What Everyone Needs To Know About Obesity – And How To Solve It – Here In The United States
There are many causes of obesity here in the United States, many reasons that nearly 80 million adults and nearly 20 million children are now medically classified as obese – and many reasons that up to half of all adults are projected to have reached obesity by the time that we reach the not so far off year of 2030. From a lack of exercise to poor diets to the growth of technology and its promotion of a sedentary lifestyle, there are many reasons that obesity has become a major problem – and a growing one, too – here in the United States.
For many people, for instance, eating a healthy diet and maintaining it has proven to be hugely different. After all, the prevalence of fast food establishments has grown considerably in recent years, more than doubling since the 1970s, when fast food restaurants were certainly present but much less pervasively so. For many people, consuming the refined grains and sugars and saturated fats and excessive sodium levels that fast food contains has become the norm, and far too few people are taking the time to prepare healthful and wholesome meals that will satisfy them and keep them in good shape and good health.
A lack of exercise is a problem as well, with more and more people living very sedentary lifestyles all throughout the United States. The data that has been gathered on the subject more than backs this up, showing that up to 95% of all adults in this country alone are not getting even just 30 minutes of movement and exercise on a daily basis, with up to two thirds of this same adult population not even meeting the weekly time recommendations for exercise. And the problem, unfortunately, is far from confined to the adult population.
In fact, children are recommended to exercise at least moderately for an hour out of every day. Unfortunately, only around one third of children are doing so and though children are likely to suffer far fewer health problems than adults, even when they are obese, this can take its toll. Not only can this actually hamper brain development in young children, but it can lead to a number of health concerns later on in life, as obesity is linked to everything from type 2 diabetes to a considerably higher risk of having a stroke or a heart attack.
Fortunately, exercise and eating right can solve this problem – and lower risk factors for disease and injury quite considerably. Even losing just 5% to 10% of your body weight can have astounding health benefits (if you need to lose weight in the first place, of course). But getting up and moving can be the hard part, and so it is important to find modes of exercise that work for you.
For many people, the use of exercise equipment is a great way to exercise, as exercise equipment can provide some sort of guidance and even goal setting for the person that is using it. And exercise equipment can be found in a variety of places, such as in the typical gym. However, not everyone has the time to go to a gym and many people will even feel quite uncomfortable indeed beginning to exercise in front of other people.
Fortunately, exercise equipment can be bought at fitness stores and even sports stores all throughout the country. At the home fitness stores, home fitness equipment will be able to be found, exercise equipment that is very similar to the gym equipment that you would see at just about any gym or health club – but also exercise equipment that is likely scaled down to fit comfortably in the typical home. For many people, purchasing such exercise equipment is more than worth it in the long run, and making an investment into home exercise equipment that you end up using on a regular basis is actually likely to be far less expensive than paying for a gym membership on a regular basis, at least knowing how expensive gyms are in the United States.