Why We're Gaining Weight And How To Stop It Now
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Two out of every three Americans are overweight or obese.
By Michele Bender
When it comes to weight, we're a nation way out of balance. On one side of the scale are the 130 million Americans -- and more important, half of women between the ages of 20 and 39 -- who are overweight or obese. On the other side is our collective ability to ignore the possibility that the problem applies to us (and yes, even possibly you) individually. Everyone knows we're in the middle of an obesity crisis; we just don't think we could be part of it. In a recent survey by the International Food Information Council Foundation, one-third of people who are overweight (meaning they have a body mass index, or BMI, of 25-29), say they're at an ideal weight. Even more shocking, nearly three-fourths of those who fit the classification of obese (BMI of 30 or greater) believe they are merely overweight. (To see where you fit in, see "Am I at a healthy weight?" page 186.)
Not fessing up to this weight problem can spell big trouble: "Obesity leads to diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer, to name just a few crucial health worries," says Thomas Wadden, Ph.D., president of NAASO, The Obesity Society, the leading scientific organization dedicated to the study of obesity. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, obesity is rapidly overtaking smoking as the leading cause of preventable deaths.
Just why have we become so fat?
When Shape posed that question to the country's leading obesity researchers, they outlined eight main reasons, below, that our scales are hitting record highs. Even better, they gave us the skinny on what to do to reverse the trend. Whether you want to drop 10 pounds or 50 pounds, your blueprint for success is on these six pages. Before rushing to put these expert strategies into action, though, spend a few minutes taking the quiz on page 187. By identifying your weight-loss personality, you'll increase your chances of sticking with a healthy weight-loss program. And, when it comes to dropping those extra pounds for good, that's the most important thing.
© 2008 Weider Publications, LLC, a subsidiary of
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READER COMMENTS
I've read several articles in Shape about overeating, and every time I am left feeling frustrated that there is one major thing missing- emotion. All these statistics and theories on why we eat more, but never any mention of people eating because of depression, boredom, or other emotions (besides stress) that they are trying to suppress or soothe. Is this an untouchable subject? Clearly it is not across the board- not everyone overeats for emotional reasons, but honestly everyone I know who has weight issues does. Whether it is not wanting to feel deprivation, or having low self esteem that affects how much self care they are willing to do. In most of the success stories there is some underlying aspect of how the person had some turmoil or issues that had to be overcome in order to loose weight. For myself, I find articles like this almost condescending- as though you could boil overeating down to ignorance or stupidity. Sure, there may be some people who really don’t realize a Whopper and fries is bad for them- but most of us? Some of the tips are useful, but does anyone else feel like there is a white elephant in the room being overlooked?
— Obvious?
BMI cant be a good indicator. I eat a good amount about
(2800kcal) /day , I am normal looking and my BMI is 16 and I'm pretty sure I'm not underweight!
— kat
"genes load the gun, lifestyle (lack of diet and exercise)pulls the trigger" By eating healthy and exercising, you have less of a chance of developing diseases and cancers. It's a no-brainer.
— Loni
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