Avoiding the Obesity Epidemic

Over one billion adults in the world are overweight. Worse yet, a staggering 66 percent of all adults in the United States are overweight, while around 32 percent are considered to be obese. Sadly, with the increase of overweight American parents, childhood obesity has doubled since 1980, and for teens, the number has almost tripled. There are now so many overweight people in the U.S. that the various health problems that obesity causes has public health officials calling it an epidemic.

Our complacent lifestyles of inactivity and the easy access to fat laden fast food, junk food and foods that are loaded with sugar are certainly to blame for this unhealthy scenario. The bottom line is that we are consuming far more calories than we are burning off, which prohibits weight loss and leads to obesity.

Getting this dangerous situation under control is vital for the wellbeing of yourself and your family. By following a few simple guidelines, your family can achieve and maintain weight loss that can lead to a healthy lifestyle for all of you.

A successful weight loss regime includes adding more fruit, vegetables, nuts, and whole grains to your daily diet. In addition, cut back considerably on fat and sugar laden foods that are basically just empty calories waiting to be stored as fat.

Most importantly, get active! It is imperative for your good health for you to get at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise each day. Plan and schedule time for family activities that get you and your kids moving. Regular exercise not only gets your heart pumping and burns calories; it motivates you and just makes you feel better.

So get out there and soak in that Ocala, Florida sunshine while getting yourself and family in shape and avoid being part of this growing epidemic of obese and unhealthy Americans.