In advance of halloween, I thought I'd blog about something very scary...the prevalence of health related problems from American women being overweight. Here are some truly terrifying facts.
* Twenty years ago the average woman was 5' 3" and weighed about 122 lbs. Today the average woman is about 5' 4" and weighs 142 lbs
* The average woman is eating over 300 more calories per day than she did 20 years ago
* 60% of women in the US are overweight - that's a majority, Ladies!!!
* One in three women is obese
* There has been a 15% increase in obesity in women in the last 10 years
* There has been a 32% increase in diabetes in women in the last 10 years
* In the 5 years after menopause the average sedentary woman will gain 1.2 lbs per year -- mostly in the abdominal area
* Being overweight is associated with a host of problems (fitting into a bikini being by far the least of them), including:
- Heart disease
- Stroke
- Arthritis
- High blood pressure
- Gallbladder disease
- Infertility
- Some kinds of cancer
If you or someone you love is significantly overweight, please view it as the health problem that it is and take steps to lose weight and get healthy. Even slight reductions in body weight can reduce your risk of developing these life threatening conditions.
Start tomorrow, people have made incredible strides and lost hundreds of pounds. Certainly you can do it -- just one healthier choice at a time...eating close to nature, stopping before your feel stuffed, reducing junk food and empty calories, cutting back on alcohol and soda, walking for at least 20 min...whatever you can do. Begin! Do it! We are slowly and steadily losing an entire generation of women to illnesses that we are causing ourselves.
I really hope that scared some of you....BOO!
Geralyn Coopersmith, MA, CSCS is an exercise physiologist, certified personal trainer, author of Fit + Female: The Complete Fitness and Nutrition Game Plan for Your Unique Body Type and the creator of The Best Me Ever, a comprehensive weight loss and wellness system just for women. It's a first of its kind program designed to fit into a busy women's life. Lose weight and look great -- 90 Day Unconditional Money Back Guarantee!!
