U.S. Panel: Obesity fight must shift from personal blame

http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/05/08/us-usa-health-obesity-idINBRE8470LC20120508

“What good is a positive body image that results in a spiral that leads toward metabolic syndrome and, ultimately, death? What good is a fit physique if it comes along with bulimia and other baggage?

Having a healthy body image means appreciating the beauty you have now, and any beauty you may acquire while you are taking care of yourself. You love the body you have, and you make that love an action verb by taking care of it: you feed it what it needs, you do your best to avoid what it doesn’t, and you keep it engaged.”

-Erika Kendall

EXCELLENT debate on fit vs fat in the NYT today: Women, Weight, and Wellness. I personally think Erika Kendall summed it up with this quote above. What do you think—can you have health at EVERY size? With predictions that 42% of Americans will be obese by 2030 (we are at 36% right now), this is an issue we have to face.

I got published in the Journal of Obesity! Third author. Ill take it.

One reason American health care costs more: We’re fat and getting fatter

“The OECD is out this morning with new projections on international obesity rates and, for the United States, it’s not pretty: We nabbed the dubious honor of the most overweight country. By 2020, the OECD predicts approximately 75 percent of Americans will be overweight or obese.” -The Washington Post

Fantastic video. The average American watches 5 hours of tv every DAY…compared to that, 30 minutes of daily movement seems rather attainable.

NYTimes: “Brown Fat, Triggered by Cold or Exercise, May Yield a Key to Weight Control”

…so if brown fat burns calories when it is triggered by cold or exercise…then exercising IN the cold is the solution to the obesity epidemic! boom. you’re welcome.

(might be a tough sell, seeing as we can’t even get people to exercise in the comfort of a gym, or when the weather is WARM)

wallysfolly:

Tell Congress to Stop Subsidizing Obesity

(via healthycal)

Since this topic seemed to spark some interest, here’s a great article that summarizes more of the research on diet soda and some theories as to WHY it is linked with (no one is saying CAUSES) overweight, obesity, and diabetes. For example:

…This study found that people who consume diet soda daily have a 67% higher risk of type 2 diabetes compared with those who didn’t consume diet soda, possibly due to artificial sweeteners’ effect on insulin resistance and glucose metabolism.³ Artificial sweeteners are 200 to 13,000 times as sweet as sugar, and this enhanced sweetness is mildly addictive.² Sweet taste triggers the dopamine signal, the same pathway triggered by drugs of abuse such as cocaine.² If artificially sweetened sodas increase cravings, a person may need more sweets to feel satisfied, leading to excessive calorie consumption and weight gain.⁴

Click on this CDC map to watch the U.S. get fatter from 1985 to 2010.

Fact: in 2010, NO state reported an obesity rate of less than 20%. 12 states (Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia) had a prevalence of 30% or more.

Review: obesity means a body mass index of 30 or greater. Calculate your BMI by multiplying your weight in pounds x 103, then dividing that number by your height in inches, squared. Or click here and use an online calculator. 

Examples: 

A person who is 5’5” and weighs 180lbs has a BMI of 30.

A person who is 6’0” and weighs 225 has a BMI of 30.

Debate: BMI is a controversial method of health assessment because it is so simplified, but debate it as much as you want, we KNOW health starts to significantly deteriorate in MOST people when BMI approaches and exceeds 30.

What the average American consumes in added sugars.