Generally I don’t trust the government agencies as far as I can throw them, but I do appreciate current efforts to build awareness of the obesity problem our country faces  because, as you will see, more is at stake than some bureaucracies dictating our habits to us.

For the first time in history, the U.S. Secretaries of Health and Human Services and of Agriculture are faced with changing the U.S. Food Pyramid  because two-thirds of the population are overweight or obese.  Both departments are receiving recommendations from the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee.  You can read the full report at this link, but in the meantime, I wanted to share some astounding data.  My input is in italicized parentheses:

• The leading causes of death in the past two decades are from tobacco use and poor diet.  However, the inactivity and poor diet may soon overtake tobacco as the leading cause.

• Even if obesity/overweight were not an issue, the poor quality of our diets will cause common chronic diseases (diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, etc.).

• One in 400 youths will have Type 2 Diabetes by age 20 as a result of excessive dietary sugar and inactivity.  Beverages account 400 calories daily in American children.

• Excessive calorie consumption during pregnancy is leading to unhealthy weight gain for the mother and can predispose the unborn baby to obesity.  Maternal diet may influence the composition of breast milk (does that really surprise anyone?).

• Adults 65 and older will double in population by 2030.  Today 15 million older adults suffer from some kind of disability, the majority of which are a result of cardiovascular disease, Type 2 Diabetes, high blood pressure and arthritis (all of which are linked to diet).

You see, nutrition and health are intertwined.  You can’t have good health if you’re dehydrated, avoiding plant-based foods and overeating (or under-eating for that matter).

In the winter, I attended a Summit from the International Youth Conditioning Association and was moved by a presenter named David Jack, an accomplished fitness coach and presenter from Acton, MA.  He pointed out an obvious fact that rarely is mentioned but that most of us don’t think about: our national defense, among other things, is at stake as the state of our fitness deteriorates.  With 70% of our children developing the early stages of hardening of the arteries by age 12 and seeing more adult on-set diseases at earlier ages, then his is a another serious point to ponder.  That’s what I’ll leave you with.

Please share your thoughts.  I’d love to hear them.