Here's some scary news: As obesity rates climb and smoking rates decrease, obesity now plays a larger role in our health than smoking. It's great that we're not smoking as much, but our weight problems are getting worse, putting us at risk for disease and shorter life spans. In a study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine researchers determined that smoking declined by 18.5% in the last 20 years, while obesity rates increased by 85%.
As I was reading about this, I had to wonder: Why do obesity rates continue to rise? We talk about it in the news, on the Internet and, presumably, amongst ourselves. With all the information out there, why are we still gaining weight? I thought of three possibilities:
1. We don't understand the implications of being obese - Most of us know the health risks associated with obesity, including high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart failure, gout, certain types of cancer, depression...the list goes on and on. But, do we really understand how these diseases could impact our lives? Are there overweight or obese people without disease who believe they will always be without disease? Does that affect their choices?
2. We don't realize how our quality of life has suffered due to weight problems - Having trained a number of overweight and obese people, I noticed many of them had been overweight for so long, they thought living in pain was a way of life. Do you think there are people out there who believe the same thing? Are there people who simply don't know they could change their lives by losing weight?
3. We think someone can fix it - With so many medications and treatments available, there may be some people who think - "If I have a problem, I'll just see my doctor and take medication." Do we rely too much on medicine to fix problems rather than prevent them by changing our behaviors?
This is a complicated issue and these ideas don't even begin to cover what's behind America's weight problem, but I'm curious about what you think. Why are obesity rates rising instead of falling and what can we do about it?
