Losing Weight: The Personal Struggle
Dan PrinceI’ve reached the point in my life where it seems to be harder and harder to trim the extra pounds I carry around. Oh, I know I should lose weight. And I do exercise, via a morning walk with the dog every day plus a visit to the gym once or twice a week. But eating properly – that’s a tougher challenge. Simply put, I like to eat! So it’s a struggle for me. How about you?
Medically, I’m in the “overweight” category… at about 195 pounds when I’d like to be around 185 or so, for my 6′ height.
And by being “overweight,” I’m part of a huge group of Americans. The most recent statistic I’ve seen is that about 66% of Americans are either overweight or obese. To me, that’s scary – particularly when I think about the personal impact on my health status and possibly on my lifespan. And on the broader scale, what is the potential impact on our country’s character and national competitiveness?
I think about this issue when I see a policeman with a sagging belly. Could he really run after and catch a fleeing felon like the cops on TV shows do? I reflect on this issue when I see an obese executive try to squeeze himself into the confines of a typical airplane seat. And I wonder about the future when I see an overweight nurse’s aide try and hoist an overweight patient.
As a nation, we spend more per capita on healthcare than any other nation in the world (http://ucatlas.ucsc.edu/spend.php). Isn’t obesity a big reason for this? Obesity has been linked conclusively to a higher incidence of diabetes and heart disease, two deadly issues for us as a nation.
I’d prefer to be part of the minority, the one-third of Americans who are not overweight. But getting there is tough.
If you’re also overweight, are you having any success? What helps? And what holds you back? I’d really like to know.
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Tags: health care concerns, obesity, Weight
