How Can We Beat Obesity In Society?

Obesity is growing problem within our society and it doesn't look like it's going to get any better over the coming years. Although the world has woken up to the dangers of obesity still the majority of Western cultures appear to be getting bigger and bigger.

The problem may lie with fast food becoming an accepted part of many people's diets, it may lie with the growth in popularity of computer / console games that mean that children spend less time playing out but in reality it's a mixture of many things. One thing is for sure and that is that we need to do something soon for the sake of the health of our children and for our own health.

Society makes it too easy for us to say yes to temptation, advertising of junk food on television is an accepted part of life although guidelines are being brought in to limit the amount of advertising of these products that is aimed broadly at children, for example the offer of a burger and a toy from a fast food restaurant. Around one in four children are now believed to be obese in Great Britain and the figures for America are much worse.

There are many cultures which are traditionally more approving (to varying degrees) of obesity, including some African, Arabic, Indian, and Pacific Island cultures. But we should also start to consider childhood obesity a social problem, and take action now.

Obesity is on the rise in our society because not only is food abundant but the wrong type of food is abundant as well as this for many children physical activity is optional. But herein lies a problem, the fatter our kids get the less they want to exercise, it's a vicious circle. More and more research into child obesity, for example, links such things as the school run, with the current high levels of this disease. Something as simple walking to school with the kids can make a big difference to the health of a child.

Just walking at 3 miles per hour for twenty minutes a day can burn up to 75 calories. Not that impressive really until you add that up over a period of time; 1500 calories a month or approximately 18,000 calories a year, now that makes a big difference to anyone. Obesity is mainly caused by taking in more calories than are used up in physical activity and daily life so by simply adding in a small dose of exercise can make a really big difference.

For the sake of a twenty minute walk a day you could help stave off such obesity related diseases as diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, heart attack, heart failure, certain types of cancer such as prostate and colon, gallstones, gout, degenerative joint disease and sleep apnea.

A change of diet will also help, changing from a diet of processed food to a diet consisting of fresh produce such as of tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, fruit and vegetables as found in simple Italian cooking will help to reduce the amount of saturated fat, salt and sugar in the body which all have a negative affect on health.

A few simple steps can really go a long way in improving the health of the world; it's really up to the world whether or not they can be bothered to make the change for the better.

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