Americans Have Become More Obese Over the Years
To fully understand the problem, you must first understand what it really means to be overweight. when you are overweight you are classified as underweight, healthy weight, overweight, or obese. These classifications or identifiers so to speak , are determined by a persons Body Mass Index (BMI), or in addition a measure of body fat based on your height and weight.
(Obesity In America by Rick Linn)
|5′ 9″||124 lbs or less||Below 18.5||Underweight|
|125 lbs to 168 lbs||18.5 to 24.9||Healthy weight|
|169 lbs to 202 lbs||25.0 to 29.9||Overweight|
|203 lbs or more||30 or higher||Obese|
Why does America have such a chronic weight problem? Unfortunately, there are no definite answers to that million dollar question. But, there are two underlying causes we can detect, and they would be overeating and lack of exercise.
Americans are increasingly eating larger portions of food over the past few decades. Sugar, soda, and energy drinks are seriously affecting Americans waistlines. Fast, cheap, filling, and delicious has become the standard for Americans. And, let’s not forget that gym memberships are purchased, and home exercise equipment is delivered, but it is a monumental task to get people to use either on a regular basis. You would think the fear of bad health or wasting money would kick in at some point.
In the end we can blame it on red meat, dairy, wheat, fat, sugar etc. But, the problem is more simplistic than that. Sure, age and genetics are part of this equation. But, weight gain and weight loss is a primary formula of total calorie intake versus total calories used.