“Fat Children Found to Have Arteries of a 45 Year Old” read the headline in The Journal News on Wednesday, November 12, 2008. Another front page article from the preceding day in the Journal News stated, “Bill to Put Calories on Menu Passes,” was aimed at reducing obesity in Westchester County, NY.
It has been apparent that obesity is on the rise among adults as well as children. The statistics are staggering and what should concern all of us are the health care costs that will be associated with obesity related illness as the population ages. Overweight and obese people are more likely to suffer from other conditions like heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers. According to Dr. Lan Liang of the federal government’s Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the estimated costs directly related to excess pounds will double each decade, reaching $957 billion in 2030 – accounting for one of every six healthcare dollars spent in the U.S. That added cost will have to be paid for by us somehow, someway. According to Dr. Michael Schloss, a New York University heart disease prevention specialist, “The time has come to seriously deal with the issue of childhood obesity and physical inactivity on a governmental and parental level.”
It seems that when it comes to weight loss most of us focus on how we look. The purpose is to look better, look thinner; but how we look is only a small reason of why we should lose the excess weight. That reason probably has to do with our own vanity. But as the classic song by the Temptations says “Beauty’s only skin deep, you may be fine on the outside but so untrue on the inside.”
What’s happening inside is frightening; obese children as young as 10 have been found to have arteries of 45 year olds. They have had abnormal enlargements of the left atrium (one of the chambers of the heart); impairment in the heart’s ability to relax between beats; and an inverse risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers. Why worry about your weight and your waist? The waist is where most people put their excess fat. The waist is a strong predictor of a number of chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease. This is especially true of older men because they lose muscle mass as they age. So while their weight stays constant, their girth is getting larger.
We need help from the government but the real solution begins at home. Changes in the foods we consume and increases in physical activity are needed steps, but having an effective weight management program that can be integrated into one’s life is, in my opinion, the most basic yet powerful thing we can do to look good, feel good, fight disease, and slow the aging process.
After researching different treatment plans, philosophies, and programs, I am proud to tell you about Take Shape For Life featuring the Medifast Program. My staff and I have been evaluating this program and have helped dozens of people lose weight and more importantly, teach them how to keep the weight off for good.
Take Shape For Life is a complete lifestyle program featuring great tasting meal replacements combined with the education and support of our team. It has been clinically proven to be safe and effective at reputable institutions like Johns Hopkins University. Studies show the average person lost 2 -4 lbs. per week without hunger, cravings, or loss of muscle tissue, while experiencing significant improvements in existing health issues such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes. This program is affordable and most people find it costs about as much as they currently spend on eating.
Because it is so easy and because of the success we have seen, we are making this program available to you. We hold monthly orientations at my office to introduce the program and support those currently enrolled. You will hear form some of our patients who have lost between 20 and 50 + lbs. on this program. If a group setting is not for you, then I invite you to have a one-on-one session with me so we can discuss the program more privately.
Please don’t hesitate to begin this exciting program and start to peel back the pounds of fat that prevent you from being the healthy person that you deserve to be.
