There is an obesity crisis in the Unites States.
We are getting fatter and fatter every year in this country, with now 33% of adults in this country being classified as obese.
That is f***ing ridiculous. How can we as a country be taken seriously as a shining example of what a country should look like, but also be engaged in the unhealthiest of food practices that is causing drastic downward spirals in our citizens health?
The truth is is that we have slipped off the leader board in terms of national health and until we solve this obesity crisis, we will never get back on top.
So how do we do that? How do we overcome a disease that to many seems more like a motivational problem than a physiological one? Obesity has the stigma of being merely a problem that can be solved with diet and exercise, and to a point, that is true.
But now, new research has led to us knowing that just what we consume can actually affect our brain chemistry and tell us to keep consuming it, in events that may even lie outside our control. T
hat is the scary part of poor quality food consumption that I think needs to be addressed on a larger scale. It is one thing to tell a person that they need to eat healthier, (ie more fruits/veggies, less fatty foods and carbs) but to actually convince them, we need more raw facts, more information that can convince them of just what they are doing to themselves.
High fat foods are shown to alter your perception of food after even a short period of time (1-3 days). You begin to suffer neuronal damage, that though is initially reversal, can become permanent if food is abused over a long period of time.
Perceptions of food also begin to change as your diet becomes increasingly more unhealthy. In a study done in 2011, researches found that individuals who were obese had greater sensory responses to food or food reward in comparison to those of healthy body weight.
They said that these kinds of reactions to food were due to repeated exposure to high palatability foods that led to an increase in wanting of those foods that led to a continuous cycle of poor nourishment. The obese individuals were also placed at greater risk of continued overeating and weight gain in comparison to healthy individuals.
Once addicted to the unhealthy foods and the false positive feelings they bring, it can be a difficult trend to break free from.
This is why weight loss is such a challenging thing to achieve. You need to overcome the barriers of buying healthy food and forcing yourself to engage in exercise and healthy activity, as well as realize that your brain is going to be working against you and telling you to cave and go back to that junk food.
So what is the solution? I personally believe it starts with a good support system that encourages you to stick to your goals and can help keep you on the right track to healthiness. Whether this involves education, workout programs, diets, etc. it really depends person to person. Once the right program is found, healthiness can be achieved.
#MakeAmericaHealthyAgain
Obesity: Moderation or Modulation?
