by Matt Weik
Let’s all just take a deep breath and try to get through this piece of content and understand the issue that our nation is currently facing. As someone deep in the health and fitness industry and who has been a writer in the space for over two decades, I’ve pretty much seen it all (and written about it all). However, what we are going through in America these days simply cannot be explained and cannot go another day without something changing.
And quite honestly, it starts with us. Let me explain what’s going on and my stance.
Never in my life did I ever think that we would see statistics like what I’m about to show you. We are now seeing statistics popping up where more than 42% of adults in America are obese and around 75% of adults being overweight. I mean, I don’t even know what to say at this point.
These statistics are horrific. I want you to just stop and think about those numbers for a second. 3/4 of American adults are overweight. I don’t need to tell you or convince you that being overweight puts you at a higher risk of disease and illnesses. Even worse, nearly half of the adults in the US are obese.
The United States of America is in a downward spiral. We don’t need to be worried about pandemics at this point, we need to be concerned about the future of our health as a nation. These statistics are going to cause massive amounts of illness and death to take place in a very short amount of time.
This is Just the BEGINNING
If you were to look at the trends over the last couple of decades, there is a steady climb and increase in the weight and waistlines of Americans. Even worse is that our youth is also getting bigger and bigger with each passing year.
Honestly, this doesn’t surprise me as our youth mirrors what their parents do, and if they have bad health and nutrition habits, it will simply be passed down to their children. Parents are role models, and, unfortunately, they are (without their full understand and grasp on this subject) hurting their kids in the end due to their poor behaviors and habits.
The amount of sickness and disease will continue to rise as the weight of Americans gets even further out of control. I believe in the next few years, we will see 50+ percent of Americans falling into the obese category and over 80% of adults being considered overweight.
Why do I think this? It’s simple. Look around you. Look at what people are eating on a daily basis. Look at how sedentary people are. Look at how much people rely on technology. Do a poll, yourself, and ask people what they do at night when they get home from work. I’m willing to bet that 75% of the people you ask will say they watch television, Netflix, movies, YouTube, etc. A small percentage will tell you that they went for a walk, a hike, hit the gym, or did something that involved physical exertion. That said, I bet less than 1% will say they pick up and read a book. You know… those things with pages that you flip through after reading words?
Just look at kids these days. Depending on your age, you probably spent your entire childhood running around or riding your bicycle to get to your friend’s house. Now, kids are jumping on their electric scooters or motorized skateboards (I don’t even know the real name for those hoverboard-looking things as I refuse to purchase them for my own kids).
All in all, if there’s an easy way out of being active and physically moving our bodies, people are going to use it.
Who Do We Blame?
Everyone is looking for a scapegoat here. There are a lot of index fingers being pointed and not enough thumbs being used. You can point at whatever you want, but the direction any finger should point needs to be at yourself. We all need to take accountability for our actions.
No one told you to eat fast food so often. No one told you to consume sugary beverages and add hundreds, if not thousands, of calories to your daily intake. No one told you to be sedentary and spend hours sitting at a desk or on a couch. It’s bad enough that people spend upwards of an hour or more sitting behind their steering wheel going to and from work five days a week.
Everyone likes to think that the government is here to protect us all, but what are they doing to protect your health? Nothing. They aren’t in your face with literature on health, nutrition, and exercise. They aren’t trying to make this nation a healthier place to live and lower the rate of obesity that is spreading across this nation. They’re sitting back collecting all their money from big pharma because so many people these days rely on medication just to manage their condition.
Notice how I said manage and not cure? Why is that? Because there’s no money in curing someone. If big pharma can get you a pill to take to manage your high blood pressure, cholesterol, or blood sugar, you’re going to take it — for the rest of your life. No one is getting to the root cause of all this, and it starts and stops with the things you put in your mouth and how active you are.
I’m sorry, but we all only have ourselves to blame. It’s getting harder with each passing day to feel bad for someone who, due to their poor choices, gets sick or comes down with some chronic disease that will eventually put them in the ground.
Something needs to change, and it needs to change now. If you are a healthy individual, I urge you to get more active with your own family and friends. Get people moving. Help them learn the difference between nutritional choices. Do whatever you can… Before it’s too late. Again, the responsibility looks like thumbs, not pointer fingers. Be the change.
