This past August, a special report in the world’s leading medical journal, The Lancet, estimated that HALF of all Americans will be obese by the year 2030.
Alarm bells are ringing nationwide over this news, because obesity is a dangerous and an expensive national problem.
The Lancet study estimates that by 2030, obesity-related diseases will increase to nearly:
- 8 million new diabetes cases
- 7 million new coronary heart disease and stroke cases
- more than 500,000 new cancer cases.
Obesity already costs almost 10 percent of the national medical budget. A big increase as predicted by the Lancet could mean that U.S. healthcare spending will increase up to 16 percent per year, and by 2030 spending on obesity-related diseases could be $66 billion per year.
By the way, obesity for adults means having a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more. The BMI is how much body fat you have, calculated using your weight and height. You can get your own BMI by using the Center for Disease Control’s BMI calculator.
So why is obesity in America getting so out of control?
Basically, how we eat has changed A LOT in the last 50 years. We now eat processed and fast foods on a regular basis --foods higher in sugar, calories, and fat than home-cooked foods. Why? Because processed foods are often way cheaper to buy than natural, unprocessed foods, as well as being easier to prepare. We're also eating bigger portions than ever before, thanks to food industry super-sizing (hey, give the people what they want, right?).
Americans have also cut down on exercise. We’re a lot less likely to be able to walk to work, and a lot more likely to sit and watch TV at the end of a long day in front of the computer. And all that fast, cheap food and sit-down lifestyle is making us heavier and more prone to weight-related diseases.
What we can do to turn the tide
We’re Americans, and we won’t go down without a fight. We don’t have to hit that 50 percent mark in 2030. Even a nationwide drop in BMI of just ONE PERCENT could mean stopping up to 2.4 million cases of diabetes and 2 million cases of heart attack and stroke.
How do we decrease our BMIs? First, we can eat more fruits and vegetables and fewer foods that are high in unnatural fats and sugar. Raid your cupboard. Toss out high-sodium, processed foods and get ready to cook more. Over time, the weight will come off naturally. Remember, eating non-processed foods doesn’t mean suffering, you may actually enjoy your food a lot more when it’s not out of a box or a can or being handed to you from a fast-food window.
Second, we can drink more water and other natural beverages instead of sugared drinks. Did you know that 50 years ago Americans drank four times as much milk as soda? Today, that’s almost completely reversed, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Study after study has shown that ditching processed beverages and drinking more water leads to weight loss, and that often when we think we’re hungry we’re really just thirsty. So give up the daily soda, grab a water bottle, add some all-natural, no calorie True Lemon, True Orange, True Lime or True Grapefruit and get ready to lose weight.
Third, even if we can’t make time for an hour of exercise daily, we can take the stairs instead of the elevator whenever possible, park further away and walk to stores, use half our lunch break for a stroll. Anything to get our muscles working and those calories burning.
From here in Baltimore, we at True Citrus say to our fellow Americans that we can prove The Lancet wrong.We can reign in healthcare spending, and gain back our health in the process. And with all the delicious healthy food and drink alternatives out there, winning doesn’t even have to be a sacrifice.
