According to the Centers for Disease Control, obesity statistics in the United States are not showing appreciable improvement over the past several years. The latest available stats are from 2011-2012 (it takes several years to compile such statistics, which is why there is a lag in the available data).
Here are the key findings of their study:
The National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) is a cross-sectional survey designed to monitor the health and nutritional status of the civilian non-institutionalized U.S. population. It is conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).
These statistics imply that:
(1) The environmental forces that drive obesity are alive and well;
(2) Current public health policy has not been effective in reducing the nation’s obesity rate
The food industry spends millions of dollars a year to market their products to the masses, with little regard to their products’ effects on their customers’ short and long-term health and therefore healthcare costs and economic impact. Make no mistake, advertisers invest heavily on research that seeks to find the right emotional triggers that get people to buy. Commercials and advertisements tap into pleasure centers of the brain using very specific colors, scenes, and scripts. The investment is paying off, as people get hooked to their high-sugar, high sodium and high fat products which are sometimes boldly advertised as having health benefits. The next time you are forced to watch a McDonald’s, pizza or sugary drink commercial on TV, remind yourself that you are being marketed to, and watch it with an objective, skeptical eye. Same goes with billboards and signage in public.
Public health policy and nutritional guidelines need some major changes if the obesity rate is to fall. There needs to be more high-impact outreach, especially in low income communities, on how to prevent obesity. The main culprits at work are cheap, widely available highly processed, grain-based foods full of added sugar and flavored drinks sweetened by high fructose corn syrup. Wheat and sugar have addictive effects, causing one to overeat and develop a dependency on them to maintain their energy. It’s a vicious cycle that can very quickly pile on body fat with little effort.
A return to naturally-occurring foods is needed to stem the rate of obesity. This includes grass fed, free-range animal protein and eggs (for the non-vegetarians); organic green vegetables; antioxidant-rich vegetables and fruits of bright colors; mercury-free, wild-caught deep water seafood; healthy oils from nuts, seeds, avocados, coconut and fish; and purified water. When one eats healthy for some time, the sugar addiction fades and so does the hunger craving.
Of course, losing weight is not as simple as it seems. Long-standing habits and mild addiction to certain food tastes, as well as emotional states play a big role in keeping the obesity rate at over 33% of all adults.
Secondly, lack of exercise/ physical activity is a problem. We need to make time in our schedules to exercise and move more often.
If you are overweight or obese and haven't had success with dieting, check out our Doctor-Supervised Weight Loss and Health Optimization Program -- we've done all the homework on obesity for you, and have packaged this information in a comprehensive Health Camp that will be starting soon.
For more information, call (925) 935-5425.
Here are the key findings of their study:
- More than one-third (34.9%) of adults were obese in 2011–2012.
- In 2011–2012, the prevalence of obesity was higher among middle-aged adults (39.5%) than among younger (30.3%) or older (35.4%) adults.
- The overall prevalence of obesity did not differ between men and women in 2011–2012. Among non-Hispanic black adults, however, 56.6% of women were obese compared with 37.1% of men.
- In 2011–2012, the prevalence of obesity was higher among non-Hispanic black (47.8%), Hispanic (42.5%), and non-Hispanic white (32.6%) adults than among non-Hispanic Asian adults (10.8%).
- The prevalence of obesity among adults did not change between 2009–2010 and 2011–2012.
- As in 2009–2010, more than 78 million adults were obese in 2011–2012. The majority of these obese adults (more than 50 million) were non-Hispanic white.
The National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) is a cross-sectional survey designed to monitor the health and nutritional status of the civilian non-institutionalized U.S. population. It is conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).
These statistics imply that:
(1) The environmental forces that drive obesity are alive and well;
(2) Current public health policy has not been effective in reducing the nation’s obesity rate
The food industry spends millions of dollars a year to market their products to the masses, with little regard to their products’ effects on their customers’ short and long-term health and therefore healthcare costs and economic impact. Make no mistake, advertisers invest heavily on research that seeks to find the right emotional triggers that get people to buy. Commercials and advertisements tap into pleasure centers of the brain using very specific colors, scenes, and scripts. The investment is paying off, as people get hooked to their high-sugar, high sodium and high fat products which are sometimes boldly advertised as having health benefits. The next time you are forced to watch a McDonald’s, pizza or sugary drink commercial on TV, remind yourself that you are being marketed to, and watch it with an objective, skeptical eye. Same goes with billboards and signage in public.
Public health policy and nutritional guidelines need some major changes if the obesity rate is to fall. There needs to be more high-impact outreach, especially in low income communities, on how to prevent obesity. The main culprits at work are cheap, widely available highly processed, grain-based foods full of added sugar and flavored drinks sweetened by high fructose corn syrup. Wheat and sugar have addictive effects, causing one to overeat and develop a dependency on them to maintain their energy. It’s a vicious cycle that can very quickly pile on body fat with little effort.
A return to naturally-occurring foods is needed to stem the rate of obesity. This includes grass fed, free-range animal protein and eggs (for the non-vegetarians); organic green vegetables; antioxidant-rich vegetables and fruits of bright colors; mercury-free, wild-caught deep water seafood; healthy oils from nuts, seeds, avocados, coconut and fish; and purified water. When one eats healthy for some time, the sugar addiction fades and so does the hunger craving.
Of course, losing weight is not as simple as it seems. Long-standing habits and mild addiction to certain food tastes, as well as emotional states play a big role in keeping the obesity rate at over 33% of all adults.
Secondly, lack of exercise/ physical activity is a problem. We need to make time in our schedules to exercise and move more often.
If you are overweight or obese and haven't had success with dieting, check out our Doctor-Supervised Weight Loss and Health Optimization Program -- we've done all the homework on obesity for you, and have packaged this information in a comprehensive Health Camp that will be starting soon.
For more information, call (925) 935-5425.
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