Obesity Threat for a Generation
In this section of Seattle Organic Restaurants I'm going to talk about the obesity era. If you go with the flow in America you end up overweight or obese as two thirds of Americans are. Obesity maps of different states in America over years prove that obesity rate has increased drastically.
- MORE THAN 36% of adults in America have CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE
- 25% of Americans have excessive amount of FAT in their LIVER
- More than 40% of leading CAUSES OF DEATH in America today is DIABETES. - 20% of CHILDREN today have PLAQUES (fat deposits) in their arteries, these children are often times diagnosed with HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE and HIGH LEVEL OF CHOLESTEROL
Obesity is more of a national issue than a personal issue and it’s very much related to our environment like the way our cities are designed or the way our food policies are. Tennessee and Alabama are marked as the states with highest rate of obesity in America. A recent study shows that obesity and overweight rate in neighborhoods that do not have any supermarkets that sells fresh products is much higher than others. Obesity is affected by many factors in the environment such as our lack of physical activity, stress and food supply.
More than 95% of adults in America do not meet the physical activity guideline because they aren’t active enough. Having access to green zones and walkways increases the physical activity a lot. In the last century infectious diseases were the number one cause of death and in the last few decades they were replaced by chronic diseases caused by obesity.
The obesity epidemic started in the early 1980s and as we can see the signs of obesity have exploded in the last few decades. 5 out of 10 deaths in America are related to obesity. Obesity can cause a wave of chronic diseases such as cancer, stroke, diabetes, kidney problems and heart failures. Obesity is the biggest threat to the health of people in America. Statistics show that if the obesity increases as the current rate by 2030 between 35% and 55% of adults in America are going to be obese. Obesity is also a major deriving force for insulin resistance.
MORE THAN 36% of adults in America have CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE. 25% of Americans have excessive amount of FAT in their LIVER. More than 40% of leading CAUSES OF DEATH in America today is DIABETES. 20% of CHILDREN today have PLAQUES (fat deposits) in their arteries, these children are often times diagnosed with high blood pressure and high level of cholesterol.
This was the very first scientific evidence that proves plaques can exist in kids. 150 billion dollars a year is spent on the health consequences of obesity. If the obesity increases as the current rate the costs of health care by 2018 will increase to 300 billion dollars. Every year Obesity costs American businesses over 70 billion dollars and the productivity and utilization of work places also decreases as a result of obesity.
Excessive EatingExcessive eating is one of the factors contributing to obesity. Our genetics wouldn’t let us turn down calories when they are in front of us. Our bodies are designed for a certain life style and that is consuming low calories and staying physically active. Scarcity is the other factor that is contributing to obesity. Back in the day when there wasn’t a lot of food available for all of us and we could kill a large animal we had to consume as much as we could over a short period of time. Our brains couldn’t digest the idea that after a few bites we are full and we don’t need to eat that much. The excessive fat and sugar blocks our senses to stop eating when we are actually full. The excessive amount of fat and sugar also condition us to overeat and that conditioning is extremely POWERFUL and INDISPENSABLE for SURVIVAL.