Across America, there is a truth to the fact that as our economy grows, so do our waistlines. The supporting facts can be seen by simple observation of the people that surround you inside and outside of your home. Although our growing affluence is not a bad thing, the rise in the number of obese and overweight people in this country attests to the fact that many Americans have embraced poor diets and shunned physical activity as they are given more choices about what to eat and their jobs require less physical activity than ever before. Unfortunately, this shift to a more sedentary lifestyle is part of the reason that obesity has reached epidemic proportions in this country.
A number of health care providers have seen the effects of obesity on their patients and are acting accordingly. This fact will be increasingly important in the years to come as number of cases of high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and adult-onset diabetes continue to increase, all three of which are linked to sedentary lifestyles and obesity in general. In fact, the CDC estimates that around 400,000 people die each year due to conditions that are related to obesity. When that number is broken down into a daily value, it equals about eleven hundred lives that are lost each day due to these obesity-related health conditions, and this number is made all the more tragic when you consider the fact that obesity is largely avoidable.
Although your genes do play a role in obesity, namely how easy it is for you to put on and take off pounds, they are not the only factor at work in most people’s weight gain. This will seem like good news to the people who want to know that they have total control over their BMI and body weight, but it may also sound like bad news to the people who don’t want to take responsibility for their own health.
No matter which category of people you find yourself aligned with, the truth is the same for all. The only way to stop obesity and its many related diseases from claiming you as a victim as well is to take personal responsibility for the things that you eat and for getting enough exercise to maintain a good fitness level for your body. There are no magic pills that can help you with this, only responsible decisions to be made. And one of the easiest of those responsible decisions is choosing healthy snacks for yourself and your children.
Look for YoNaturals healthy vending machines in your workplace, at your child’s school, and when you’re out on the town. Choose them for your health.
