Surviving John

In our country there are a greater number of people who are dangerously overweight than there are people who are just not at a healthy weight. This is not just a guess, this has been studied. But what does that mean? Our weight is made up of many different things and too much of any can cause a person to be overweight. When a person is dangerously overweight they have a lot of fat.

A person can say how many pounds they are but it is better to use a ratio that takes into account the number of pounds in relation to a person’s height. The higher the body mass indicator is, the more dangerously overweight that a person is. Our country is growing at an alarming rate and while the number of people who are not at the correct weight has remained the same, the number of those who are dangerously overweight has gone up more than one hundred percent. Being overweight or obese raises the risk of heart disease, diabetes, some cancers, arthritis and other conditions. People who are obese are even more likely to suffer from these conditions than a person who is just overweight.

Clearly, this problem must be addressed, but saying that and doing that are two different things. It is not a simple matter of getting a large group of people together to do a bunch of six pack ab exercises, before they go to work in the morning, it is a much deeper problem that needs to be attacked on many levels with people of all ages. Kids are growing up in an environment in which they are learning that it is normal to be obese. Over thirty percent of our countries kids are not at a healthy weight. The average life span of all Americans is going to be reduced because of this.

Television and technology are a major culprit in the problem of obesity. Kids are not as active as they used to be because they are entranced by the boob tube. If they are not watching a television show they are sitting down playing video games for hours on end. One easy place to lay the blame for all of the weight issues is with the media that glorifies unhealthy foods. Our nation often seems to survive on the processed foods that are shown on commercials. There are also numerous advertisements for products that promise to show a person how to lose weight fast, thus giving us the false sense of security that we can get our weight under control any time that we want to without having to do any real work, all we have to do is take a pill and watch the fat melt away. In addition to following one if these quick plans, a person still needs to do more to lose the weight. It takes a complete fitness program for a person to lose weight. The combined effort can help transform a person.

There is one source of entertainment that makes it appear cool to be very fat. On the reality show The Biggest Loser the contestants have gotten bigger and bigger, and now there are posts on the biggest loser forum that question whether the show is sending the right message by choosing people who are morbidly obese instead of choosing overweight people that more of the fans of the show can relate too. The people who are on the show are not always as reflective of the people who are watching it because the people at home are not as overweight as those on the show.

We can no longer ignore the fact that there are many people who struggle with weight issues. If the older generation can not do something for themselves, than the younger generation will follow in their footsteps. Adults need to help change the way our children eat and to make sure that they are getting outside and exercising. The trend of more people being obese rather than overweight must be reversed. If we want our kids to grow up healthy and happy, than we have no choice but to lead the way for them.