Fayette twice as fat as most of America
A government survey released a few weeks ago found that Americans are even fatter than they think they are. One in five considered themselves obese, yet the real number is more like 31 percent. If the nation as a whole is fat, Fayette County doubles it. According to information provided from the American Heart Association, Fayette County has the highest percentage of overweight and obese adults, with a whopping 62 percent of the population considered obese. And if the adults are fat, so are their kids.
Are we just going to take this news lying down? Apparently we’ve been taking most things lying down, or sitting down, while shoving handfuls of chips into our mouths and washing it down with soft drinks.
It’s time to get up and start moving because the only way this county is going to slim down is by the only method proven to work. No, we’re not talking Slimfast or high protein, low carbs or is that low protein, high carbs diets. There’s no magic little pill or potion that will burn fat while you’re sleeping.
The best and healthiest way to lose weight and to keep it off is to eat less and exercise more.
This means making wise choices about the types of food we pile onto our plates. Although not perfect, the food pyramid and nutritional guides (found on most packaged foods) are a good starting point for keeping tabs on calories and fat grams. Already prepared meals, or trips through the fast-food restaurant windows, make getting dinner on the table faster and easier. But definitely not better.
Fruits and vegetables, unadorned with cream, cheese or sugary sauces, are basically fat free foods. Sure we might have to work a little harder to plan low-calorie, low-fat nutritious meals, but aren’t you and your family worth it?
Those extra pounds you’re carrying around are slowing you down and adding to your aches and pains. They’re making you feel bad about the way you look. But they’re also killing you, making you more susceptible to an array of maladies, not the least of which are diabetes and heart disease.
On the exercise front, not everyone is a potential marathon runner like Uniontown cardiologist Dr. Verruna Yadagani. Yet all can benefit from his advice: Get up and get moving. If you already exercise talk someone you care about into joining you. Asking a usually inactive person to go for a walk might just be enough to stir them to action.
Most importantly, regardless of size, parents must make sure their children are exercising more than their fingers across a keyboard or on a computer game control stick. Kids need daily physical activity. It’s time to get our youngest generation headed toward a healthier lifestyle. Make it a point to learn about good nutrition and to teach it to your child.
Schools can help too by locking up those vending machines and offering only nutritious choices in the breakfast and lunch lines.