Fitness And Obesity

Newcastle Herald

Thursday May 29, 2008

EDITORIAL By SAMUEL DODDS and SIMON HICKEY

OVER the years food has become fattier, people's fitness is getting slacker and they are getting bigger.

Obesity, a serious health condition that can lead to an early death or diseases like stroke, heart attack or type 2 diabetes, is starting to overtake our society.

The problem is getting worse as technology advances. People promise themselves they will get some exercise after their television program has finished but they end up forgetting or not doing it.

People need to get rid of this attitude, get a new one and get fit. Society has problems with its lifestyles and they need to change them urgently. Obesity is becoming an epidemic in our community and is quickly leading to a major health crisis around the world.

Exercise isn't really a very hard thing to do. It can be as simple as going for regular runs, workouts or walks two or three times a week. If you don't have any workout equipment go to your local gym or do traditional exercises like push-ups and sit-ups or take a daily walk around the block or on a treadmill.

Big food portions are getting easier to access as the fast-food business expands and its advertisements constantly remind us of our desire for more fatty food. It is often easier these days for people to get low-nutritional foods as franchises and their food outlets grow.

Using full-sized plates for entrees is just ridiculous. They also ask people what size serving they want and if they want anything else, making the food more tempting.

It is also much harder these days to get healthy food. People need to go see a dietician and a doctor to have a look at what they are doing to themselves.

Fast-food restaurants' menus can be expensive but what's worse is that some of them cram an average of 19.2 grams of fat into their burgers.

With all this fat in all these burgers and the extra salt, it is so addictive that people don't even know what they are doing to themselves and their bodies crave these foods. It's a great wonder they don't have a telephone quit line for fast food.

The way these companies get us to want these foods is to make our body crave for it by putting in more salt and fat. Our bodies' natural reaction is to want more of it and that is what is making people obese.

People are eating more food but not doing exercise to cope with changing lifestyles. It is a matter of doing exercise for their own health's sake so they can have a fitter, healthier and happier lifestyle and do better in life. If people ate less junk food, started eating more greens and exercised they would see how much difference it can make.

© 2008 Newcastle Herald

Back to News Index | Back to Home