Weight problems: an epidemic in front of our eyes
According to the recent statistics, more than 64.5 percent of the American population is presently overweight and almost 20 percent are categorized as obese (more than 20 percent over their optimal body weight). An article in the Journal of the American Medical Association stated that the number of obese Americans has increased by 49 percent since 1991. According to William Dietz, director of the Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, "A rise of such a magnitude [in obesity] is a unique observation in the annals of chronic disease. We're seeing an epidemic of a chronic disease right in front of our eyes."
More than 64.5 percent represents a majority of our population. That's correct, a majority of the American population is now overweight. If you are overweight, you are not alone. Those at an appropriate body weight are in the minority; therefore, millions of Americans, whether Lifelong Strugglers or Slow Gainers, need to lose weight. Why haven't they? We all know that there is no shortage of diet and exercise programs available in the marketplace. One can barely turn on the television, listen to the radio, or open a newspaper or magazine without being bombarded with one extravagant weight-loss promise after another. Polls indicate that at any one time a significant number of Americans state that they either are on a diet or should be on a diet. Year after year, losing weight is the number one New Year's resolution. Yet we remain an overweight nation.