Facing the Facts

HBO recently put together this mind-blowing 4-Part documentary series on the obesity epidemic in America called The Weight of the Nation. Best of all? You can watch them FOR FREE just by clicking on the links below. 

Taking the time to learn about the weight problem facing you and your munchkins is the first step in finding a solution! 

Grab some popcorn, click, and learn! 

 #1 Consequences

The first film in The Weight of the Nation series examines the scope of the obesity epidemic and explores the serious health consequences of being overweight or obese.

The obesity epidemic is a problem that’s emerged over the last 30 years. It threatens our
 nation’s social, economic and physical health. But, unlike a natural disaster, obesity is 
often preventable. Although overall obesity prevalence rates appear to be leveling off, 
there are still far too many Americans who are overweight or obese and who continue to 
develop health problems as a result. In order to end the epidemic, everyone must be part of the solution.

At the level of our DNA, we’re programmed to eat as much as we can to survive and store the extra as fat for future energy use. In a world where calorie-dense, sugar-laden and fatty foods are available around every corner, that’s a problem. The good news is that, even if the propensity to gain weight is written into our genes, we’re not fated to a lifetime of fat.

#2 Choices

The second film in the series poses a question that almost anyone who’s struggled with excess weight has asked, if only in jest: For all the remarkable high-tech tools available to medicine, for all the billions of dollars in drug research, there’s still no highly effective medication to prevent or reverse obesity – why?

Researchers are, in fact, developing and evaluating strategies to help people reach and maintain a healthy weight, so that they can look forward to healthier lives. Diet is a part of the equation, but most name-brand diets promise quick, dramatic rewards and gloss over the long-term effort needed to keep weight off. Maintaining weight loss is a challenge, and success requires sustained changes in our food and physical activity.

Weight – whether we gain it or lose it – is dependent on our body’s energy balance: We are in balance when we take in and burn off the same number of calories each day. Take in more calories than we burn, and the pounds add up. Take in fewer, and the number on the scale goes down.

#3 Children in Crisis

Childhood obesity is much more than a cosmetic concern. The health consequences of childhood obesity include greater risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma and other serious illnesses.

The combination of these health effects and the dramatic increase in childhood obesity rates over the past three decades causes some experts to fear this may be the first generation of American children who will have a shorter life expectancy than their parents.

Strategies like cutting out TV and sugar-sweetened drinks may help reduce a child’s weight or prevent future weight gain, but not always for the reasons we expect. There is a link between TV watching and overweight and obesity among children.

While the act of watching TV – being sedentary and possibly eating snacks while taking in a favorite show – is part of the problem, experts are now looking at what kids watch as well. There is a growing debate over the effects of food marketing on the childhood obesity epidemic and what should be done about it.

#4 Challenges

Obesity is a very serious medical condition, no longer viewed as strictly an issue of cosmetics. It’s a contributing factor in the death and disability of too many of our neighbors, friends and family members, and its societal costs are astronomical. Although overall obesity prevalence rates appear to be leveling off, there are still far too many Americans who are overweight or obese – approximately one-third of adults are obese and another third are overweight.

Besides facing an increased risk of premature death, people who are obese are at greater risk of serious medical conditions that can make them very sick, potentially subjecting them to constant pain and suffering and diminished quality of life. Obesity not only drives up health care costs for patients and families, it costs businesses – and the country – tens of billions of dollars in lost productivity and higher employee health costs.

While obesity is often viewed as an issue of personal responsibility, overeating is as much about biology as it is about psychology. There is much we still don’t know about the causes of obesity. Biological research has found that behaviors that are laid down early in life contribute to obesity. Environmental factors, such as access to safe parks and affordable healthy foods, also play a role.

Please let me know you thoughts and feelings on this. 

I personally know how hard it is to lose weight. Especially after three kids! I do believe that A LOT of weight loss issues are because of personal choices, not caring about consequences, etc. 

I will admit that I do not make the best decisions all the time when it comes to my diet. At dinner, seconds almost always sound good even though I know I am full! But it was sooo delicious! I am going to start being more conscious about what I am doing to my body and hopefully over time, it will look amazing!