Is your weight out of whack? Have you been recently told by a physician – to your shock and horror – that you are now at risk for obesity? Are your usual meal portions no longer working for you, and instead you notice the pounds have packed on slowly, but noticeably, in the last few years?
Obesity is caused by an imbalance in energy. In other words, you pose a risk for the disease – and obesity is a nationwide epidemic – if you aren’t burning enough calories to melt off what you’ve eaten. Those burgers and fries taste good going down, but what will it cost you in the future – Type 2 diabetes? Heart disease or stroke? Fatty liver disease? Breast, kidney or colon cancer? If this seems like an impossible diagnosis for you, think again.
Obesity has the capability to make any of those frightening diagnosis a reality…no matter how far away that situation may seem to you today. Obesity is a growing trend in America, and unfortunately, even those that aren’t yet at risk for obesity, may become at risk if the proper precautions aren’t taken. When you burn the same amount of calories you take in through exercise and energy from food, you stay at the weight you’re currently at. But when you consume more calories than your burn, you enter the obesity danger zone. Regardless of how much you weigh and how healthy (or not) your lifestyle is today, here are the facts.
Weighing It Out – Nationwide Obesity Facts
According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, over 66 percent of Caucasians are obese. 50 percent of Blacks are overweight or obese, and 3 out of every 4 Hispanics are at risk for obesity or are obese.
Children aren’t safe from obesity any more than adults are, and to date, 1 in 3 children and teenagers (ages 6-19) run the risk of being overweight and obese. That equals to over 33 percent of children in the US who are eating too much and exercising too little. Don’t let yourself – or your children – become a fat stat. Take control, so that it doesn’t control you…not one little bit. Here’s how.
Your Healthy Body is Just an Aerobic Workout Away – Well, Sort Of
Everyone knows the basics: clean, healthy eating and exercise contribute to a strong body. But what about a strong mindset? What about an increase in your brainpower? What about peace of mind, a decrease in stress or eliminating joint pain? What about boosting confidence, improving your unique talents and getting over a bad breakup?
Exercise just three times a week at thirty minute sessions (hard enough to make you sweat, but not difficult enough to feel dizzy and lightheaded) and you’ll have all of the above – a fitter frame, something positive to bring into your life, an opportunity for a raise at work, and a great example to model to your children. Studies show that no matter what you weight, or what your past has shown you, consistent exercise won’t just help your heart health reach new levels of efficiency and won’t just strengthen your joints. Exercise will eradicate your risk for obesity – so you can live the long, energizing, vibrant life you want. And at the same time, you’ll become the ‘new you’ – the ‘you’ that was in hiding all this time and now eager to jump, squat, run and walk a successful mind and body for all to see!
