Obesity Time Bomb

by Helen Taylor
(Bendigo,Victoria, Australia)

By Tamara McLean of The daily Telegraph
June 19, 2008 12:00am
AUSTRALIA is officially the heavyweight champion of the world, according to new figures showing the nation has a greater proportion of obese citizens than the United States.
The latest comprehensive obesity study has shown that 26 per cent of adult Australians - almost four million – are now obese, one million more than the last calculation in 1999.
Gallery: If we've got it, why not flaunt it? These plus size models do.
The findings give Australia top spot as the world's most overweight nation, ahead of the notoriously super-sized Americans, who have a 25 per cent obesity rate.
"That, unfortunately, makes us the heavyweight champions, a title we don't really want,'' said Professor Simon Stewart, head of preventative cardiology at the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute.
Experts are now calling for extreme measures like gym discounting and denial of surgery based on body mass index (BMI) to rectify the situation.
The report, entitled Australia's Future Fat Bomb, was released ahead of the federal government's obesity inquiry.
It presents the results of height and weight checks carried out on 14,000 adult Australians nationwide in 2005, giving the most thorough picture of obesity since the AusDiab study in 1999.
The report reveals that nine million adults have a BMI over 25, making them overweight or obese, an increase from seven million.
Four million are obese, up from three million.
Middle-aged Australians are leading the way, with seven in 10 men and six in 10 women aged 45 to 64 now registering a BMI of 25 or more.
An analysis of the data shows that there will be an extra 700,000 heart-related hospital admissions in the next 20 years due to obesity alone.
Almost 125,000 people will die as a result, many prematurely.
"I would regard this as now the biggest threat to our future health,'' Prof Stewart said.
"As we send our athletes off to the Olympics let's reflect on the fact that we would win the gold medal now in the world fat Olympics if there was such a thing.''
The report calls for a national weight loss strategy on the scale of smoking and skin cancer campaigns, including subsidising gym memberships and personal training sessions for heavier people.
Wait lists for surgery could be prioritised on the basis of weight loss.
"This isn't just targeting a small group,'' Prof Stewart said.
"We're talking about the majority who fit into these categories now.
"These are some of the controversial things we need to deal with because the healthcare system is going to be overwhelmed by weight-related hospitalisations from knee replacements through to heart attacks and strokes.''
Professor Ian Caterson, director of the Institute of Obesity, Nutrition and Exercise at the University of Sydney, agreed such measures were needed.
"Governments have to start thinking outside the square because as we get fatter and older as a nation things are just going to get worse,'' Prof Caterson said.


BACK TO MY PAGE:
Tailor Made

==========

Even when we try to eat well, we're disadvantaged. The nutritional content of most food has been compromised over the years, not only by deficient soils and modern production, transportation, storage and processing methods, but also by the enormous amounts of chemical and artificial substances added to promote growth, storage life, taste and appearance.

It's for this reason that more and more medical authorities are advocating the use of vitamin and mineral supplements. However, finding them in the right combination can be both confusing and costly.
The nutrition products I am going to recommend you make use of knowledge gained from the botanical world's 6,000 year history. They incorporated health building nutritional herbs with the best modern technology to help our bodies cleanse and detoxify so that the cells - the tiniest living units - can be as fully nourished as possible.
This allows the cells to grow, repair and to perform their functions with the best possible efficiency so that we feel and look better and are more able to prevent and fight disease. Once the body begins to clear itself of toxins it can more efficiently absorb nutrition.

Further reading through our articles on health issues will give you a body of information that will help you decide what options you have to deal with the underlying causes of your problem through giving your body the nutrition products that will assist you body to heal from the inside out.



You can visit our health food products page here: Herbalife Health Nutrition Supplements and learn more about our core nutrition program, the Cellular Nutrition Advanced Program and also check out these targeted products, Florafiber to replace your healthy flora and Aloe Vera Juice to help cleanse your system.

We wish you well in your search for solutions to this problem and your movement towards better health in all areas.