspapers.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
