Are Our Drinks Making Us Fat?
By Marcus Stout
Recently obesity has become American’s number one health
concern. The level of obesity in this country has risen to
shocking proportions.
• 58 Million Americans are overweight
• 40 Million Americans are obese
• 3 Million Americans are morbidly obese
• Eight out of 10 people over the age of 25 are overweight
• In 2001 25% of Caucasian children were overweight
• 33% of African American and Hispanic children were overweight
as of 2001
Doctors and researchers have been looking for clues to why the
obesity rate has risen so dramatically. Obviously, our lifestyle
habits have changed, and our new habits are making us fat. The
habits that seem to be significantly contributing to the rising
obesity rate are:
Activity Level
More of us than ever are sedentary. Even today’s children seem
to spend most of their leisure time participating in activities
that involve sitting on the couch. The number of children who
have never participated in any sports activity has risen each
year for the past ten. Regular exercise is one of the important
keys to losing weight and keeping it off.
Aim for 30 minutes of exercise a day at least 3 times a week.
In addition, if you can supplement with weight training, you’ll
build muscle, which in the long run, will help keep you slim.
Muscle, even when resting, burns more calories than fat, so the
more muscle you have the more calories you burn all the time.
You don’t need to join a gym or have expensive equipment in
your home to be able to get regular exercise. Walking, for
example, requires no special equipment, other than a good pair
of shoes, and is an excellent way to get your exercise. Walking
works your heart, strengthens your core and build muscle in your
lower body.
Where your children are concerned, you needn’t plan significant
exercise outings. Running and playing in the yard are a great
way for your children to burn off that excess childhood energy
and keep fit at the same time. Just get them off the couch!
Diet
We are a fast food, on the run, never eat at the table society.
And, it’s catching up with us. When we eat takeout and fast food
we’re eating far more calories than if we ate a home cooked meal
at the table. So, try to consider the following things for your
family’s diet.
• Stop the fast food and processed foods
• Try to eat meals cooked at home as much as possible
• Watch the white flour and the processed sugars
• Include more lean protein and less simple carbohydrates
Try to include lots of fruits and vegetables in your diet.
Fruits and vegetables are low calorie and extremely filling.
Plus, they ensure that you’re getting your daily dose of
anti-oxidants, which are critical to a long and healthy life.
Try adding green tea as a favored beverage. It’s low calorie,
and will also help ensure you get the anti-oxidants you need.
Stop the Soda!
One of the big differences in diet between this generation and
the one before it is the amount of soda and other sweetened
drinks we consume. High calories soda can add hundreds of
calories a day to our diet.
One study, reported by the UK Tea Council highlights the
significant calorie increase our society has seen in terms of
sodas and other high calorie beverages. This study concludes
that 50% of our excess calories today come from sodas and other
sweetened beverages.* One of the ways that we can make a huge
impact in the number of calories we consume each day is to
ensure that we cut out the high calorie drinks, particularly the
ones that provide no nutritional value.
Keep in mind that when we consume milk and fruit juice, we are
taking in calories. However, we are getting vitamins and other
nutrients from the calories in these drinks. With sodas and
other high calorie sweetened drinks, we load up on the calories,
but gain no nutritional value. The study mentioned above
concluded that we could significantly cut the excess calories
that are leading to our overweight society by simply replacing
high calorie, low nutrition drinks with low calorie ones.
To be sure, the battle of the bulge is no easy one. It takes
time, education and motivation to keep the calories under
control. However, it’s critical to our health that we get our
weight under control. Obesity leads to a number of illnesses,
all of which are entirely preventable by maintaining a healthy
diet and activity level, and a healthy weight. Some of the most
significant weight related health disorders include:
• Type II Diabetes
• Heart Disease
• High Blood Pressure
• Sleep Apnea
• Higher risk for many forms of cancer
• High Cholesterol
• Congestive Heart Failure
• Arthritis
• Stroke
• Gout
• Pregnancy Complications
Our country must get the wake up call and learn to control our
weight. Our health, and the health of our children is dependent
upon our ability to get our eating habits and our activity level
to a healthy balance.
About the Author: Marcus Stout is President of the Golden Moon
Tea Company. For more information about tea, green tea and wu
long tea go to http://www.goldenmoontea.com
Source: http://www.isnare.com
Permanent Link:
http://www.isnare.com/?aid=126194&ca=Wellness%2C+Fitness+and+Diet
By Marcus Stout
Recently obesity has become American’s number one health
concern. The level of obesity in this country has risen to
shocking proportions.
