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In August 2012, the United States Center for Disease Control (CDC) published the following findings:

• More than one-third of U.S. adults (35.7%) are obese and almost 70% of U.S adults are classified as overweight.
• Obesity-related conditions include heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer, are some of the leading causes of preventable death.
• In 2008, medical costs associated with obesity were estimated at $147 billion; the medical costs for people who are obese were $1,429 higher than those of normal weight.

Look around you.  One out of three adults in the general population is on a fast track to disease and expensive medical care.

Is our food killing us?  Maybe.

It is more accurate to say that how we interact with the food around us is killing us. Americans have relatively easy access to healthy eating.  Unlike other countries where food related crises center around the lack of food, our national crisis revolves around an epidemic of poor choices in the midst of an abundance of food.

The United States is a mass producer of grains, fruit, and vegetables and a mass consumer of fast-food, and packaged food.  Many of us bypass the produce section at the grocery store and make a bee line for the aisles of boxes, cans, and plastic bags. That said, not all packaged food is evil.  And yes, there are endless debates about pesticides and the virtues of organic food.  Still, stepping away from the flood of sodium, sugar, additives, and preservatives in most packaged foods can be a huge step to staying out of the doomed 37%.

Are our choices killing us?  Yes.

Day after day, meal after meal millions of Americans choose to consume unhealthy food. The temptation of easy, cheap, and artificially tasty “food” surrounds us.  Five minutes in the microwave to feed a family of five?  Perfect! For many, convenience is the new family value.

The latest horror?  Fast food restaurants are targeting your children with catchy ads about $1.99 meals for children.  Get the kids hooked early and you have them for life. Tired parents, looking to save time and money, respond in droves.  It’s a marketing goldmine, at the expense of your health, and the health of your children.

According to the CDC:

• The percentage of children aged 6–11 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 20% in 2008.
• The percentage of adolescents aged 12–19 years who were obese increased from 5% to 18% over the same period.

It’s time for a change.  We are killing ourselves and we are dooming our kids to a life expectancy lower than ours.

We know that eating healthier can be a challenge. There are so many mixed messages in the media that it’s hard to know where to start.  What are the best foods?  Which is better, low-fat or low-carb?  When is wheat bread, really whole wheat?  Are bananas good for me or sugar devils?  How on earth do you cook quinoa?

If you need answers or help starting your path to better health, call us at 727-386-4004 and ask to speak to our Weight Loss Coach.  You can choose a life of wellness.  You can choose to NOT be in that 37% that is going to spend ridiculous amounts of money fighting preventable diseases.  You can choose to give your children the foundation for a long, healthy life.

You can choose.