F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America’s Future*, reveals that the obesity rates across America are increasing. That’s right, there are more obese individuals in 16 states than in 2010. And there was no state in the United States, that reported a decline in obesity rates. Yes, we are all getting fatting-well most of us!

Here are the percentage of obese adults in all 50 states-see it for yourself**: 

 Okay, look at the state that you live in and compare it to the other states. My friends, we have a big problem. It seems that all of the interventions, all of the diets and diet books, all of the infomercials, all of the diet aids, all of the exercise programs and exercise equipment are not yet making a considerable dent in the epidemic.

What can we do? Well, my first suggestion continues to be education of our youth in nutrition and exercise. You have heard me say this before- well here I go again-bring back the Home Economics courses and retool them for the current generation. Let’s teach our kids about eating healthy, about cooking and about getting exercise. We have to start at a young age and continue this education pathway until these kids reach adult hood. What else can be done? Oh no-are you thinking “fat” penalties?  Well my friends, we are certainly heading in that direction if we are unable to discipline ourselves.  Paying an extra tax for those extra pounds you are carrying! Are you all ready for the supermarket to tell you what items you can buy and what items are off limits? Are you ready for the restaurant to  pleasantly decline to serve you all of the items that you would like? Are you ready for your doctor to report your waist size, weight and BMI to a government registry?

Yes, this could be a doom and gloom scenario. Can we all cut down on the excess calories we are consuming voluntarily? I am not sure! Many studies are pointing to the excess in calories consumed more than the types of calories as the true cause of weight gain. We all know that some people eat too many carbs and switching them to a lower carbohydrate and higher fat/protein regimen will help them lose weight. We also know that some people will lose weight on a lower fat diet or a rice diet or even a cabbage diet. You can lose weight on all of them.

So what will it take? What will it take to make the general public think about the cutting down? Medical warnings about the risks of carrying extra weight don’t seem to be helping. And we are getting mixed messages from the medical community-some reports actually show no increase in mortality statistics with obesity; while other reports describe an increase in heart disease, arthritis and diabetes with extra weight. So what is someone to believe? With extra weight , I may get some health issues, but I will live as long as my thin neighbor!

My friends, we need to empower our children with nutrition and physical fitness education. Start early and they will grow up with the information and knowledge to make healthy choices. As for us adults, we either help ourselves, help the helpless, or we will face more and more penalties and restrictions on our freedoms. Maybe that’s the way our founding fathers wanted us to interpret the freedoms they inscribed. Freedoms at a cost!

Stay fit and healthy, The Nerdel Way.

Links:

1. *Jeff Levi, Ph.D., executive director, Trust for America’s Health; David L. Katz, M.D., M.P.H., director, Prevention Research Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Conn.; Samantha Heller, M.S., R.D., dietitian, nutritionist, exercise physiologist, Fairfield, Conn.; July 7, 2011, Trust for America’s Health report, F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America’s Future

2. **Supplement to F as in Fat: http://healthyamericans.org/reports/obesity2011/FasinFat2011LegislativeSupplement.pdf

So there it is my friends. I place this thought out there for you to ponder. Can we make a dent in the obesity epidemic before Uncle Sam sends the “Fat Police” after us? With hundreds of diets out there, low fat low carb, high protein, etc. the obesity epidemic continues. Do we have the self discipline to really cut down on our portions? Can we start an exercise/fitness program and maintain it on a consistent basis? Should parents be charged with child abuse for having an obese child? Should restaurants not allow us to order what we want? Should we be weighed and measured when we enter the supermarket and told what we can and can’t buy? Should our governments weigh us or measure our waistline like they do in Japan? Should the overweight and obese pay a higher share of taxes? Will it take government intervention to make a difference?

I believe that we need to start the nutrition education process at a young age. Kids have to grow up knowing what foods are healthy and ask their parents for healthy foods to eat. There needs to be a vertical transmission of nutrition knowledge. Kids should be able to say, “Mommy, I want to have some veggies and mom-potatoes are not vegetables!”

The question is whether we as a society can have the self discipline to regulate and manage ourselves? Or do we need “Big Brother” to come into our lives and force us to get healthy?

This is just the start to our thought processes of how to handle and manage the obesity epidemic. Let me hear your thoughts at talk@nerdel.com.

Overweight vs. Obese: (CDC) These are terms used to classify kids and adults and based on Body Mass Index (BMI-height and weight). BMI for kids and teens takes into account growth changes, differences in body fat between boys and girls. BMI calculator for Child and Teen. So go to your pediatrician’s (or primary healthy provider) office and get your child’s BMI measured. The BMI number will be plotted in a CDC BMI-for-age growth chart. You will find out whether he or she is in the A. Underweight category: less than the 5^th percentile, B. Healthy weight category: 5^th percentile to less than the 85^th percentile, C. Overweight Category: 85^th percentile to less than 95^th percentile and D. Obese: Equal to or greater than the 95^th percentile. This simple office visit will tell you all about where your child is relative to other children of the same age and sex. It will allow you to focus on how best you can help your child. Some school systems in the country, like in Arkansas, measure the BMI’s of their students and routinely send out a “BMI Report Card” to the parents. For most parents who actually look at the report, it is an eye opener. “How can that be,” we ask, “my child is not overweight and is definitely not obese.” But my friends, the harsh reality is that those of us that have heavier children underestimate our own child’s weight more often.

Calorie: is a unit of energy supplied by food. Proteins (soy, chicken, meat, fish), fats (butter, lard, olive oil, vegetable oil), and carbohydrates (sugars, glucose, starch, bread, pasta, rice) all have calories. It is the balance of calories that affects your body weight. To maintain your weight, you will eat about the same amount of calories as you are using/burning up-in your routine daily activities. To gain weight, you will eat more calories that your body is using, and to lose weight, you will either eat less calories than your body is using or you will burn up more calories in your daily activities (e.g. more exercise) with the same calorie intake.

How many calories equals one pound of fat: 3500. 

It all comes down to balance. When energy in the form of calories or food enters the body, through normal body mechanisms and exercise or play, that energy is burned off. What is not burned off remains and is turned into fat. To maintain a weight, the balance of energy coming in and energy used is achieved.  With more calories taken in than is used, there is a positive balance resulting in a weight gain. With less calories coming in than is used, there is a negative balance and a weight loss.

Portion Size: that amount of food that is consumed. Okay-now we have a problem. What exactly is a portion size? Is it the size of my fist? The size of the plate? We have grown accustomed to larger and larger portion sizes. In Europe, the portion sizes have been small. In Spain, with a meal called Tapas, the portions are small-called finger foods (appetizers). But here in the United States, we do things big! “Livin Large” is what we call it. And it’s true to the meaning. We are a large people and getting larger. Our portion sizes are huge. And we are exercising less. What does that mean-it means we are expanding our waist sizes at alarming rates.

How Many Calories Should My Child Eat? Look at the following table supplied by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) My Pyramid program: 

Find The Right Calorie Level For Your Child

Portion sizes need to be controlled, but are we ready for that? Are we ready for the Portion Police or Exercise Police? Could happen! Stay tuned for part three.