Food for THOUGHT

As I briefly discussed before, a big motivator for me losing weight is that I want people to follow in my footsteps; I want to set a good example for the people around me. From working in a pharmacy my eyes have really been opened to the dangers of being overweight. I dispense so much medication for the treatment of obesity-related health problems, it’s alarming.

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), in 2009, Ohio was only 2 spots away from making the top ten list of states with the highest percentage rates of obesity. 28.8% of Ohio’s residents are considered obese.  Mississippi holds the number one spot with an obesity rate of 34.4%. As the CDC notes, “obesity is defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or greater. BMI is calculated from a person's weight and height and provides a reasonable indicator of body fatness and weight categories that may lead to health problems” (CDC, 2010). The above statistics mean that about 1 in 4 people here in Ohio have a “major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, certain types of cancer, type 2 diabetes…high blood pressure, stroke, liver and gallbladder disease, infertility… ” (CDC, 2010). Unfortunately the list goes on and on. 

(If you’re interested in figuring out what your BMI is, stop by UC’s Rec Center and they will be able to help you out.)

Here is an interesting excerpt from Down to Earth (n.d.),

In the Webster's dictionary food is any nourishing substance eaten, drunk, or otherwise taken into the body to sustain life, provide energy, promote growth, etc. In American society food is that which is fatty, tasty, processed, refined and contains no nutrients; a substance detrimental to the body's functions, creating disease, and resulting in death.

I think that it is time that we call on the food industry to step up their game for the good of the public. I mean Philip Morris writes on their boxes that their products will kill you, but Kellogg’s doesn't write that on their rice crispy treats.

Just about everyone knows that being overweight is bad, but I really don’t think that people truly understand the magnitude of the problem at hand. From time to time you will hear comments that obesity is a problem in America but let’s be honest here, how often do you see anti-drug commercials on TV? All the time, that’s right. How many times have you seen a commercial saying, “stop eating so much food”? Zero times, right again! 

One website that I stumbled across makes a very good point, “Obesity in America is similar to the 800 pound Gorilla in the room. We all see it. We all know it’s a problem. But we are all too scared or too lazy to create or execute a solution that will get rid of it” (Doctor Kal, n.d.).

 I think we have established here one of the major problems associated with obesity that needs to be addressed. There is not enough public awareness concerning the actual consequences of being overweight and obese. Something needs to be done about this TODAY; especially because we are raising a new generation of children that are going to be even worse off in the health department than we are now. The steps that have been taken so far and the programs created to increase awareness are not widespread enough; they are not reaching enough of the population. It is extremely important that everyone stops brushing this serious epidemic off and becomes more dedicated to weight loss and leading a healthier lifestyle. People, it's really time that we lose some weight; make it a priority. We do not want to be remembered as the generation that ate their way to death.

Share this with your friends, the key here is to start spreading the word that it’s time to get healthy. 

Check back soon for my first "real" video blog. Ill tell you what my personal trainer and nutritionist said during our first meeting and also how i'm feeling about all the text messages that are pouring into my phone saying things such as, "uh. kirsty. you are allllllllll over campus".

 

References:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2010, September 1). U.S. obesity trends. Retrieved January 5, 2011, from http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/trends.html

Down to Earth. (n.d.) Obesity in America. Retrieved January 5, 2011, from downtoearth.org: http://www.downtoearth.org/health/nutrition/obesity-america

Doctor Kal. (n.d.) Obesity in America. Retrieved January 5, 2011, from  http://www.drkalsweightlosstips.com/obesity-in-america.html

Note: I did my very, very best to follow the APA rules for my citations in this blog post; if anybody sees a mistake please let me know!!! There are lots of people reading this and I don't want to get sued for plagiarism!!! Thank you :)