It’s a well-known fact that overweight and obesity levels keep steadily increasing year after year. In Western countries, obesity has become a public health problem linked with many deaths and diseases.
Food choices largely affect energy intake, and if the calories intake is too high, obesity may occur. Junk food possesses very little nutritional properties, but may cause a lot of damage. Eating bad will make you fat, everybody knows that! Here are a few reasons why eating well may help you improve your life in a lot of ways.
Avoiding a lot of serious diseases
Did you know that overweight and obesity are associated with many more diseases other than just high blood pressure and heart issues? Excess weight can lead to illnesses such as gallbladder diseases, fatty liver, arthritis, and chronic joint disorders. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), even a few extra pounds around your belly might expose you a significant risk of suffering from many long-term conditions. The deadliest ones include cardiovascular disorders, stroke, diabetes, and cancer.
But that’s not all. Moving about in a heavy body is like driving an old rusty tractor in a crowded city. Even walking becomes harder and unpleasant. Simple physical exertions like running can put a lot of stress on your heart and lungs. You will constantly be fatigued, and your back will ache every time you need to stay upright. On top of that, you will be more and more dependent on your car to move around.
That’s quite a lot of compelling reasons to change your diet and lose a few pounds!
Improving your children’s lives
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than one-third of adults (36.5%) are obese in the United States. Even if you’re not among them, you can be part of the well over 70% of American citizens who are overweight. With a whopping 17% of children and adolescents being obese, this issue is a serious threat to your kids as well. Excess body weight might, in fact, exposes your children to a lot of risks and might negatively affect the quality of their entire lives in many ways. Obese and overweight children have a higher risk of developing diabetes, joint pain, breathing problems, and gastroesophageal reflux. But they will also face a broad range of psychological issues such as low self-esteem, social problems, anxiety, and even depression.
Saving the planet
According to several recent studies, obesity and overweight represent a serious threat to our planet as well. With $147 million just in the United States, the annual medical costs to treat obese individuals have a tremendous economic impact. Even worse than this, our “addiction” to junk food and fast foods is destroying the environment and contributing to global warming.
According to highly respected organizations such as the Stanford University or the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), we’re eating too much red meat every day. The number of metric tons of beef exported by the U.S. tripled in less than ten years. In 2014, it reached a whopping 1.2 million tonnes! Ammonia and greenhouse gas emissions are strictly related to what and how we eat. The food industry generates at least one-quarter of all the greenhouse gas emissions released into the atmosphere. Air pollution is responsible for climate change and is a major contributing factor to global warming. Losing excess weight and eating better is then our responsibility, not just towards our kids, but to the planet as well.
Article by dr. Claudio Butticè, Pharm.D.