Wellness Wednesday

Body scan of 250 lb. woman and 120 lb. woman

In my grad school studies, I focused on the obesity crisis as that appears to be the most serious health concern in our future.  This article on CNN explains that, except for sub-Saharan Africa, the world has an obesity crisis on its hands - and it's much worse than the hunger issue.  As the world has adopted the eating and lifestyle habits of the United States and other English-speaking countries, diet-related illness has become the number one health problem.  More alarming is that with advances in medical technology and care, people are living longer but are suffering more.  Living longer with chronic disease means more expenses, both for individuals and for the government.  As the article points out, the last 14 years of life that people experience the most illness and pain, which means more trips to the doctor and hospital and more medication, which always comes with side effects.   Not a very good quality of life and not something I would choose to spend my time and money on.

Diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and musculoskeletal disorders are among the chronic and debilitating diseases caused by diet and obesity.  Most of these diseases are preventable - and in some cases reversible - by adopting healthy eating and exercise habits.  Here's a video of Dr. Neal Barnard talking about how diabetes can be reversed (even though the medical profession will not acknowledge it):
In the US, it is traditional to make resolutions for the new year, with weight loss being the most common resolution.  For 2013, I encourage everyone to get serious about making and sticking to this resolution.  Learn about healthy eating and find ways to move your body more.  But don't take on so much that you feel defeated before you start - take baby steps.  And enlist friends to make it more fun.

I don't know about you, but I really don't want to spend the last 14 years of my life suffering, especially when much of it can be prevented.