Epidemic: One in Three Obese

Hey MFT Tribers!
Here's a great discussion that I'd like to start here at MFT as well. I know its talked of before, but recently while talking with a fellow collegue, she stated that my lifestyle, (well she didnt specify me in particular, but why not since it was my lifestyle that started the topic) Bodybuilding is unhealthy. People so obsessed with how they look and how they want other people to admire them as well. She said its disgusting and asked why I do it? I told her health and nutrition. She said its unhealthy to workout that much, to which I disproved by explaining how long I work out, and her understanding implied that I workout 2-3 hours a day every day doing the same thing. I explained how it can help boost peoples confidence and make them happy, give them energy, etc. She then said confidence is more of mental problem and I agree, it does stem much deeper, because even if you look good, you still need to make sure that along the way somehow you focus on what the real problem is, or may be. Anyways.

Its kind of interesting because if I would have said exactly the same principles and concepts behind what I do, except that I had not mentioned the word Bodybuilder, I bet the connotation would have been completely different. Say, had I said I was a competive fitness athlete? Or just fitness athlete, I can almost undoubtly say that the conversation would have been entirely different. All because I used the word bodybuilder.

Back to the article I wanted to bring up, why do I do what i do? Here's why you NEED to do what we do here at MFT.com

I also let her know America is pathetic right now, here's my proof. I do not know WHO did the "study" or survey, but this is one that it is extraneous because they're easily provable statistics, as you can go outside and SEE this for yourself. Especially since the population at study is OUR nation

The article came from ABOUT.com
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Right now in the US, about one-third of the population is obese. This wasn't the case 30 years ago. Sometime between then and now, we changed the way we eat. So what happened?
We know why so many people are obese. Too much food, with lots of calories, over-processed with lots of sugar and unhealthy fats. And lack of physical activity is also takes part of the blame.

But why did this happen? What was the tipping point that turned us into a bunch of chubby lemmings ready to plummet off the cliff into an abyss of obesity-related chronic disease? And more important now -- what is the tipping point that will get us back to a healthy weight?

Think about a typical day, How many people ...

... start the day with sugary cereals, maybe some frozen things that heat up in the toaster? Maybe just grab a cup of coffee or a bottle of Mountain Dew and a donut? Eeww. What a way to start the day.

... eat too much at work? Vending machines offer fattening snacks, and it is easy to eat a candy bar or snack cake with your morning coffee. What about lunch? Off to the closest fast food joint for artery-clogging burgers and fries.

... give up on dinner? It's been a long day at work and now it is time to make dinner for the family. Ugh. Maybe just stop for take-out, grab a bucket of fried chicken or order a big pizza. After dinner it is time to veg out in front of the HDTV where we are barraged with ads for snacks, sodas and more fast foods. Off to the kitchen for a bag of Doritos anyone?

What else has changed over the last thirty-something years? When I was a kid we filled the car's tank at a gas station. Now we stop for gas at a convenience store and while there, we fill our own tanks with some of the worst junk foods. It's just too easy to step inside for a donut, a slice of pizza or a giant soda for the ride.

Portion sizes have increased too. We drink soda in 20-ounce bottles instead of 12-ounce cans, restaurant portions are huge and I think a lot of people have just gotten used to eating more food at each meal.

What about physical activity? When I was kid in the 70's, we had physical education in school every day. That isn't the case anymore. Plus more kids play video and computer games in the house, instead of going outside.

Maybe we aren't as active at home either. Thirty years ago, we didn't have remote controls for our TVs so we had to get up and walk across the room to turn the dial. And we didn't have a cell phone in our pocket -- we had to run to answer the phone in the other room. But did those little bits of activity make much of a difference in our calorie burning back in the day? Maybe, if you add them up over time. Something certainly was different - it wasn't common to belong to a health club and we didn't have VCRs yet -- Buns of Steel and other exercise tapes were a long way off.

So what else has changed that makes over-eating so easy? Let me hear your comments, thanks.