I'm tired of all the talk and television shows trying to scare America into fitness. This past spring gave us a look into the crystal ball of Politics 2004. Major "fat" declarations were made by two of America's highest profile health professionals. U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona termed obesity as "the terror within" - obviously trying to bring our fear of fat to the same level of our fear of the Taliban. Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), announced that the Centers has " recalculated the actual causes of death in the U.S. and we (CDC) did see that obesity moved up very close to tobacco, and is almost the number one health threat." She also in her speech at San Francisco's Commonwealth Club used the terrorism analogy saying that in her stint working in a hospital ER, "none of my patients were admitted for bioterrorism." Dr. Phil has turned his healing talk show into the latest iteration of reality TV: Big Brother Meets the Twinkie!
Losing those extra pounds is more important than you may think. Two out of three Americans are overweight or obese according to the Surgeon General, marking a 50 percent increase over the decadent 90's decade. 15 percent of kids ages six to 17 are overweight or obese and diabetes is showing up The Centers for Disease Control report that one in four Americans get absolutely no exercise. And with a healthcare system that is teetering anyway, a looming debate continues about just who will pay the price for all those extra heart diseases, cancers and diabetes that have been accelerated by those extra pounds.
Losing weight is not about a miracle diet, expensive surgery or special foods. It is about eating less and exercising more. It's about taking 5 minutes a day and writing down what you ate and did the day before. And then looking at it, and really seeing what you are doing to your body. In working together and offering support to each other we can show the food and diet world we are not quite the dupes they think we are, and bust open the $60 billion weight loss market.
