Wake Up America!

Several studies have been published over the years about the epidemic of obesity taking over America. One study stated that the percent of overweight people jumped nearly ten percent from the 80s to the 90s. Experts from similar studies state that America’s overweight population (ages 15 and up) is currently at 65 percent, while 31 percent is obese. These are scary facts and we as a nation we need to do something about this epidemic. It’s predicted that by 2024, 85 percent of America will be overweight. According to Forbes.com, America is currently ranked the ninth overweight nation in the world.

Being overweight and obesity are huge risk factors and can lead to several other problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, arthritis, breathing problems, and much, much more. Being overweight consists of excess amount of body weight, which includes not only fat, but muscle, bone, organ, and water weight. So it is definitely possible that muscle-bound men and women can be considered overweight due to how much muscle they have. Obesity, on the other hand, is the accumulation of body fat. These are measured by body fat percentages and BMI (Body Mass Index). To be considered overweight, a body fat percentage of around 25 for men and 30 for women and to be considered obese is just a few percentages above those. For the BMI, a score of 27 is considered overweight and a score of 30 is considered overweight.

Again, we as a nation need to do something to help stop the rise of obesity in America. If eating healthy and working out daily were easy, everyone would be doing it. We have to find a way that the people of America can incorporate a healthier way of life into their lives. And again, this goes back to teaching our kids and youth about fitness and hopefully preventing the youth of today from increasing these already high numbers.