Battling an Epidemic

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, obesity has risen quickly to become one of the primary threats to wellness in America. View the CDC's obesity trend map from 1985-2006 »

• Among adults aged 20-74, the prevalence of obesity increased from 15.0% (in the 1976-1980 survey) to 32.9% (in the 2003-2004 survey).
• That means nearly 1 in 3 Americans today suffer from obesity -a disease which is often physically and emotionally debilitating; yet almost always completely treatable with the right changes in attitude and lifestyle.

Unfortunately, being overweight or obese increases the risk of many diseases and health conditions-diseases for which there is often no readily available, completely natural cure. These diseases include heart disease, joint degeneration, high cholesterol, diabetes, sleep disorders and some types of cancer.

And the problem is not confined to adults. Our children are picking up our poor diet and exercise habits. Television, video games and the internet are replacing afternoons spent playing outside. Physical education is disappearing from our schools. At the rate health problems related to obesity are climbing, we may be raising the first generation whose members are likely to die before their parents.