Obesity is an epidemic in the United States. While we see this as a problem (most people don't enjoy being obese), most people fail to see the true consequences of this. The United States still doesn't have world high life expectancy, but this is only going to change as more and more people become fat.
From Forbes.com:
"If you want to look better, if you want to feel better, you lower your calorie intake, you lower your fat, your crabs, you eat more fruits and vegetables and more whole grains, and you exercise -- and that's as simple as it can be," he added. “If you want to look better, if you want to feel better, you lower your calorie intake, you lower your fat, your crabs, you eat more fruits and vegetables and more whole grains, and you exercise -- and that's as simple as it can be," he added.
The guidelines contain 41 key recommendations, 23 of them for the general public and 18 for certain populations such as children or older adults. Here are the main messages:
To maintain a healthy body weight, balance calories taken in with calories expended.
To reduce the risk of chronic disease in adulthood, engage in a moderate-intensity physical activity at least 30 minutes a day for most of days of the week. More vigorous exercise for longer periods of time is better.
To prevent gradual weight gain in adulthood, engage in about 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity on most days of the week while keeping calories constant.
To maintain weight loss in adulthood, do 60 to 90 minutes of daily moderate-intensity physical activity while keeping calories constant.
Limit intake of saturated and Trans fats, cholesterol, added sugars, salt and alcohol.
For a 2,000-calorie diet, eat two cups of fruit and two-and-a-half cups of vegetables each day.
Eat three or more ounce-equivalents of whole-grain products each day, with the rest of the recommended grains coming from enriched or whole-grain products. In general, at least half the grains should come from whole grains.
Consume three cups a day of fat-free or low-fat milk or equivalent milk products.
Consume less than 10 percent of total calories from saturated fatty acids and less than 300 milligrams a day of cholesterol. Keep Trans fatty acid consumption as low as possible.
Keep total fat intake between 20 percent and 35 percent of calories, with most fats coming from sources of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids, such as fish, nuts and vegetable oils.
Eat lean, low-fat or fat-free meat, poultry, dry beans, and milk or milk products.
Consume less than 2,300 milligrams -- about one teaspoon of salt -- of sodium per day.
Increase potassium intake with fruits and vegetables.
Limit alcoholic beverages to one drink a day if you are a woman, up to two drinks a day for men. Some individuals, including pregnant women, should not drink alcohol at all.
On top of this, recent reports suggest that hypertension will rise too affecting 1/3 of the adult population of the WORLD. One can assume that developed countries such as the USA will have a higher amount of cases than the un-developed world. This will lead to increased heart disease and death from such complications. We have a problem here, and we need to take care of it. And the way to a healthy life is to teach you while young to eat healthy. Students in schools should be required to have body fat monitored (and parent recommendations made), as well as healthy food and no snacks available in the lower schools. In high schools, students should be required to participate in a sport or gym class each year, and food should be limited in the cafeteria (salads w/ low fat dressing should also be offered). We have to look to our children’s health to determine the health of this nation in coming years... our children are our future, so let's make sure our future doesn't involve larger airplane seats, wheel chairs and triple bypass surgery.
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