A recent Seeking Alpha article, called Obesity In America: An Investor's Perspective, offers chilling evidence of how America's changing lifestyles have led directly to the nation's shocking and dangerous increase in obesity. The rate of obesity for adults has more than doubled in the last 30 years. Labeled America's obesity death spiral by some, the current and future price to be paid for this growing health epidemic is only now being calculated.
According to the article, obesity increases your chance of developing kidney disease by 83%, with asthma rates increasing by 52%. Rates of type II diabetes have already increased dramatically, and are expected to double over the next 20 years. Obese children end up later suffering from diabetes roughly 1/3 of the time, and obesity has tripled in American children since 1980, a time when, the article points out, the average American took in about 500 fewer calories than today.
Diet, whether good or bad, tends to become a habit that is difficult to break. The article cites a USDA study indicating that fully 94% of school provided lunches failed to meet USDA guidelines with 80% of them including excess fat and saturated fat content. Mandating changes in school lunch programs sounds easy, but schools that have started to provide healthy alternatives often find them going uneaten, with children passing them up for other foods. In some schools they have gone so far as to actually require students who buy lunch there to include at least one healthy item. The result: The kids buy the healthy foods as required and then simply throw them away.
There are other factors. The dominance of computers, television, and other electronic devices that encourage sitting in one place for extended periods has greatly reduced the physical activity of both adults and children. In addition, the production of corn and other calorie-laden food sources has continued to go up as the price has continued to go down, further encouraging to availability of high-calorie items in stores.
The news keeps getting worse, but consumers and companies are beginning to take action. Today the drive to promote the intake of healthier food and drink items has never been stronger. At the very top of this movement is Skinny Nutritional, offering its Skinny Water brand of enhanced waters with none of the artificial and unhealthy ingredients so common in other flavored drinks. Skinny Water uses 100% natural flavorings, with zero carbs, zero sugar, zero calories, and zero sodium. Its popularity has risen to the point that Skinny Water is now sold at over 15,000 retail locations around the country, including major chains such as CVS and Target.
For additional information, visit the company's websites at SkinnyWater.com
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