Cause and Effect of Obesity

     The cause and effect of obesity has created the health crisis of this century!  For the most part the causes of obesity are high blood sugar, eating the wrong foods and little to no exercise. Sometimes there are complicated reasons behind all of these factors including one's attitudes and beliefs, environmental issues and even genetic tendencies.

      The effects of obesity are soaring medical costs, increased family expenses, more restricted living and unhealthy children. It has caused soaring rates of diabetes in this country. The statistics are staggering. Obesity is costing us dearly in increased medical expenses and in the health of the people of this country.

     Yet, in the last decade the numbers keep rising.  It has become obvious something is going on in our culture contributing to an enormous increase in the rates of obesity.

According to the Health and Medical Research Foundation, the U.S. is the fattest country in the world with Russia a close second.    In 1960 less than 1/3 (30.5%) of Americans were overweight.   That percentage has doubled in the last 50 years so that today an incredible 2/3 of the American population is overweight and 1/3 is obese!

     How did this happen? Certainly, every individual needs to get a thorough medical examination to understand his or her specific condition. Then if you are obese, healthy weight loss plans like what we offer here on Lifetime Fat Loss will sustain permanent lifestyle changes.

     What are the aspects of modern life that have led to what causes obesity and it's effects on our lives and the lives of our children? What about how fast food impacts the cause and effect of obesity?

Does Fast Food Cause Obesity?

     Fast food restaurants have become fixtures in the modern landscape. There may be no more obvious change in how we eat in the past 50 years as eating fast food on such a massive scale.   When so many people eat so much food that is mass produced and has so little nutritional value...it has to be a major cause and effect of obesity not only here but now around the world.

     We see the toll it is taking in this country and now we are beginning to hear more and more reports from other countries that their rates of obesity and diabetes are going up.  Do we want the rest of the world to copy our mistakes? 

Processed foods may be easier and faster to prepare but they are high glycemic foods with hidden "fat traps." When you produce cheap food like this on such a massive scale you have to cut corners on quality and good nutrition.     We are paying the cost for this in medical bills and obese children.    Eating too many processed foods is a cause and the effect of obesity is an enormous rise in medical costs.

     Since the 1970s we have increasingly become families with both adults working, leaving no one to manage the family meals, the cooking, planning and preparation.   Because there's not as much time to cook, fast food restaurants have sprung up to cook for us and the commercial food industry stepped in.    It is now a global phenomenon that almost every major city in the world has golden arches.   Sadly, they are fast becoming emblematic of the cause and effect of obesity.

     We eat on the run and we eat foods high in saturated fat with little to no essential nutrients.    Marketers have targeted school children and schools to sell high glycemic sodas and snacks. When people buy a hamburger at McDonalds it is usually with a coke.    The processed food industry uses corn syrup and other high glycemic preservatives in their products that raise blood sugar and cause fat storage.    The cause and effect of obesity are directly related to these lifestyle changes.

     The result of changes in how we live is that Americans consume more high glycemic foods than any other country in the world and we are the fattest people in the world!    The most popular carbohydrates consumed by Americans, potatoes, French fries, potato chips, white bread, cold breakfast cereal, white rice, pizza, sodas, muffins, pancakes, sugar and jam are high glycemic with little if any nutritive value.    Fast food restaurants serve foods that are high in transfats which are  by far the most unhealthiest saturated fats.

     So does fast food cause obesity?   Yep.   It is a fact that people who go most often to fast food restaurants gain weight and even eventually become obese and sick.    Between fast foods and sodas we can probably lay most of the blame.

     Fast food is extremely popular because it seems cheap and very convenient.   It benefits by and contributes to the American tendency to eat too much red meat which is high in saturated fats.

     It tastes pretty good and it sure is easy. It's hard to resist these temptations. Yet, what people don't pay at the register, over time they pay in medical expenses.

     In fact, Americans eat more meat than any other country and the meat we eat is grown with cheap corn, hormones and antibiotics.  There is a real cost to the environment and our health in growing meat cheaply because the truth is quality meat is expensive.   The meat we get in fast food restaurants is the cheapest meat available.   If we ate less of it we would be healthier and we would be less fat.

     This  cheap meat market may be one cause and effect of obesity!

     Diets that are high in red meat are associated with many known health problems including heart disease and even cancer. Fast food restaurants are in the business of selling cheap meat.     One huge growing concern is the enormous numbers of growing children who eat in fast food restaurants regularly and what this does to their health over time.

