Washington Examiner: Obesity epidemic at new high, costs $150B a year, hurts military recruiting
Americans continue to get fatter and it's delivering a huge blow to the country, both in higher health care costs and undercutting military recruiting, according to a huge new study.
The 14th annual State of Obesity: Better Policies for a Healthier America report from the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation bluntly reported that 70 percent of the nation is obese or overweight.
And while the rate of obesity growth is leveling off, the costs aren't. The report, for example, said additional health care for obese adults and children is $150 billion a year and billions of dollars more in lost worker productivity.
Read more ....
WNU Editor: My brother use to be a lean-mean machine at 175 lbs (he is 6 ft. tall) .... who ran marathons!!!!! Now .... after living in the Bay Area for almost 20 years .... 230lbs, on medication for high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and something else that I forgot. WTF!!!!! I am 180lbs in good shape (I am on no medication). Our cousins in Russia .... ouch .... they are in super shape ... all of them lean and mean (and no medication). So the big question .... is there something in the air in the U.S.? Culture? Diet (obviously). Or something else?
Your brother at least one commenter would say got in bad shape by living in a very liberal city
ReplyDeleteFred. Actually ... from what I saw .... people who live in SF are in great shape.
ReplyDeleteMy son will be there to live after trip to china
DeleteAnd I had lived there and loved it but that was a long time ago
I can confirm that people in SF and california in general are in good shape and health. And Fred, this is probably the most liberal state. And the fittest.
ReplyDeleteAnyways, now with the typical bigotry aside, here's what drives the difference between Russians and Americans
1. Nutrition/diet.. it's not a cliché. .it's the main driver of obesity. .you can't get a 1l soda over the counter at McDonalds in Russia or Europe
2. Average time spent in a resting position. Most jobs in the US have shifted towards an office based service industry. There's less movement necessary and certainly fewer physically demanding jobs around than in Russia.
3. Medication. Similar to the UK,the US has a painkiller-first medication focused healthcare system. This has terrible consequences for your body if you get hooked. You get bloated and take on weight, which further reduces likelihood of movement and sports.
4. Stress Stress Stress ..the US has some of the most overworked people in the World. They get 2 weeks vacation, while their European counterparts - even if in same company - get up to three times more (Germany, France).
5. Less sleep. Overworked people sleep less. If you don't sleep well it's a vicious cycle difficult to escape. You burn less fat and gain more.
6. Delivery and car life style. Everything from whole foods to amazon to your door step, and if not, you drive there. Americans on average walk less.
7. The air carries secret super drugs that make you fat. Not really, but if you want to believe it, go right ahead :))
In America it is dangerous to walk while white.
ReplyDelete"Kansas City's Indian Creek Serial Murderer Nabbed After Killing 5th Victim"
Jogger Karina Vetrano was brutally beaten and raped before a stranger strangled her in Queens park"
Before a favored liberal says this is anecdotal, here are the overall statistics.
https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2013/crime-in-the-u.s.-2013/offenses-known-to-law-enforcement/expanded-homicide/expanded_homicide_data_table_6_murder_race_and_sex_of_vicitm_by_race_and_sex_of_offender_2013.xls
Vicious 'knockout game' racial hate crime captured on camera
Tons of unhealthy foods being offered at U.S. grocery stores and in restaurants. Too much sugar! Not to mention high fructose corn syrup and those fake sugars. Culture plays a large part as well.
ReplyDeleteProbably has alot to do with artificially hydrogenated fats. They help prevent frying oils, bread, and bakery products from going stale, but their reduced oxidation rate means they tend to pile up in the body. If I recall correctly, there is no biological pathway to efficiently eliminate partially hydrogenated fats because they were not part of the diet in pre-historical times. Their presence in the cell membrane also reportedly interferes with the proper functioning of insulin receptors which could result in type 2 diabetes. America has been using them for decades, but in in larger measure since the cholesterol scares of the late 70's/early 80's. I still see them on bread ingredients labels in the midwest but hard to find them in California where the public has largely caught on that they're not good. The Obama administration also spoke out strongly against their use.
ReplyDeleteProbably has alot to do with artificially hydrogenated fats. They help prevent frying oils, bread, and bakery products from going stale, but their reduced oxidation rate means they tend to pile up in the body. If I recall correctly, there is no biological pathway to efficiently eliminate partially hydrogenated fats because they were not part of the diet in pre-historical times. Their presence in the cell membrane also reportedly interferes with the proper functioning of insulin receptors which could result in type 2 diabetes. America has been using them for decades, but in in larger measure since the cholesterol scares of the late 70's/early 80's. I still see them on bread ingredients labels in the midwest but hard to find them in California where the public has largely caught on that they're not good. The Obama administration also spoke out strongly against their use.
ReplyDeleteFred. Living there is not cheap. My brother's home is apparently worth $1.5 million .... but to me it is a crummy shack. And the price for basics ... OMG!!!
ReplyDeleteAnon,
ReplyDeleteNo antibiotics and other chemicals in the Russian food supply. I sometimes wonder if that has an impact. And yes ... the meat tastes better in Moscow than in North America.
No antibiotics in Russian food? Are you sure? Antibiotics are often used to speed up growth (I know how that sounds but that's what they do)..Russian meat producers surely must jump on that bandwagon. .or is it illegal in Russia?
DeleteIt's illegal.
ReplyDelete"Probably has alot to do with artificially hydrogenated fats..."
ReplyDeleteIMO the most informative comment of the thread.
I'll have to check it out.
"The practically important findings were that the healthiest people in the world had diets that are full of fruits, beans, seeds, vegetables, and whole grains, and low in refined carbohydrates and sugar ..
These assertions are all predicated on the idea that most people’s definition of “healthy diet” is “low fat.” That was the recommendation from the USDA in the 1990s. But given that there have been a lot of nutrition studies and books and stories since then, that idea has been disproved again and again. There is still some disagreement over exactly how much of various types of fats are optimal for human health in which populations, but the differences are academic."
www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/09/moderate-intake-of-things-linked-to-health/538428/
I am having a hard time finding processed food to snack on due to being married to a communist.
Aizino,
ReplyDeleteBeing married to a communist. Oh no .... :)
Married? Wow
Delete