A long, long time ago in a land far away.. Okay maybe that's the wrong story. I was born on May 9th, 1988 weighing in an average 6 pound baby. I was the second child in my family, the first turning only 3 years old a month prior to my birth, the third and final of us "First" three came a short 14 months after I was born. I was born into a family with not only obesity running in our blood, but a multitude of other health issues.
The first memories I can recall were back when I was 3 years old, most of the memories I recall from those ages were typically ones made at my Grandparents house. I remember always being told at the dinner table, "you cant get up until you eat it all.." I look back at that statement made by my elders and I think to myself, why would you instill that into a child's mind? Now, I do not have any children of my own, but I do realize the mindset that can be put into a child at such a young age. "Food, eat it all.. or else!"
I honestly can not tell you how or when my obesity started, but I can tell you it has ailed me my whole entire life. I can tell you that I truly did not see the harm in my size until about 10-12. I remember being at a birthday party for my best friend at the time, and all the girls were so much smaller than me. I remember at one point being in the bathroom, all of us, changing after going swimming and one of the girls suggested I step on the scale. I quietly said no, but then the egging on began. One girl after the other would say, "just do it.. we want to see." I finally gave in to the demands of the girls after each of them weighed themselves. I slowly stepped on and my heart began to race as the numbers sped quickly past the weights of my peers. It stopped at 110. I quickly jumped off the scale as the girls around me were in shock. I fled the bathroom, and kept to myself the whole rest of the day.
I believe it was at that point in my life that I realized what I was becoming, but didnt know how to stop it.
I cannot believe that 20% of 6-11 year old children in America are considered obese.. Not overweight.. actually OBESE. Obesity is any BMI of 30 or more. BMI stands for Body Mass Index, which is determined by a height to weight ratio giving a pretty accurate indication of weight categories along with the amount of fat in our bodies. Lets take a look at the BMI scale:
Underweight= BMI of less than 18.5
Normal= BMI of 18.5-24.9
Overweight= BMI of 25-29.9
Obese= BMI of 30 or more
I started my weight-loss journey at a whopping 43.4 and currently stand at 33.2(still qualifying as obese!).
Since we started off talking about the percentage of obese children in America, let us continue!! Obesity rates among young children have more than tripled in the last 30 years. A 4 year old today is more likely to have a BMI of over 30, than 20 years ago! According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the reason for such a rise in obesity among children is the lack of exercise in schools, not enough outdoor activities, and more television and video games than that of 20 years ago. Obese children are more than likely going to grow up and become obese adults.
There are a number of diseases that have claimed thousands of lives because of obesity. One disease in particular is Cardiovascular Disease, claiming 831,272 lives in 2006. That is 34.3% of all deaths that year (or 1 in every 2.9 deaths). Lets compare that to other deaths that year:
Cancer= 559,888
Accidents= 121,599
HIV(AIDS)= 12,113
So basically, an American has a higher chance of dying this year of cardiovascular disease than dying in some form of an accident! Outrageous! Our country is incredibly and increasingly OBESE!
Lets look at each state individually, I mean.. you are probably thinking.. "Nah, not our state. Not where we live.. that average isnt real!" Well.. lets see here. There are 9 out of our 50 states that have an average BMI of 30 or greater! If you are wondering what Washington averages: 26.4% Oregon: 23.0%
Isn't it amazing?! Simply astonishing at the amount of fat we are all carrying on our bodies!! I wish I could knock some people upside the head, and tell them to join the bandwagon. We might want to fix the problem right this second, find a "five minute cure" for our "ailment" but if we do not know what our ailment is, we cant fix it! If we do not have the drive, the want or the effort to lose it.. we wont! So come on America! Lets change our ways!
Start small.. it will become easier and easier!
From one friend to another..
OLIVE JUICE
Mada
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