More Americans obese than merely overweight

Great work today - nothing beats 400 meters of lunges; we'll see that one come up again...

Remember, your nutrition is 50% of your fitness and health or lack thereof - 50%

Check out this article from MSNBC: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28582253 truly appalling. No amount of quality PT can undo crappy nutrition. Don't join this group, get your nutrition dialed in, get your WOD on and live a long, quality life. If you don't know where to start but want to get on track, stop in and we will get your nutrition on track.

Thanks Joel for shooting this link to me.

More Americans obese than merely overweight
Latest statistics show numbers have flipped and now 34 percent are obese
Reuters

WASHINGTON - The number of obese American adults outweighs the number of those who are merely overweight, according to the latest statistics from the federal government.

Numbers posted by the National Center for Health Statistics show that more than 34 percent of Americans are obese, compared to 32.7 percent who are overweight. It said just under 6 percent are "extremely" obese. (That's 66.7% of Americans that are overweight or obese!!! Obviously the USDA food pyramid is NOT the answer)

"More than one-third of adults, or over 72 million people, were obese in 2005-2006, the NCHS said in its report.

The numbers are based on a survey of 4,356 adults over the age of 20 who take part in a regular government survey of health, said the NCHS, which is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The figures come from the 2005-2006 survey and are the most current available.

"During the physical examination, conducted in mobile examination centers, height and weight were measured as part of a more comprehensive set of body measurements," the NCHS report said.

"Although the prevalence of obesity has more than doubled since 1980, the prevalence of overweight has remained stable over the same time period," it said.

Obesity raises serious health risks

Obesity and overweight are calculated using a formula called body mass index. BMI is equal to weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared. Someone with a BMI of 25 to 29 is classified as overweight, 30 to 40 counts as obese and people with BMIs of 40 or more are morbidly obese.

In the 1988-1994 surveys, 33 percent of Americans were overweight, 22.9 percent were obese and 2.9 percent were morbidly obese. The numbers have edged up steadily since.
Being overweight or obese raises the risk of heart disease, diabetes, some cancers, arthritis and other conditions. (I submit that all these problems: overweight / obesity, heart disease, diabetes, many cancers, arthritis and Alzheimer's stem from the consumption of sugar and refined carbohydrates)

In May, the CDC reported that 32 percent of U.S. children fit the definition of being overweight, 16 percent were obese and 11 percent were extremely obese. (Passing on the poor eating habits and setting your kids up for failure is truly tragic. Type II diabetes used to be called "adult onset diabetes". Thanks to our consumption of sugar and refined carbs, people get it younger and younger hence it was renamed "type II" - by the way, it's completely curable with the proper diet.)

Childhood and adult obesity has emerged as a growing problem not only in the United States but also in many countries around the world.

Copyright 2009 Reuters.