Stop the Madness

Appetizer

Start caring MORE about your health. I ran across some statistics this morning that made my skin crawl. Obesity is truly an epidemic in America and abroad, and we need to start taking it seriously.

This doesn’t mean that you have to lobby government officials to support healthy living legislation (although that would help) or that you need to read every health & fitness magazine that you can get your hands on.

What it does mean is that we have to stop making excuses and, in the words of Nike…

Main Course

A few staggering statistics to help motivate you on this healthy living journey:

>> Number of overweight people worldwide above age 15 last year = 1.6 billion

>> 23 % of the world's overweight or obese population lives in the U.S.

>> Body mass index for a person who is overweight = 25-30

>> Average BMI for U.S. males aged 15 or older = 28.4

>> Average BMI for U.S. females aged 15 or older = 28.8

>> 7% of the world's obese live in the U.S. (but only 5% of the global population).

>> 24 pounds is the ave. increase in weight of men & women since the 1960s

>> Men between 20 and 74 years old weigh on average 191 pounds.

>> Women between the same ages weigh on average 164 pounds

>> 3/4 of Americans aged 15 or older were overweight or obese in 2005

Sources: www.adage.com; World Health Organization

Dessert

I find myself frustrated today because I can’t figure out how many more times the government, social service agencies, non-profit organizations, health professionals, and the medical community have to say it before some people WAKE UP and realize that they’re killing themselves.

Yesterday afternoon, I took a break from work to walk across the street to Starbucks. As I was waiting for my tall Chai Latte w/Skim (Mmmm...), I saw a family waiting to cross the street. I noticed that the middle child, a boy, was quite plump, but having been a big child myself, I didn’t think much of it. That was until I saw what he was eating.


The child had a container of Duncan Hines buttercream frosting – you know the one that is intended to cover an ENTIRE cake – and he was eating it plain, right out of the container with a spoon. As he was doing this, the mother was just chatting and smiling as though she had not a care in the world.

I’m confused. Just plain confused. Knowing all that I’m SURE she must know about obesity and health risks, how could she – the person designed to protect and shelter her child from harm – allow him to engorge himself with something so horrible? Actually, it wasn’t that it was so horrible as much as it was…well…so much! He was nearly ¾ done with that container by the time I saw him, and the kid was showing no signs of stopping.

Hey guys, we have to draw the line somewhere.

About Cafe Physique:
The mission of Café Physique is to help clients reach and exceed their personal fitness and nutrition goals. If you’re in need of an a nutritionist in Atlanta or an Atlanta personal trainer – Café Physique is the perfect solution. We offer Atlanta yoga instruction, Atlanta prenatal workouts, and Atlanta personal training. We also have private sessions of pilates that Atlanta residents are raving about. We invite you to let a member of our Atlanta registered dietitian staff or personal training team develop and implement a realistic and healthy lifestyle plan to meet your personal goals.