Facts About Obesity

     The cause and effect of obesity is that there is an extremely high cost for the changes in our lifestyles over the past 50 years.   According to a recent issue of Time magazine we spend an astounding $147 billion a year on diet related illness.   Poor dietary choices extract an extremely high price in terms of being sick and more susceptible to disease. According to a study published in Lancet in 2011 it is estimated that there are 347 million people with diabetes worldwide.

This is an epidemic!

     The cause and effect of obesity are high costs and more sickness.    The U.S. Center for Disease Control has linked excess fat to 20 different health issues.    Experts believe that excess body fat accounts for more than 80% of the cases of type 2 diabetes.    Excess fat also increases the risk of:

• gallstones
• arthritis
• heart disease
• cancers
• breast cancer
• high blood pressure
• heart disease
• stroke
• hypertension
• coronary artery disease
• liver disease
• sarcopenia

     According to the World Health Organization, some 1.5 billion people are obese or overweight.**   In fact, obesity may soon overtake tobacco as the leading cause of preventable death!   Moderate obesity lowers life expectancy by 2 - 5 years and severe obesity by 5 - 20 years.

     Excess weight is responsible for 40 different medical problems with profound effects on 9 different organ systems according to the Health and Medical Research Foundation.    The current cost of treating obesity is 10% of our nation's entire health care budget.

     All of this matters but what matters most is if you have obesity in your family and how to overcome it.    It is very, very difficult for a child to grow up obese and try to reverse it as an adult.

What You Can Do About Obesity

     Obesity is a major problem in this country but it is a preventable disease and the time to prevent it is when your children are growing up and laying down eating habits that will last a lifetime. 

     It is caused mostly by eating foods that are convenient but unhealthy - they raise your blood sugar, give you too much saturated fat and too many empty calories.  Chronic high blood sugar causes fat storage. It is caused by sitting in front of television sets and computers instead of moving and driving instead of walking. These are complicated issues because it is not enough to know what you need to do.

     The cause and effect of obesity requires huge behavioral changes and an incredible amount of support.

     This website was created to address a more healthy approach to promoting fat loss and the cause and effect of obesity. It's intended to create hope and to support you in making what are sometimes very difficult and challenging changes. Low glycemic eating along with a comprehensive, individualized plan for changing your thinking and your behavior are required.

     Check with your doctor regarding the information you read here and whether or not it's right for you.    Lifetime Fat Loss  is for everyone who cares about the cause and effect of obesity and what we can do about it.

Scroll down for a list of articles that will help you get started with permanent fat loss!

---

* Those with a medical condition should seek medical advice. If you have a medical condition always get the advice of your medical or health practitioner before undertaking any new weight loss program.

** Available at: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs311/en/.Accessed on April 24, 2012 by Life Extension and reprinted here with permission.

Weight Loss Coach

Whether you have a lot to lose or a little you need an aggressive plan with a professional to create a systematic plan for you. This is a small investment that can reap enormous benefits.

Burn Belly Fat

This is a safe, natural fat blocker that gives you that extra boost to get you going!

Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes can be managed and even reversed when you know what to do!

Type 2 Diabetes Symptoms

Are you at risk for type 2 diabetes?

Causes of High Triglycerides

What are the causes of high triglycerides? Probably not what you think .... you have control and can make these changes!

Insulin Resistance

This is where you'll find an intensive, low glycemic program to reverse your insulin resistance.

Insulin Resistance Diet

This is all the diet information you need for your Lifetime Fat Loss Low Glycemic intensive program to overcome insulin resistance and get healthy again!

Cinnamon and Weight Loss

Yes, cinnamon can greatly assist you in managing your weight by supporting low blood sugar and the regulation of fat metabolism!

How To Stop Sugar Addiction

Are you addicted to sugar? Learn how to stop those cravings.

Metabolic Syndrome Symptoms

Do you think you have metabolic syndrome? It means that high blood sugar and high insulin have created a disturbance to your metabolic balance. You can take action to correct it.

How to Stop Emotional Eating

No system can force you into healthy eating by sheer will power! Here is a proven, simple technique that you can try for FREE and break free of emotional eating....

Return from Cause and Effect of Obesity to Definition of Obesity.

Return from Cause and Effect of Obesity to Lifetime Fat Loss home page.