The Obesity Epidemic – What’s Really Happening?
June 22, 2007 by Claire
Filed under Women's Health
Everyone probably knows the stats by now – of Americans over 20, 65 percent are overweight and 30 percent are obese. If you’re like me, you’ve probably gotten a little tired of the media going on and on about it, without being able to conclusively find a cause – or a solution.
Many point to the advent of high fructose corn syrup. This substitute from sugar, made from corn (obviously) gained popularity in the 1980’s – as it was significantly cheaper and sweeter than real sugar – and is used more than sugar today. Experts say it can make you crave sweets and cause insulin spikes – more so than sugar.
Some say it’s because we lead sedentary lives. This is certainly true, but wouldn’t that have happened when cars were invented, instead of in the 1980’s?
There’s even been speculation that pollution and toxins changed the way we process things and made us fatter.
All I know is, our genes have been the same through all of this. They haven’t changed. So we know that people aren’t “genetically” getting fatter. It’s up to us to make the changes!
My two cents: Lack of coping skills. Although obesity is deemed ‘the problem of the decade’ so are smoking, gambling and porn. All these things are at an all time high. Somewhere along the line we missed developing coping skills for life’s stressors so we turn to easy fixes that produce quick endorphins to get us through.
Solution? Stop blaming, centering out, and wasting money on studies and start teaching coping strategies at an early age.
It’s easy to tell someone to suck it up and deal with it. It’s another to actually take the time and show them how.
We are a nation of addictons, aren’t we? That’s something I hadn’t previously thought of. Thanks for commenting!
Claire