Thursday, March 17, 2005

Most Agree: Lose Weight Or Die Early But Stark Reports With Dire Predictions Generate Storms Of Controversy. Report: Obesity to Lower U.S. Life Span Obesity Threatens to Cut U.S. Life Expectancy Children's Life Expectancy Being Cut Short by Obesity These three headlines, all from differing news services, refer to one study, recently published in The New England Journal of Medicine. The report, a comprehensive analysis of data using the supposition that life expectancy should be increasing due to advances in medical care and because many Americans have adopted healthier lifestyles by quitting smoking, exercising, and practicing safer sex, then figures in the damaging effects of overweight - for example type 2 diabetes with life-threatening complications of kidney failure, heart attack, stroke ­ finds that instead if living longer, Americans will live shorter and less healthy lives over the near future if the current epidemic of obesity is not addressed. Even those groups and researchers who would prefer that these results were different find themselves in agreement that obesity has become a problem of epidemic proportions in this country. Indeed it is hard to argue with the statistics when it is easy to see for one's self, simply by looking around, that two-thirds of Americans are overweight, and one third of Americans are obese or extremely overweight. Even our children are inarguably affected, with up to 30 percent of them now overweight. Aside from The Center for Consumer Freedom, an advocacy group for the restaurant and food industry which argues the obesity problem has been exaggerated and claims the paper should be discredited because co-author David Allison has done consulting for makers of weight-loss products, other experts and researchers simply argue the methodology of the research or argue that advances in medicine will make up for the problems of obesity. Even though other researchers and scientists may not agree with the methods, they find themselves agreeing with the message: Americans must lose weight or die early. Even Social Security could be affected - though many worry now that the plan is doomed to bankruptcy because of increasing life spans and a booming elderly population, the researchers suggest that Americans may be inadvertently "saving" Social Security by becoming obese, but will pay a heavy price in terms of higher death rates and escalating health care costs. One news article reports that "The United States spends between $70 billion and $100 billion each year to treat health problems linked to obesity." So, what is to be done? There is little argument, except from the fat rights groups: America must lose weight. How is it to be done? Here is where the arguments begin - some would have us follow radical vegetarian diets, others would have us exercise our flab away, more would have us losing a discouraging pound or two a week by following boring, tasteless low fat, low calorie diets. We at Dr. Myatt's Wellness Club have a better idea - The Super Fast Diet shatters the myth of slow weight loss and gives dieters the tools needed to lose weight fast, and restore health faster. Cheers, Nurse Mark 11:11:12 AM

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