What Is The Government Doing About Our National Weight Crisis?
Because of our love for fast food and our lack of daily exercise many Americans are getting more obese every year and this sad trend is grwoing at an alarming rate according to our country’s obesity experts.
Each year the number of people that are considered overweight increases and currently more than 60 percent of all U.S. adults and 15 percent of children aged 6 to 19 fall into that category according to the CDC.
The CDC also says that poor diet and physical inactivity account for more than 400,000 premature deaths each year in the United States, second only to deaths related to smoking.
Overweight people are also likely to develop any number of preventable diseases such as gallbladder disease, stroke, diabetes, heart disease or high blood pressure.
Excess weight can also cause interrupted breathing during sleep (sleep apnea) and wearing away of the joints (osteoarthritis). Carrying extra weight means carrying an extra risk for certain types of cancer, including endometrial, breast, prostate, and colon cancer.
But there is hope for overweight Americans. They can take small, achievable steps to improve their health and reverse the obesity epidemic. This message is the cornerstone of a national education campaign announced in March 2004 by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
As part of HHS’ renewed efforts to combat obesity, the Food and Drug Administration’s Obesity Working Group released its Calories Count report in March 2004, highlighting actions that the agency will work toward to help consumers make smart choices about their diet.
Some of these actions include encouraging restaurants to provide calorie and nutrition information, strengthening food labeling and educating consumers about maintaining a healthy diet and weight.
Enforcement of food labeling was also stepped up to make sure that portion sizes were realistic and additional research was started to produce healthier, lower calorie foods to help reduce obesity in Americans.
