Why are most Americans either overweight or obese or severely obese? This is not an easy question to answer. There are many factors which combine together to explain this critical problem in America. These factors are controllable in one way or another by our own individual awareness and daily decisions. Most of these factors are listed below.
Advertising
Large scale consumption of processed food made available by multi-billion dollar manufacturers is among the main causes of the obesity epidemic in the United States. These businesses realize how to manipulate the public by way of messaging, repetition and the constant molding of thoughts. If we have been continuously bombarded with alluring images on television or even on the menu boards of fast-food restaurants, they understand that we are going to sooner or later give in to the temptation and at least try their products.
The billions invested by producers on advertising and marketing to persuade the general public that eating and drinking their extremely caloric products is nutritious and good is a tribute to the unseen government running the show. Those companies that are getting rich know how to make their foods taste and look really good to consume. Sadly, they also are aware that a lot of their products are not healthy to consume routinely.
Habit
There are a variety of habits that will need to change for a person to slim down. Combinations of habit changes raises the likelihood of weight loss success. The average American views about four hours of television on a daily basis, a habit that is associated with becoming overweight in numerous studies. Eating very little or no breakfast, a hurried lunch or a larger more sumptuous dinner can all help cause weight problems.
Personal preferences are built over time. Usually it will take quite a lot of deliberate effort to change preferences away from sweet or fatty foods. A healthy diet should refrain from junk foods and processed foods. It should consist of a combination of sufficient fruits and vegetables, whole grains, dairy items and lean meats in as pure a form as feasible.
Lack of Exercise
Studies show that there is not a direct correlation between the amount of exercise people get and their ideal weight. That does not mean, though, that we should totally reject the idea of exercise as an aid to weight loss. Exercising can definitely help a person lose weight and even live longer. Even the simple exercise of walking can help. Swimming is also a good form of cardiovascular exercise that can tone a person's muscles while reducing the impact on their joints.
The more an individual exercises, the more benefits that they will see from being active. People should perform their exercise program at least three to five times a week until it becomes a regular habit. The exercise program should last at least 30 minutes a day in order to get enough cardiovascular benefit.
For the first twenty minutes, your body uses energy stored from the food you ate that day. After the first twenty minutes, your body begins to use energy stored as fat. A person can lose weight and fight obesity with a simple exercise plan that increases their heart rate and helps their body burn fat.
Usually an exercise program will not become a habit until tangible and beneficial results are experienced. So it takes determination and goal setting over at least an initial two month period to make this a habit. Once it becomes a habit, then the effect of weight loss will remain and not go away later.
Convenience
Many overweight adults are not even just in the low-income bracket. Only twenty percent of obese adults are considered to be poor. Middle income people are the most obese and actually eat more fast food regularly as compared to everyone else. It is actually convenience, not expense or even a lack of education, that is making Americans overweight.
Convenience stores are now becoming America's substitute for grocery stores. They often offer less variety, higher pricing, as well as lower quality produce in comparison to supermarkets. Convenience stores and other small stores selling unhealthy snack foods usually tend to be situated near high traffic areas like schools, larger intersections on our streets or near major shopping areas.
The increasing intake of convenience foods is contributing to upward trends in the numbers of obese people. The food industry has revolutionized the way we think of food so that everyday trips to the market place for fresh food items aren't really as necessary these days. Part of the reason for this shift in our shopping frequency has become the increasing daily demands of our fast-paced way of life. These days we pretty much grab our food on the run or just stock our freezers with several weeks of food.
The drawback to frozen foods and frozen meals is that they are, for the most part, processed with preservatives and other mystery ingredients. Processed foods are unhealthy and are one of the chief causes of obesity. The reason why this is true is that they can be low in vitamins and minerals and loaded with artificial ingredients to prolong their shelf life. They are also loaded with sodium and sugars which become almost addictive.
With frozen food products, we just pop it into our microwave oven and a few minutes later we can start eating. This is all really convenient, however it is not very healthy. Microwave ovens have been shown to reduce crucial nutrients that were initially in the food before. Many of the foods that we get from convenient fast-food restaurants are previously frozen.
One solution to the convenience problem in your own life could be to prepare extra food when you cook meals and then freeze it for a later meal. This way you can create your convenience food that doesn't have any chemical preservatives in it in your own kitchen.
Debt Morals
Consumer credit outstanding is at an all-time high in America at almost $3 trillion. The Federal government has dished out billions in student loans. The Feds have increased the impetus to robust auto sales through their debt financing schemes and low interest rates. Everywhere we look today, there is a temptation to purchase with debt financing and use credit cards.
Everyone is frequenting restaurants and fast-food chains for their nutrition even more regularly than in past years. More people are making use of their credit cards to pay for this food. Over-indebted people are less able to afford healthy food. Higher energy foods are often cheaper and more filling when compared to lower energy healthy foods.
A number of studies and research have shown that the majority of people adjust eating practices when experiencing stress. There can be a greater psychological level of stress connected with indebtedness. Stress also causes secretion of glucocorticoids, which boosts desire for more food. Stress also increases the secretion of insulin which stimulates food consumption and obesity.
Conclusions
The American people have willfully chosen obesity and sickness over health. They've chosen to trust the story lines generated by the corporate media rather than think critically and question things. They've chosen debt financed faux wealth over savings based real wealth. They have also chosen safety and security over liberty and dependency over self-reliance.
Expanding waistlines is a weighty problem that is proving costly to many of us. Obesity increases the risk of many health conditions including high cholesterol, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes. Being overweight can lead to coronary heart disease, stroke, cancers and liver as well as gallbladder disease. Sleep apnea, respiratory problems, and arthritis are also connected to this problem. So what happens when we have to go to hospitals to fix the health problems related to our diets. You guessed it, we have to spend more money with credit attached in many cases. As a result, the problem just gets worse.
It is up to each one of us individually to help solve this problem of obesity in America. We have to make our own changes in our own habit patterns. Then when we have our own individual success, we will be able to help others overcome this problem. It is not an easy issue to solve by any means, but when decisions are made and adhered to then good results will absolutely follow.
Robert Bradshaw is also a student of Biblical Research and has focused recently on crucial issues in our society today that people must become more aware of so that they don't stumble in their path to success.
For more information on other Shocking Fact-Based Questions that we should know the answers to, go to: Shocking Fact-Based Questions to Not Ignore or for more information about Becoming More Successful in Life, go to: THE SECRET TO SUCCESS
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