The Weight of the Nation: The Institute of Medicine & HBO Confront America's Obesity Crisis - A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words

 

 Don't Forget to Watch the "Weight of the Nation"

Starting May 14th & 15th 2012

Watch It on HBO or Online Here

 

• More than two out of three U.S. adults are overweight or obese--almost 70%
• During the past 30 years, adult obesity rates have doubled
• Since 1980, obesity prevalence among children ages 2 to 19 has more than tripled, rising to nearly 17%.

What's the definition of overweight?  A BMI of 25.0-29.9   (Do the math. Click here to calculate yours)

What's the definition of obesity?  A BMI of 30.0-39.9  Over 40.0+ is extremely obese.

What's the definition of a healthy weight?  A BMI of 18.5-24.9

 

If you received this via email, click here to get to the web version with the video & links.

The Lab Rat & I watched Parts 1 & 2 of the HBO documentary "The Weight of the Nation" on Monday & Tuesday nights.  We were literally glued to our seats--but, better we should have been standing, or walking in place to burn calories!  We can't wait to view Parts 3 & 4 later this weekend.  

You won't want to miss this must-see eye-opening documentary.  It's television at its best.

Let's hope it will be the tipping point that changes the way we look at the foods we eat--and the importance of exercise.  Otherwise, we're digging our graves--physically & economically--as a nation.  The price of obesity is more than any person or country can afford!

 

If You Don't See the Video on Your Screen, Click Here

  

 

Accelerating Progress in Obesity Prevention: Solving the Weight of the Nation: released May 8, 2012 by the Institute of Medicine.  (read the report here)

Two-thirds of adults and one-third of children are overweight or obese. Left unchecked, obesity’s effects on health, health care costs, and our productivity as a nation could become catastrophic.

The staggering human toll of obesity-related chronic disease and disability, and an annual cost of $190.2 billion for treating obesity-related illness, underscore the urgent need to strengthen prevention efforts in the United States. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation asked the Institiute of Medicine to identify catalysts that could speed progress in obesity prevention.

The Institute of Medicine evaluated prior obesity prevention strategies and identified recommendations to meet the following goals and accelerate progress

• Integrate physical activity every day in every way
• Market what matters for a healthy life
• Make healthy foods and beverages available everywhere
• Activate employers and health care professionals
• Strengthen schools as the heart of health

On their own, accomplishing any one of these might help speed up progress in preventing obesity, but together, their effects will be reinforced, amplified, and maximized.  

 

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

 

Comments

[Ken Leebow]

Unfortunately, our obsession with obesity is taking us down the wrong path. Talking about obesity is safe and diverts us from talking about the real problem ...

http://www.ObsessedWithObesity.com

[The Healthy Librarian]

@Ken: If you read the IOM report & watch the documentary you'll realize it's not about name-calling. The consortia responsible for this multi-pronged effort realizes that it's all about the food that is so readily available in groceries & fast-food outlets & schools that has caused the problem. They get it. They mean business. They're hoping for a cultural change that will change---where fresh healthy food is plentiful & costs less--where our palate & tastes change--and when we realize that what we're eating us is killing us. This will take pressure on food manufacturer's, changes in ingredients, a whole massive effort, the same as that for smoking. You have to be educated first to understand the addiction to fat, salt, & sugar & there has to be a source of healthy fresh fast food in our schools, restaurants, & grocery stores.

[Heidi]

I don't have HBO is there another way to watch this documentary? Will it be hosted free on the website you provided?

[anna]

The 2012 Olympic Games will take place in July here in London: official sponsors? Coca-cola and McDonalds. You'd weep if it wasn't so hilarious.

[Rebecca Cody]

Unfortunately, as long as the big money interests of food processing and pharmaceuticals continue ruling this nation, we will go bust - our health and our nation. I hate feeling so negative about it, and if there is a big enough groundswell coming from the people, it can change. But it will take that. Positive change won't come from on top, but only from the people.

[The Healthy Librarian]

@Heidi: Yes, it's FREE to Everyone on the Weight of the Nation website---starting on Monday May 14th! Don't miss it.

@Anna: you're so right.

@Rebecca: 100% with you--the change has to come from us! Pretty soon it will be in our own economic & health interests to take control--because health insurance premiums will be tied to our weight & to chronic conditions that are caused by lifestyle. It's already happening. But, then I can't understand why anyone would choose to be sick without first making an all out effort to change what they eat & how they move.

[Julie]

While this special means well it misses the mark. Read Gary Taubes' Newsweek article that tells why and how it misses.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/05/06/why-the-campaign-to-stop-america-s-obesity-crisis-keeps-failing.html

[Healthy Librarian]

Thanks, Julie. Haven't read Taubes latest piece, yet--but, I know Gary Taubes' take on obesity. Watch the entire special (if you haven't already)--I think they adequately cover all the bases. It's multifactorial--with many contributing causes--agricultural, political, corporate, metabolic, brain, biochemical--change in culture, change in eating habits, increase in caloric consumption, increased amounts of screen time, increase in sitting time at work & home, school lunches, little outside playtime, farm subsidies, advertising, cheap low-nutrient high-caloric readily available food, evolutionary DNA, etc. His meat, low-carb, fat solution isn't the answer--as you'll see with the people who failed on this approach. And it's more than just food!!

[Healthy Librarian]

@Julie: I read the article. Although Taubes quotes parts of the HBO special I can't believe he actually viewed it--or paid attention to the entire message. They specifically target sugar--and low-nutrient refined carbs that are cheap & readily available as a key driver in obesity & diabetes. They don't much mention meat--Taubes' champion food. Exercise can rarely counteract a diet full of fat, sugar, & refined carbs--no one has that much time---but, activity matters a lot--and building muscles that can metabolize sugar makes a big difference in preventing obesity, insulin resistance, & type 2 diabetes. Did he miss this part of the documentary? Has he read the diabetes research? I guess we all have our biases--but, eating plant-based no-added oil works for me--and everyone I know who follows this plan. On the other hand I know people who have followed Taubes' plan & they were tired & constipated.

[Deb]

I don't understand the hype about how we need a cultural change that will make "fresh healthy food" plentiful and affordable. Every grocery store I go into has a produce department with just about any kind of fresh fruit or vegetable you could want, and they are always running specials. When you consider our incomes, our food is proportionately much cheaper than most of the world pays. The problem isn't availability, it's preference. Most people walk right past the produce as if it weren't even there...

[mistah charley, ph.d.]

Maybe the previous poster will better understand the "cultural change" hype about making "fresh healthy food" plentiful and affordable if she believes the following assertions:

1) The kind of grocery stores that she is used to, with well-stocked produce departments, are NOT within everyone's reach, either because of transportation issues or limited income, or both.

2) Even food that you can afford, and is right there at the store, is not really "available" if you have no experience preparing and eating it. As a recent convert to plant-based nutrition, I find myself having a "beginner's experience" at an advanced age with regard to certain dishes. There are lots of other people with very limited experience in buying and cooking the food they eat.

3) Much food - maybe even most food - doesn't pass through the grocery store on its way to the consumer. School lunches, college and workplace and prison cafeterias, fast food and other restaurants, convenience stores on the corner and at the gas station, vending machines, etc. provide a substantial proportion of the food eaten in this country. It's possible for "fresh healthy food" to be available through these distribution channels, but it takes effort.