Bookmark This Page

Delicious Google Bookmarks Stumbleupon Digg BlinkList Ma.gnolia Reddit Yahoo My Web

Obesity and Americans

Something Serious Needs To Be Done Regarding Obesity And Americans

The percentage of Americans that are overweight has gone up by about a third in the past twenty years, and there seems to be no let up in the number of overweight Americans that are going down this path because above twenty-five percent of American children today are also obese or overweight. Americans will continue to be obese as there does not seem to be any turnaround in the trends emerging which is actually taking a turn for the worse.

Food-Rich And Activity-Scarce Environment Is To Blame

It is easy for Americans to get access to too much food and social situations promote such overeating, and with technology making it easier to avoid exercising, obesity is a big problem that needs to be tackled at the earliest. Many experts are of the opinion that obesity in Americans is triggered by a food-rich environment which is compounded by activity-scarce environments, and people that may be susceptible to gaining weight.

The US government has recognized the problem of obesity in this country, and Medicare has opened the door to covering obesity treatments while the Internal Revenue Service has also begun to allow tax breaks for a number of weight-loss programs. This problem is very serious, with about two-thirds of American adults being overweight or obese, and this problem is threatening tobacco to become the No. 1 cause of deaths in the United States that could have been prevented.

Obesity seems not to recognize age barriers as it is believed that approximately sixteen percent of children aged between six and nineteen are overweight. It is also feared that an estimated 400,000 people will likely expire due to obesity-related illnesses, and this is symptomatic of obesity and Americans that does not even distinguish between states such as Seattle, where the outdoor life is an ethos and other states in the US.

Lifestyle seems to play an important role in the American obesity problem, given our propensity to use cars for every outing, giant mugs to drink whipped-cream topped mochas and a culture in which everyone is rushing around, and yet still sitting still most of the time. It is believed that almost three-fourths of the county residents may enjoy a completely sedentary or inactive lifestyle in which they fail to meet the minimum activity levels for five days in a week.

Obesity in Americans continues to grow thanks to our opting to snack on candies rather than on carrots, and our preference for watching television instead of taking time out to jog or walk in the evenings. It certainly calls for a strong will to cope with the mounting problem of obesity in this country, which if not checked, will certainly continue to afflict a significant portion of the American population.