Obesity in America

Over the last twenty years we have been victimized by a disinformation campaign. During this period marketing has overtaken science and much of what we were led to believe is not true. We have grown bigger at a faster pace than any other wealthy nation since 1980.  About sixty eight percent of American adults are overweight and thirty four percent are obese according to the National Health and Nutrition survey.

We now have an obesity epidemic in the United States that is crushing the infrastructure of our health care system. Most overweight people are judged by the way they look, but the actual problem is not the way you look, it’s a problem with your health. Just thirty pounds of extra fatty tissue creates high blood pressure and can trigger diabetes, cancer, high cholesterol and heart disease. On average overweight people will live twenty years less than people at a healthy weight.

During this period in my opinion we also managed to give a new name for Juvenile diabetes in young kids by introducing the high carb low fat diet. In the eighties we had Adult onset diabetes (Type II Diabetes) and Juvenile diabetes (Type I Diabetes). Type I Diabetes is a problem with the Pancreas not producing any or a sufficient amount of insulin. Type II Diabetes is linked to being sedentary and overweight which can usually be corrected with exercise and a healthy diet. When the low fat high carb became popular we just changed Juvenile Diabetes to Type II. We succeeded in giving an adult disease to kids, what an accomplishment.

The biggest culprit to blame for all of this is our overconsumption of grain. Corn is a grain, not a vegetable. It is the number one calorie source in America. Corn isn’t the worst thing you can consume that title belongs to the dreaded High Fructose Corn Syrup. It is in everything and we need to avoid these products as if they are poison. Remember for the most part nutrition is easy it’s the execution that is difficult. Another problem is that we use exercise as the primary tool for weight loss. Exercise is not about weight loss. Exercise will improve your movement, cardiovascular system and can change your bone density and muscle. Exercising for weight loss is like using a tack hammer for spike driving, it is inefficient and the sledgehammer that you need for the spike driving is your diet. I always tell my clients if you are serious about losing weight there are two things you need to live by. “If its white don’t eat it and if its corn don’t do it.” If you followed these two things you would make a huge difference. Remember, it’s more than just the way you look; It’s about the quality and longevity of a healthier life.

Jordan Nichols