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April 02 2005
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Rising Obesity Rates Annihilate Previous Life Span Forecasts

 
Obese Child

Americans' life expectancy already falls more than 20 years behind other developed countries; and with U.S. obesity rates on a steady incline, the years may be further trailing.

Based on researchers' calculations, by the middle of this century the increased risk of diabetes, heart disease and cancer (faced by today's obese youth in particular) could lower the average life expectancy of 77.6 years by as much as five years. That's certainly a far cry from the 2002 Social Security Administration forecast that projected the maximum human life span to reach 100 in roughly six decades. Even more disheartening: The dramatic increase in childhood obesity may have erased anywhere from four to nine months off children's lives already, according to researchers.

Today's Trends, Tomorrow's Reality

Instead of making longevity predictions based on historical trends in death rates, the team of researchers projected future rates by examining today's younger generation. They compared the death rates of obese people to those of healthy weight people. Yet even if the life span calculations made are not perfect, explained one obesity researcher, the emphasis the study places on obesity dangers should serve as an "eye-opener" for policy makers and the public health community.

The current obesity statistics are mind-blowing:

  • Two-thirds of America's adults are overweight or obese
  • As many as 30 percent of U.S. children are overweight
  • Childhood obesity has more than doubled within the past 25 years
  • Within the past 20 years, childhood diabetes has increased 10-fold

New England Journal of Medicine, March 17, 2005, Volume 352, Number 11:1138-1145

ABC News March 16, 2005

Nature.com March 17, 2005



Dr. MercolaDr. Mercola's Comments:

If this epidemic is not reversed we will, for the first time in history, see children living shorter lives than their parents. I am convinced that we will wake up long before that. That is one of the primary purposes of this newsletter. To reverse this catastrophic trend with providing the tools to escape from the ravages of poor food choices and reliance on dangerous band-aid drugs.

There are many proactive steps you can take today to shut down the obesity epidemic in your home once and for all:

Retool your diet based on your body's unique nutritional type. An important factor in helping you achieve good health and maintain a healthy weight is to have a diet based on eating the right foods for your specific genetic biochemistry. One of the ways you can determine this is through nutritional typing.

We all have a unique nutritional type and each type benefits from varying ratios of macronutrients (fats, proteins and carbohydrates) to feel great and avoid chronic degenerative diseases, like those associated with obesity. Generally speaking, when you eat a meal that is right for your nutritional type you will feel a marked and lasting improvement in your energy, mental capacities, emotional well being, and you will have feeling of being well-satisfied for several hours.

Discovering your nutritional type is simple: You can take your free online test. Please be sure to use the follow up question table as that is really the key to successfully implementing the results of the test. The Total Health Program has a variety of tasty recipes to help you implement the program. Remember, the foods that may be healthy for others are not necessarily healthy for you, and vice-versa. Thus, eating according to your specific type is the proven way to ascertain which foods work best for you.

Use the many resources on my Web site to start an exercise program that works best for you. The key to exercising is to keep in mind three important variables: length of time, frequency and intensity. By doing so, you will ensure all your hard efforts are not wasted and are having a positive effect on your body and overall weight.

I encourage my patients to gradually increase the amount of time they are exercising to 60 to 90 minutes a day. Even though initially the frequency is daily, this is merely a treatment dose until they normalize their weight or insulin levels. Once normalized, they will only need to exercise three to four times a week. Also, you should exercise hard enough so that it is difficult to talk to someone next to you; however, if you cannot carry on a conversation at all, then you have gone too far and need to decrease the intensity.

You can review my most recent exercise guidelines to help you get started on the right track.

Address emotional issues that contribute to your physical health by learning an effective energy psychology tool like the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). Although often overlooked, emotional health is incredibly essential to your physical well being. No matter how devoted you are to a healthy lifestyle, it is nearly impossible to reach your goals if emotional barriers stand in your way. EFT uses a combination of kinetic energy input and positive affirmations to release you of your emotional "blocks."

Related Articles:

Child Obesity Epidemic

Overweight and Obesity Rates Still at Alarming Levels

How is Fat Killing You?

The Recent History of Obesity in America

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