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August 23, 2008 | CocoaDiva | Comments

African Americans can all be overweight by 2048

I have seen this article several times on the net.  So, I thought I would post the relevant parts for everyone here.   Once again for you rationalizers out there….FIGURES DON’T LIE!!!  HIT THE GYM TODAY!!

 The Today Show reports  If the trends of the past three decades continue, it’s possible that every American adult could be overweight 40 years from now, based up on figures collected and published in the journal Obesity, from government survey data collected between the 1970s and 2004. 

The study reports 2/3 of the American population is already overweight.  Data regarding African- American women, for instance, show 78 percent are currently overweight or obese.  Weight problems will be most acute among African-Americans. All black women could be overweight by 2034. 

 “Genetically and physiologically, it should be impossible” for all U.S. adults to become overweight, said Dr. Lan Liang of the federal government’s Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, one of the researchers on the study.

However, she told Reuters Health, the data suggest that if the trends of the past 30 years persist, “that is the direction we’re going.”

Waistlines aren’t the only thing poised to balloon in the future, according to Liang and her colleagues. They estimate that the healthcare costs directly related to excess pounds will double each decade, reaching $957 billion in 2030 — accounting for one of every six healthcare dollars spent in the U.S. 

Those financial projections are based on Census data and published estimates of the current healthcare costs attributed to excess weight — and they are probably a “huge underestimate” of what the actual costs will be, Liang said.

The findings highlight a need for widespread efforts to improve Americans’ lifestyles and keep their weight in check, according to the researchers. Simply telling people to eat less and exercise more is not enough, Liang noted.

Broader social changes are needed as well, she said — such as making communities more pedestrian-friendly so that people can walk regularly, or getting the food industry to offer healthier, calorie-conscious choices.

“It really needs to be more than an individual effort,” Liang said. “It needs to be a societal effort.”

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Filed Under: Eating Right • Fitness and Health

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Viewing 4 Comments

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    It's gym class. All these neonazi gym teachers who are bitter about their missed opportunities to be real athletes put us all off on exercise. I swear! I had this super butch gym beast that used to work at Spofford, a juvenile detention center. What was my principal thinking with that move? Then we had some guido reject from soccer who always has something to say about soccer. Then they hired a friggin ex-marine! It all starts when we're young.

    And, I'll tell you another thing. All these big women, a la Monique, who care more about clothes that fit instead of a heart that beats or lungs that breathe, need to friggin quit it. There's too much positive support for negative lifestyles.
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    A large part of our problem is that we don't believe we have one. The first step to addressing a problem is to know it exists.

    We believe we are "thicker, larger boned, blah blah blah" in comparison to other races. Hey we may be right. However, not to the extent we believe. You have to know your height, family history, BMI and calories burned per day to know if you are fat or just built that way.....

    Trust me everyone is not! You dont have to be a size 12+ to be thick or curvy or attractive.

    Don't rationalize....get checked out and work out accordingly. Weight only increases as you get older as your metabolism slows. Nip bad habits in the bud today!!
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    BMI is not the best way to tell if you are overweight. It does not account for muscle mass. Many body builders are considered overweight by the BMI standards. Knowing your body fat percentage is the best way of knowing if you are overweight. Also, there was a recent study that came out stating that there are many healthy overweight people who have cholesterol, blood pressure, glucose levels, etc that are within a healthy range. There are many average weight persons with levels in questionable ranges.

    I (and many medical professionals) think we need to stop focusing on weight look at things like body fat percentage (very different from BMI), blood pressure, glucose levels etc before we convince people that they need to lose body mass to be healthy. Again there are many sumo wrestlers,linebackers, that are overweight and healthy.

    Was there any mention of this study on your site?

    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26143255/
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    And yes I am overweight, but all my vitals are well within the healthy range. Any attempts at fat loss at this point are strictly for vanity. :)!
 

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