America: The Land of the Fat

I just got back from a vacation in Disney World. As much as I enjoyed the trip, I can't help but feel discouraged about some of what I saw. Please forgive my bluntness, but we are a FAT country. Normally I wouldn't speak like that about such a sensitive subject. However, things have gotten so serious that protecting feelings can only make it worse.

The most recent statistics I've seen put the number of overweight and obese Americans at around 65%. From what I saw in DW, it's higher now. I can only imagine what the travelers from other countries were thinking. I was embarrassed to visit the various countries at Epcot, where most employees are originally from that country. If I had to guess the % overweight and obese among them, I would peg it at around 25%.

So why are Americans so heavy? Well, I think we all know it's lifestyle, as well as a constant barrage of food marketing. The scary part is, it is now the norm to be fat. If some of those people I saw would have been walking through the parks 30 years ago, they would have felt very uncomfortable. Today they fit in, which takes a lot of the societal pressure off them and makes a reversal of these awful trends all the more difficult.

This gives me more motivation to work on addressing the obesity epidemic at the local level. If we think healthcare costs a lot now, wait until this generation of people hits 60-65 years old. I can promise you that none of us is prepared for the cost problems down the road.

For God's sake people, please make some effort to take care of yourself. If you are 40 and have a BMI of 30-35, chances are it hasn't completely caught up with you yet. Don't take too much comfort in the fact that you don't need to visit the doctor often. I can promise you that you will have to endure many doctor visits down the road when the chronic conditions, knee/hip problems, etc. start setting in.