Little Known Facts About Changes In Our Diet

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Little Known Facts About Changes In Our Diet

Article Description:

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It's no mystery that the weight-loss industry has built a

thriving empire. In America, for example, we spend about 35

billion dollars every year on an assortment of weight loss

products and plans.

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Distribution Date and Time: Wed Jul 27 00:51:05 EDT 2005

Written By: Mike Law

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Little Known Facts About Changes In Our Diet

Written by: Mike Law

Wealth On Tap

http://wealthontap.com/

To say that Americans are obsessed with dieting is an

understatement! Pick up any magazine, tune-in or turn-on any

source of advertising and you're bombarded with the latest diet

schemes and food fads. More often than not, they are endorsed by

some familiar Hollywood celebrity, or promoted using some other

cleaver technique.

It's no mystery that the weight-loss industry has built a

thriving empire. In America, for example, we spend about 35

billion dollars every year on an assortment of weight loss

products and plans. In addition, we spend another 79 billion

dollars for medication, hospitalization, and doctors to treat

obesity-related problems. Even with this, the obesity epidemic

continues to spread. Sadly, we have become the heaviest

generation in our Nation's history.

The National Center for Health Statistics reports that we have

some very good reasons to be concerned about our weight-gain.

Americans, for example are packing-on the pounds faster than ever

before and weight-related medical problems are taking center

stage. Diseases like heart disease, diabetes and yes...even

certain forms of cancer have all been linked to obesity.

Here are a few of the surprising statistics about our weight:

- A whopping 64 percent of U.S. adults are either overweight

or obese. That's up approximately 8 percent from overweight

estimates obtained in a 1988 report.

- The percent of children who are overweight is also continuing

to increase. Among children and teens ages 6-19, 15 percent

or almost 9 million are overweight. That's triple what the

rate was in 1980!

- Nearly one-third of all adults are now classified as obese. At

present, 31 percent of adults 20 years of age and over or

nearly 59 million people have a body mass index (BMI) of 30

or greater, compared with 23 percent in 1994.

(The BMI is a number that shows body weight adjusted for height.

For adults, a BMI of 18.5 - 24.9 is considered normal. A BMI of

25.0 - 29.9 is overweight and 30.0 or above, is considered

obese.)

Modern life both at home and at work has come to revolve around

moving from one " seated " position to another: whether it's

television, computers, remote controls, or automobiles, we seem

to be broadening the scope of our inactive endeavors.

At times, life seems to have gotten almost too easy! For

entertainment, we can now just sit-down, dial-up our favorite TV

program or DVD movie and enjoy hours of uninterrupted

entertainment...

And all those simple calorie burning activities that were once a

normal part of our daily routine not so long ago? Long gone! You

know the ones I'm talking about...activities like climbing stairs

instead of using escalators and elevators. Or, pushing a lawn

mower instead of riding around on a garden tractor. And what

about that daily walk to school? Now, our kids complain when the

school bus happens to be a few minutes late getting to the bus

stop!

Along with the convenience of our affluent lifestyle and

reduction in energy expenditure, have come changes in our diet.

We are now consuming more calorie rich and nutrient deficient

foods than ever before.

Here are a few examples of what we were eating in the 1970's

compared to our diet today (information is taken from a recent

U.S. Department of Agriculture survey):

- We are currently eating more grain products, but almost all of

them are refined grains (white bread, etc.). Grain consumption

has jumped 45 percent since the 1970s, from 138 pounds of

grains per person per year to 200 pounds! Only 2 percent of

the wheat flour is consumed as whole wheat.

- Our consumption of fruits and vegetables has increased, but

only because the U.S.D.A. includes French fries and potato

chips as a vegetable. Potato products account for almost a

third of our " produce " choices.

- We're drinking less milk, but we've more than doubled our

cheese intake. Cheese now outranks meat as the number one

source of saturated fat in our diets.

- We've cut back on red meat, but have more than made up for the

loss by increasing our intake of chicken (battered and fried),

so that overall, we're eating 13 pounds more meat today than

we did back in the 1970s.

- We're drinking three times more carbonated soft drinks than

milk, compared to the 1970's, when milk consumption was twice

that of pop.

- We use 25 percent less butter, but pour twice as much vegetable

oil on our food and salads, so our total added fat intake has

increased 32 percent.

- Sugar consumption has been another cause of our expanding

waistlines. Sugar intake is simply off the charts. According

to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, people are consuming

roughly twice the amount of sugar they need each day, about

20 teaspoons on a 2000 calorie/day diet. The added sugar is

found mostly in junk foods, such as pop, cake, and cookies.

- In 1978, the government found that sugars constituted only

11 percent of the average person's calories. Now, this number

has ballooned to 16 percent for the average American adult and

as much as 20 percent for American teenagers.

The days of the wholesome family dinners so near and dear to our

hearts, where we all sat around the kitchen table to discuss

events of the day, are now a part of our sentimental past. They

have been replaced by our cravings for take-out and fast-food. We

have gradually come to accept that it's " OK " to sacrifice healthy

foods for the sake of convenience and that larger serving

portions mean better value.

And, since I have been throwing-out statistics, here's one more:

Americans are consuming about 300 more calories each day than we

did twenty years ago. We should actually be eating less because

of our decreased activity level, but instead are doing the

opposite!

Decide TODAY that healthy eating and exercise habits will become

a permanent part of your life!

Begin to explore your values and thoughts and other areas of your

life where change may be required, and then take action. Begin

slowly, but deliberately to make improvements in the areas you

identify. And remember, it has taken a very long time to develop

your habits, and it will take some time to undo them…so be

patient!

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Mike Law is a distributor of some the highest grade health and

beauty products available. Rich in antioxidants and anti-aging

nutrients, look and feel younger. Contact me or visit my sites

to learn how to become a distributor yourself or simply to find

out more about the products. http://www.wealthontap.usana.com

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