Is Ignorance really BLISS?! Part 2

I wonder if people really know the cost of the typical american ignorance to what they feed themselves and their little ones.

USATODAY says, "By Robert Preidt HealthDay

The total economic cost of overweight and obesity in the United States is $270 billion per year while the cost in Canada is about $30 billion a year, a new study shows.

The $300 billion total cost in the United States and Canada is the result of: increased need for medical care ($127 billion); loss of worker productivity due to higher rates of death ($49 billion); loss of productivity due to disability of active workers ($43 billion); and loss of productivity due to total disability ($72 billion), said the Society of Actuaries (SOA)."

The George Washington University did a report that found out "The high price of a high BMI: After tabulating various costs associated with being overweight or obese, the researchers found that being an obese individual in the U.S. costs $4,879 for women and $2,646 for men each year. The overall annual costs of being overweight are $524 for women and $432 for men. The researchers defined “obesity” as a body mass index (BMI) higher than 30, and “overweight” as a BMI between 25–29. Adding the value of lost life to these yearly costs makes the price tag even higher: $8,365 and $6,518 for women and men, respectively."

Those are some scary statistics... And that's just financially. What are the risks of being overweight and obese health wise? being overweight go way beyond the ones we usually hear about, like diabetes and heart disease. Being overweight can also affect a person's joints, breathing, sleep, mood, and energy levels. So being overweight can impact a person's entire quality of life. Here is a list of things of how it impacts our lives.

· Blount disease

· Arthritis

· Slipped capital femoral epiphyses (SCFE)

· Asthma

· Sleep apnea

· High blood pressure

· High cholesterol

· Gallstones

· Fatty liver

· Pseudotumor cerebri

· Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)

· Insulin resistance and diabetes

• Depression

Who wants to live with those kind of complications day in and day out. You may not have all these symptoms but we all need to take a good look at where our health habits stand because the habits we have formed over the years will impact our future and what our futures hold. I want to live a long, energetic life. But the only way I can do that is if I start today and turn my bad eating and exercise habits into daily good habits.

Let's begin this journey together so that we can be healthy and strong for ourselves and our loved ones.