This site is dedicated to my daughter Whitney Lemont, her husband David,
Renee my grandaughter and David's mom Sharon. Both David and his mom suffer
from diabetes and could use your prayers. He as he struggles to live a life
in light of his diabetes and Sharon as she just struggles. Whitney as she cares
for David, Renee and Sharon.
illnesses that are a growing killer in the world today. The death totals for
obesity related diseases have increased by at least one third in the last ten
years. Obesity contributes to heart disease, strokes, and diabetes. Obesity
related diseases are the leading cause of death is surprising, but that you
can do something about the problem is also news to most of us.
The Surgeon General state the number of obese or overweight adults in this
country is fifty percent more than it was just a decade ago. Children being
diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, which is mainly known as adult-onset diabetes,
and high blood pressure is now 24 percent of the population in children. Studies
show that one third of the children born in the year 2000 will develop Type
2 diabetes. This, unfortunately, leads to increased risk of heart disease,
stroke, blindness, kidney problems, and undermines the brains to work correctly.
Researchers have found that obesity also disrupts the metabolism of insulin
in the body. They found that excess weight at the waistlines lead to increased
risk for developing diabetes and even cancer.
Body Mass Index or BMI is a calculation that uses a person’s height
and weight to decide what each individual’s body mass is. If it is between
25 and 29 it says the person is overweight, if it is over 40, they are considered
obese. For those with a BMI over 40, they are much more likely to be diagnosed
with diabetes than those with a normal weight and BMI index.
Discovering your BMI is easy. By putting body mass index into a search engine,
you will find many calculators to find out what your BMI is. Filling in the
blanks about height, weight and age gave me a BMI of 29, which is considered
overweight. Most of my weight is carried around my middle is another indicator
that I may experience health problems unless I act now for better health.
An interesting fact states that those adults who ate fast food at least twice
a week and gained ten pounds were more likely to develop diabetes. Fast foods
are not considered part of a healthy eating pattern, even though some fast-food
franchises have been introducing fruits, salads, and bottled water for healthier
choices.
Education is the key to preventing overweight and obese children and adults.
Many of us do not understand the connection between calorie intakes, good and
bad carbohydrates, and the ratio of proteins and fats in their diet. Simply
understanding what happens to the food your body consumes will help us stay
healthy. Seeing the results of obesity and obesity related diseases are a good
way to help us decide to start living a healthier lifestyle. Regular exercise
and healthy eating will go a long way towards lowering the risk of an obesity
related disease such as diabetes.
As adults, we need to take the lead in our families towards controlling this
epidemic of obesity related diseases. We have the ability to oversee what are
children eat, look at labels before we buy a product at the store, and make healthy
meals and snacks for our families.
