Weight Loss

National Weight Loss Week

Let’s look at a few facts.

When America was founded, and also as recently as the Depression, we suffered from under nutrition.

Our founding fathers were afflicted with beri, scurvy, and rickets----all vitamin deficiencies from an in availability of the right foods.

During the Depression, there was an in availability of any food at all.

Today, we suffer from over nutrition. Food of all types is abundant. We may not eat right, but vitamins and iron are offered in pill form, or are fortified into foods that may have little nutritional value otherwise. Truly, two out of three U.S. citizens are either overweight or obese. People who are overweight or obese have now become the majority in our country.

More than a cosmetic problem, obesity leads to a deteriorating health situation. People who are overweight greatly increase their risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure. Heart disease remains the number 1 cause of death in this country, followed closely by high blood pressure and stroke. We have gone from one extreme to another and we need to find that middle ground again.

The media has inundated us with fad diet information, much to the chagrin of medical professionals. Almost any diet will cause weight loss if followed as directed. However, very few of them do so in a healthy manner and allow you to keep the weight off once you have stopped using that diet. The best method of safe weight loss remains a balanced diet and exercise. Whether you learned nutrition as the Basic Four Food Groups or as the Food Pyramid, that advice will provide you with adequate (not excessive) calories if the correct portions are used.

Portion distortion is a term now used among nutrition professionals. Even good food choices are often consumed in portions much larger than necessary. Restaurant owners want repeat business and food is cheap now. They can afford to offer large portions in order to see you back in their establishment. Buffets are springing up all over the country and many people feel that they need to get their “money’s worth” of food. Fast foods are frequently offered in large portion combo meals, or they may be “super-sized”. Ultimately, the patron musts be aware of what these excessive food habits are doing to their health.

As our lifestyle increasingly becomes one of convenience, exercise intentions get lost in our everyday activities, and the comfort provided by food is readily accepted, we are going to continue to gain weight and jeopardize our health. Does National Weight Loss Week deserve some personal assessment and action? I think so.