The Shocking Truth About Obesity
One in every three Americans is obese, equating to 72 million people in the U.S. alone. Children are right behind adults boasting astonishing numbers -- one in three kids are overweight or obese, a sixty-percent increase in the past 20 years, and that isn't the worst of it -- these numbers are expected to increase in the next 20 years. We definitely have a serious epidemic and obesity is becoming known as the plague of the 21st century.
What is going on with obesity? It has just recently, in the past few years, been labeled an epidemic.
What is shocking is that even though people are dying from this sometimes self-inflicted threat, fast food sales are up, as well as soda, milk and cheese, sugar items, meat and the portions just keep getting bigger and bigger.
In the year 2000 fast food sales hit 107 billion, in 2010 -- nearly 165 billion. These numbers occur in the U.S. alone.
And just to add injury to insult - candy bars are increasing in size, as well as sugary sweets, movie popcorn, and portions at restaurants and diners. The supersize trend is catching on, all in an effort to cash in on the American desire for more, more, and more. But at what cost?
The medical costs are rising as well -- to the tune of $147 billion dollars in 2009, and expected to hit $344 billion per year within the next 10 years. These numbers are not only outrageous; they are dangerous.
Medical-industry experts say that not only does obesity create more medical costs for the medical industry in the U.S., but individually as well. People who are obese are spending triple than the average-weight person, in medical expenses. And the risks related to this epidemic include higher rates of diabetes, heart disease, and many types of cancer.
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