In America, the growing trend of obesity is steadily rising. Thanks in part to sedentary lifestyles, fattening foods, and lack of exercise, the percentage of people who are overweight is getting higher, and it does not look like it will stop any time soon unless people make some drastic changes to their lifestyle. Unfortunately, the temptation to indulge in junk food and to not engage in physical activity because of busy schedules takes precedence over health, which can cause major problems later on in life.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a whopping 66% of adults age 20 years and over are overweight, and 32% of adults age 20 years and over are obese. Doing the math on a smaller scale, that means approximately more than half of the people in the United States are wearing clothes that are too big for them and are leading lifestyles that can and most likely will jeopardize their life.
And it doesn't stop there. Our children are falling victim to the sedentary, inactive lifestyle, and it is affecting the way these kids react to one another. Instead of running and playing outside, kids are told to stay in because it's too dangerous and are subjected to hours of television and video game time. This not only could hurt their health in the long run, but it also deprives them of much-needed social interaction with others their age. As a result of this and many other reasons, 17% of adolescents in the 12 to 19 year old age bracket and 19% of adolescents in the 6 to 11 year old range are overweight.
Fortunately, a big percentage of those who are either overweight or obese realize that there is a problem and try to rectify the situation by going on a diet. Unfortunately, the majority of people who undergo these diets will fail within just a few days, and those people might even end up with more weight than when they first started the diet due to binging and overeating.
To put this simply: diets do not last because of the short-term mindset that is instilled in those who choose to do it. Rather than make changes to the complete lifestyle, only the diet is addressed. Consequently, some believe that as long as they commit to this diet for a certain amount of time, they will lose a certain amount of weight when they should be thinking along the lines of what changes they could implement in their life to better their overall health.
Skimping on the caloric intake and not eating enough food forces your system to start leaching nutrients from your body. The key to the true meaning of "dieting" is to keep it well-balanced. Don't starve yourself for two months to lose 10 pounds because when you start to eat normally again, you will definitely gain that weight back. Balance some sort of physical activity and eat the right foods, and you will see a positive weight change.
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