Weight loss is on the minds of a large portion of Americans. Americans in general are eating too much. Americans in general enjoy junk food too much. Americans in general have a misconstrued view of what a portion size should be.
Due to these little misconceptions and unhealthy eating preferences...many Americans are overweight and even obese. When you think of Italy you think of pasta. When you think of French you think of a variety of cheese. When you think of Germans you think of beer and bratwurst. What do you think of when you think of America? The answer used to be apple pie. But down home desserts aren't the major American calling card anymore. McDonalds is what comes to mind for most people trying to identify the eating preferences of Americans. Americans are being defined by their love of fast food.
The convenience of fast food is undeniable. But there aren't really any other advantages when it comes to the fast food industry. Even after years of negative attention focusing on the "unhealthy" state of the fast food industry...the healthy options are still minimal at best.
The following weight loss diet statistics are offered by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention: (Source: Health, United States, 2009, Table 67)
- 67% of not institutionalized adults are overweight or obese
- 34% of these adults are obese
- 18% of teens are overweight (aged 12 to 19)
- 15% of kids are overweight (aged 6 to 11)
- 11% of 2 to 5 year olds are overweight
The weight loss diet statistics are not only revealing they are terrifying. Why are they terrifying? They are terrifying because when it comes to risk factors...weight is a major factor for many illnesses and diseases. It's also terrifying because when it comes to health care costs obesity plays a huge part. It's not only the health of our people that is at risk...it's the health of the nation's finances.