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[personal profile] aliki
Most believe the growth of portion sizes to be a contributing factor to the rise in obesity in the US. Test your knowledge of food portion below. You may be surprised.

http://hin.nhlbi.nih.gov/portion/

Though many in America are vehemently opposed to cigarettes and applaud moves by numerous cities to ban smoking in all restaurants and bars, few are as outraged at growing food portions and obesity in this country. Yet soon, obesity, not tobacco, will kill more of us.

Obesity is rapidly gaining on tobacco as the number one killer in the U.S. Two-thirds of Americans are either overweight or obese (30 pounds or more over a healthy weight). Perhaps the most frightening development is a rise in obesity in children. Fifteen percent of children age 6 to 19 are overweight. The number is ten percent higher than a decade ago, and this weight gain is reflected in rising rates of type 2 diabetes and heart ailments, once associated with grandparents, not grandchildren.

Date: 2004-05-01 06:19 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] aliki.livejournal.com
I do think it is sad. I understand the Body-mass index is fucked up for certain groups of people-- athletes, bulkier people, etc. and that each indivdual should be evaluated by a nutritionist to be determined if they truly have an unhealthy lifestyle; but I don't think it's something to be dismissed.

I certainly don't harbor any ill feelings to people who are overweight-- I know some people are very snippy about it (who say stuff like "if they really wanted to be thin, they could".. uh, it's not that simple!!), but I think recognizing the problem is the first step in the right direction.

Date: 2004-05-02 09:29 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] falls2climb.livejournal.com
I hate hearing "if they really wanted to be thin, they could" - people who say that obviously have never dealt with a weight problem before.

I take after my dad physically, and my sister is very much reflective of my mom. Both Mom and my sister have struggled with overweightness for as long as I can remember. Ever since going to college in 2001, my sister's gotten a lot more exercise and lost something like 30 pounds. She looks fantastic, but the BMI and most people would still call her overweight. So I know that a lot of people could do something about their weight, but at the same time, I accept that a lot of them can't.

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