Take Action - Reduce your health care costs

Just ran across some alarming facts:
In 1999, an estimated 61 percent of U.S. adults were overweight, along with 13 percent of children and adolescents. Only 3 percent of all Americans eat a healthy mix of grains, fruits, vegetables, dairy products, and meats. And less than one- third of Americans get at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity at least five days a week. While 40 percent of adults engage in no leisure-time physical activity at all.

While the prevalence of overweight and obesity has increased for both genders across all races and age groups, disparities exist. In women, obesity is more prevalent among members of racial and ethnic minority populations than in non-Hispanic white women. And for the men - Mexican Americans have a higher prevalence of overweight and obesity than non-Hispanic men, while non-Hispanic white men have a greater prevalence than black men. Members of lower-income families generally experience a greater prevalence than those from higher-income families.

These trends already are associated with dramatic increases in asthma and Type 2 diabetes among children in the USA.

This last statistic is the most alarming - in that poor eating and exercise habits - or the entire lack thereof is impacting our children.

The growing waistline in Americans is already putting a strain on an over burdened health-care system. The shortage of Nurses and Doctors is only going to get worse according to some industry insiders. As baby-boomers get older - and fatter - they will need growing numbers of health-care services.

We can reverse this trend. We can take charge and improve our health. We can make healthy eating choices, exercise and lose weight! Health and fitness experts worldwide agree that the quickest way to lose weight is with plenty of exercise and eating healthy.

Take action today. Start eating healthy and getting in shape. Let's teach our children to enjoy a variety of healthy pursuits. Lets do our children and ourselves a big favor and cut our health care costs at the same time.

The Pot Belly and me

Where did this pot belly come from? Wasn't I wearing a size 34 waist just last year? Where did these extra pounds come from?

"Please pass the cinnamon rolls" I asked at our big company breakfast outing. After breakfast it was back to the office for coffee and donuts. Then a slice of chocolate cake after dinner. Then, after supper that night we stopped at our favorite watering hole for "just one more beer". Or one more pitcher of beer!

Life is good! We all enjoy celebrating with food. Good food. Tastes great. Very little nutritional value. And, along with a more sedentary lifestyle of sitting behind that desk and far too little time exercising, the pounds just seem to pile on. It is embarrassing to even look in the mirror!

Luckily there are natural and healthy ways to lose weight fast! Getting in shape fast is a goal one can reasonably expect to reach. Just how fast is entirely up to me! I get to make the choice to eat more sensibly, exercise and lose weight fast. I don't expect to lose this pot belly in a month. But two or three months is certainly a realistic target.

How much exercise is needed to make a difference in your weight depends on the amount and type of activity, and on how much you eat. Aerobic exercise burns body fat. A medium-sized adult would have to walk more than 30 miles to burn up 3,500 calories, the equivalent of one pound of fat. Although that may seem like a lot, you don’t have to walk the 30 miles all at once. Walking a mile a day for 30 days will achieve the same result. I think I'll strive for three to five miles each day! And get in some weight training to start building muscles.

If you consume 100 calories a day more than your body needs, you will gain approximately 10 pounds in a year. You could take that weight off, or keep it off, by doing 30 minutes of moderate exercise daily. The experts concur - the combination of exercise and healthy eating is the surest way to start getting in shape fast.