Obesity Rates Continue to Climb in U.S.
Still, the health risks posed by the obesity epidemic are inescapable. Baby boomer's have the highest rate of obesity, compared with previous generations. And as boomers age, Medicare will have to pay a hefty price for the chronic conditions caused by obesity, the report said.
Why are so many Americans so fat? "Quite simply, because we can," said Dr. David L. Katz, director of the Yale University School of Medicine Prevention Research Center, who was not involved with the report.
"Throughout almost all of human history, calories have been relatively scarce and hard to get, and physical activity an unavoidable part of survival," he said. "We have now devised a modern world in which physical activity is scarce and hard to get, and calories are unavoidable. We are the proverbial fish out of water, living in an environment totally at odds with our physiology."
To help reverse the obesity trend, the report authors offered a number of solutions, including nutrition and obesity counseling and screening for obesity-related diseases, both for adults and children.
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Is it possible that "Trust for America's Health" has a political agenda?
I spend every day helping people lose fat / get fit / etc..., but these reports about the Obesity Epidemic seem designed to scare people.
Fear is a great tool for driving public opinion & gov't policy