Americans keep getting bigger and bigger. The Trust For Americans Health fourth annual obesity report, reveals in the past year, obesity rates have gone up in 31 states and no states had shrinking rates. Also 2/3 of U.S. adults are overweight or obese, 60% of the population in 32 states is overweight or obese.
Obesity related diseases are also on the rise including diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Along with the rise of these obesity related preventable diseases, health care cost and number of americans without health insurance is also on the rise.
According to AARP, health insurance cost are up 87% for a family of four since 2000 and 47 million are now without insurance, 2.2 million more than 2006.
Many of the uninsured and people with medical insurance coverage can take measures to help prevent visits to the doctors office or possible life threatening diseases by simply eating nutritional foods and maintaining weight control while strenghthening the main muscle (heart) with regular exercise or physical activity, while building strength and stamina.
Insurers are looking at all health conditions.
Preexisting ailments can determine your health insurance premiums and you could even be declined. High premiums and deductibles will put a financial burden on most people, especially if the disease becomes chronic.
The rise in the number of obesity related diseases is also causing health insurance companies to pass the cost along to everyone.
Possibly one of the biggest challenges facing families today is the increase in obese children with 1 in 5 overweight kids and a higher risk of social and employment problems for starters, then a larger chance of premature death or dabilitating ailments. Get the kids involved in sports, or any kind of physical activity and guide them to healthy eating habits, so they can grow up to be happy healthy young adults.
Living a healthy lifestyle is a free insurance policy for you and your family that only takes committing to good healthy nutritional foods and continuous fitness conditioning. habits
People who have sedentary jobs or lead an inactive lifestyle are at the most risk, but it's not to late to start regardless of your weight or age. Form good eating habits and stop all poor eating habits by avoiding saturated fats found in fatty meat, ice cream, whole milk, butter, plus trans fats found in cookies, donuts,cakes and junk food, soda pop ( less sugars,) fast food restaurants,(cook at home more) and eat in moderation. .
The World Health Organization states there is evidence that, on a population level, the risk of chronic diseases, increases progressively as average body mass index (BMI) increases above 21. WHO defines overweight as 25 or more,, and obesity 30 or more. This is determined by a persons weight (in kilograms) divided by the square of his or her height (in meters). A high body mass index is a major risk factor for a number of chronic diseases., including cardiovascular diseases, cancer and diabetes.
The one sedentary recreation that has become a big problem for many american families is TV. People spend an unhealthy amount of time in front of the tube. If you must watch, try getting up and watch at least 30 minutes per day of your favorite program while performing aerobics or calisthenic type exercises- any heart stimulating movement will help.
With the climb of health care cost and the risk of loosing a job or days off due to illness, or obesity preventing you from getting decent employment, and employers looking for ways to pass the cost to employees, you need to take as many preventive measures as possible for you and your family . The important thing is to get started and make these changes a part of your everyday life for the rest of your life, so you can avoid financial and medical catastrophy.
Optimal health will depend on the way you run your life. The important thing is to do something.
