The Obesity Epidemic-Part I By Helene Pulnik, RPh, MS, ND, LAc. F
rom children to teens to adults, obesity in the United States has been increas- ingly cited as a major health issue in
recent decades. While many industrialized countries have experienced similar increases, obesity rates in the United States are among the highest in the world; 74.6% of Americans are overweight or obese. U.S. obesity esti- mates have steadily increased, from 19.4% in 1997, to 24.5% in 2004, to 26.6% in 2007, to 33.8% (adults) and 17% (children) in 2008. Overweight adolescents have a 70 percent chance of becoming overweight or obese adults, which increases to 80 percent if one or more parent is overweight or obese. Sadly, the current generation of teens —
characterized by high blood sugar, surplus weight, poor eating habits, smoking and limited exercise — are the unhealthiest in our history, according to Dr. Donald Lloyd- Jones, professor of medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Obesity is a physical condition that results from excessive storage of fat in the body. Obesity has been defined as a weight more than 20% above what is considered normal as per the Body Mass Index (BMI), which is calculated from an individual’s age, height, and weight. While the presence of fat tissue is essential as natural energy reserve in our bodies, excess fat tissue results in obe- sity and causes health disorders. Obesity is
measured by: BMI, Waist Measurement and Combined Measurements. An obese person carries an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and cancer. According to a study in The Journal of
the American Medical Association (JAMA), in 2008 the obesity rate among adult Ameri- cans was estimated at 32.2% for men and 35.5% for women; these rates were roughly confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention again for 2009-2010. During the past 20 years, there has been a dramatic increase in obesity in the United States and rates remain high. In 2010, no state had a prevalence of obesity less than 20%. Thirty- six states had a prevalence of 25% or more; 12 of these states (Alabama, Arkansas, Ken- tucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Mis- souri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia) had a prevalence of 30% or more.
By 2020, four out of five of your friends,
coworkers, family members and neighbors will be overweight or obese, and half of them will be diabetic or pre-diabetic, according to researchers at Northwestern University. Re- searchers for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that in 2003, obesity related medical costs reached $75 billion. What has changed in our culture and so- ciety to cause such an explosion of obesity in
the United States? Food consumption has increased with time. For example, annual per capita con- sumption of cheese went from 4 pounds in 1909 to 32 pounds in 2000! The average person con- sumed 389 grams of carbohydrates daily in 1970, which increased to 490 grams in 2000; our consumption of fats and oils averaged 41 pounds per person in 1909 - that nearly doubled, rising to 79 pounds in 2000. In 1977, 18% of an average person’s food was consumed outside the home, in 1996, this had risen to 32%. Exercise has decreased. Fewer than 5%
of Americans enjoy ideal cardiovascular health and today’s teens will die younger of heart disease than people of prior genera- tions.
Obese people have altered hormone lev-
els that encourage the accumulation of body fat. It seems that behaviors such as overeat- ing and lack of regular exercise, over time, ‘reset’ the processes that regulate appetite and body-fat distribution to make the person physiologically more inclined to gain weight. Obesity is increasingly viewed as an endo- crine disorder, where the excess fat stores in the body produce hormones which increase fat deposits, eating, food cravings, and total body inflammation, and decrease fat burning. The hormones cortisol, leptin, insulin, sex hormones and growth hormone influence ap- petite, metabolism and body fat distribution. Undiagnosed hypothyroidism and polycystic ovarian syndrome are also hormone imbal- ances which can contribute to obesity. Over time, in addition to years of poor eating habits and lack of regular exercise, chronic lack of proper sleep and chronic stress often contribute to some of the hor- mone imbalances observed in obese indi- viduals.
So where do we begin to lose weight and become healthier? It seems like the odds are stacked against us. Fast food is conve-
26 Natural Nutmeg May 2012
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