October 16, 2003

The Obesity Epidemic in America

For the last 40 years, Americans have been encouraged to eat more because there is more food, thanks to increased efficiency.

This has led to an obesity epidemic-which costs the government over 50 billion per year in medical costs. The Center for Disease Control projects that by the year 2010, 40% of Americans will be obese. Currently, 31% of all adults are obese.

A report from the Rand corporation, stated that the number of severely obese people (100 or more pounds over a healthy weight) increased from one in 200 in 1986 to one in 50 in 2000. More than 4 million U.S. adults are in this category.

John Foreyt, director of the Behavioral Medicine Research Center at Baylor College in Houston is on record as saying that almost every American will be overweight or obese by 2040. He also stated that the because of fast food, big portion sizes and the lack of a need to be active-that we are all doomed. Dr. Samuel Klein adds : "More lives are being lost to obesity than any war or terrorist attack."

Greg Critser's states in his book, Fatland "that one of the biggest contributors to being overweight is our loss of control of portion size. Nowhere is this more true than in restaurants, especially fast food restaurants. ³A serving of McDonald¹s French fries had ballooned from 200 calories (1960)
to 320 calories (late 1970s) to 450 calories (mid-1990s) to 540 calories (late 1990s) to the present 610 calories. In fact, everything on the menu had exploded in size. What was once a 590 calorie McDonald¹s meal is now . 1550 calories² (28). In addition to diabetes, the physical maladies associated with obesity include coronary artery disease, hypertension, stroke, orthopedic problems like arthritis, slipped hips, bowed legs. Respiratory diseases. And the ³premature deaths of 280,000 Americans every year, the figure the American Medical Association now reflects the number of obesity-related mortalities²" [146]

But there is some good news. Americans are getting the message. A study conducted by IHRSA-the International Health and Racquetball Sports Association showed that health club memberships have risen steadily over the last 20 years. Core members, those using a health club 100 days or more a year, have gone from 6.8 million in 1987 to 13.9 million in 2001.