May
15
2010
Here we are, my friends, the Fat Police are ready to deliver governmental penalties for our body weight being out of proportion to societies specifications. Have we reached that point where we need new laws telling us that we are “fat”, “overweight,” “obese?” I guess we have. At least our congressional leaders feel that way. It’s not new. As pointed out in my last article, governments all over the world are proposing similar new laws and restrictions. Obesity is an epidemic and getting worse globally. According to recent statistics, 17 percent of 6 to 11 year olds and 17.6 percent of 12 to 19 year olds are obese. 33 percent of 6 to 11 year olds and 34 percent of 12 to 19 year olds are overweight. Obesity medical costs are estimated to have totaled $147 billion in 2008. Can you imagine what the costs will be in 2010?
Several new bills have been proposed in the U.S. House of Representatives and you should all be aware of them:
A. H.R. 1585-The FIT kids ACT: passed the House of Representatives April 21, 2010, renews the emphasis on physical education in schools. The Act would work to ensure kids are active during the school day and are taught to be personally responsible for their health. The legislation would engage parents and the public by requiring all school districts and states to report on ...
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Apr
27
2010
The headlines hit every newspaper, radio and television news program all across our country: 45% of all Americans have high blood pressure, diabetes or high cholesterol. These are the results of the most recent National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics. 13% of American adults had at least two of these conditions and 3% had all three! 15% of American adults had one of these problems undiagnosed-yes-they are walking around with diabetes, elevated blood pressure or high cholesterol and they don’t even know it! Non-Hispanic African-Americans were more likely than non-Hispanic white and Mexican-Americans to have at least one of the three conditions. And even more revealing, non-Hispanic African-Americans were more likely to have all three conditions compared with non-Hispanic white Americans. As we all know, all three conditions are associated with heart disease-the leading cause of death in the United States. According to additional data from the Centers For Disease Control And prevention (CDC), African-Americans had a 51% higher prevalence of obesity compared with whites. It’s all starting to make more sense. In fact a recent research projection made by Anirban Basu, PhD of the University of Chicago indicates that “obesity rates across all age categories in the U.S. adult population will remain stable for the next 10 years. However young African American adults ages 18-39, children-mainly boys ages 6-9 and ...
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