More than two-thirds of adults and almost one third of children in the United States are overweight. As the upward trend continued, people started taking action. The government, schools and community organizations launched large campaigns to fight the battle of the bulge. Now some new figures from the Centers for Disease Control show the rates of obesity have leveled off over the last decade. So is it time to celebrate? Not really. The data, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, shows a slowing in the increase of obesity rates in this country over the past 10 years. But the number of overweight and obese individuals in the United States is still staggering. 68 percent of adults are currently overweight and 34 percent are obese. 17 percent of children are also considered obese. Experts aren't sure if this change is due to healthier diets and regular exercise, or if it seems that this is just as heavy as we're going to get. There will always be a certain portion of the population who is naturally a healthy weight or takes steps to keep their weight under control. So the rest of the country might have just reached its maximum. And although these figures show some promise, experts agree that it's going to take a large shift in our thinking and environment to start seeing a decline in the rates of overweight and obesity in this country. The obesity epidemic is a top priority for the White House, and one of the causes championed by Michelle Obama. Employers have learned that a healthy employee translates to lower health care costs, so more companies are promoting wellness programs. Schools are making changes to their lunch programs and encouraging more physical activity. But with all of this focus on the obesity epidemic, what is it really going to take to see substantial change in this country? Are the current programs enough? If not, what else can/should we be doing? What do you think? |
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