• 58 Million Americans are overweight
• 40 Million Americans are obese
• 3 Million Americans are morbidly obese
• Eight out of 10 people over the age of 25 are overweight
• In 2001 25% of Caucasian children were overweight
• 33% of African American and Hispanic children were overweight
as of 2001
Doctors and researchers have been looking for clues to why the
obesity rate has risen so dramatically. Obviously, our lifestyle
habits have changed, and our new habits are making us fat. The
habits that seem to be significantly contributing to the rising
obesity rate are:
Activity Level
More of us than ever are sedentary. Even today’s children seem
to spend most of their leisure time participating in activities
that involve sitting on the couch. The number of children who
have never participated in any sports activity has risen each
year for the past ten. Regular exercise is one of the important
keys to losing weight and keeping it off.
Aim for 30 minutes of exercise a day at least 3 times a week.
In addition, if you can supplement with weight training, you’ll
build muscle, which in the long run, will help keep you slim.
Muscle, even when resting, burns more calories than fat, so the
more muscle you have the more calories you burn all the time.
You don’t need to join a gym or have expensive equipment in
your home to be able to get regular exercise. Walking, for
example, requires no special equipment, other than a good pair
of shoes, and is an excellent way to get your exercise. Walking
works your heart, strengthens your core and build muscle in your
lower body.
Where your children are concerned, you needn’t plan significant
exercise outings. Running and playing in the yard are a great
way for your children to burn off that excess childhood energy
and keep fit at the same time. Just get them off the couch!
Diet
We are a fast food, on the run, never eat at the table society.
And, it’s catching up with us. When we eat takeout and fast food
we’re eating far more calories than if we ate a home cooked meal
at the table. So, try to consider the following things for your
family’s diet.
• Stop the fast food and processed foods
• Try to eat meals cooked at home as much as possible
• Watch the white flour and the processed sugars
• Include more lean protein and less simple carbohydrates
Try to include lots of fruits and vegetables in your diet.
Fruits and vegetables are low calorie and extremely filling.
Plus, they ensure that you’re getting your daily dose of
anti-oxidants, which are critical to a long and healthy life.
Try adding green tea as a favored beverage. It’s low calorie,
and will also help ensure you get the anti-oxidants you need.
Stop the Soda!
One of the big differences in diet between this generation and
the one before it is the amount of soda and other sweetened
drinks we consume. High calories soda can add hundreds of
calories a day to our diet.
One study, reported by the UK Tea Council highlights the
significant calorie increase our society has seen in terms of
sodas and other high calorie beverages. This study concludes
that 50% of our excess calories today come from sodas and other
sweetened beverages.* One of the ways that we can make a huge
impact in the number of calories we consume each day is to
ensure that we cut out the high calorie drinks, particularly the
ones that provide no nutritional value.
Keep in mind that when we consume milk and fruit juice, we are
taking in calories. However, we are getting vitamins and other
nutrients from the calories in these drinks. With sodas and
other high calorie sweetened drinks, we load up on the calories,
but gain no nutritional value. The study mentioned above
concluded that we could significantly cut the excess calories
that are leading to our overweight society by simply replacing
high calorie, low nutrition drinks with low calorie ones.
To be sure, the battle of the bulge is no easy one. It takes
time, education and motivation to keep the calories under
control. However, it’s critical to our health that we get our
weight under control. Obesity leads to a number of illnesses,
all of which are entirely preventable by maintaining a healthy
diet and activity level, and a healthy weight. Some of the most
significant weight related health disorders include:
• Type II Diabetes
• Heart Disease
• High Blood Pressure
• Sleep Apnea
• Higher risk for many forms of cancer
• High Cholesterol
• Congestive Heart Failure
• Arthritis
• Stroke
• Gout
• Pregnancy Complications
Our country must get the wake up call and learn to control our
weight. Our health, and the health of our children is dependent
upon our ability to get our eating habits and our activity level
to a healthy balance.
About the Author: Marcus Stout is President of the Golden Moon
Tea Company. For more information about tea, green tea and wu
long tea go to http://www.goldenmoontea.com
Source: http://www.isnare.com
Permanent Link:
http://www.isnare.com/?aid=126194&ca=Wellness%2C+Fitness+and+Diet
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