You Need to Know Your BMI – Obesity Rates in America

America continues to be in the middle of an epidemic of excessive weight gain.  Amazingly, it was recently reported that 5 of the top 10 fattest cities in the USA are in Texas.

Here is the criteria that was used to make this decision:

“To arrive at our rankings, we calculated the percentage of people who are overweight, the percentage with type 2 diabetes, the percentage who haven’t left the couch in a month (CDC Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System); the money spent on junk food (Bureau of Labor Statistics); and finally, the number of people who ate fast food nine or more times in a month (Mediamark Research).”

Number 1 on the list was Corpus Christi, El Paso 3^rd, Dallas 4^th, San Antonio 7^th and Houston 9^th.  Interestingly, Austin, Texas was 97^th on the list!

One would think that the natural thing to do would be to increase awareness and take steps to reverse this trend, but this is not what is happening at all.

Read the following excerpt from an article that appeared in the June 4^th issue of the Houston Chronicle:

“At the same time, a younger generation is continuing to grow far more overweight than previous Americans — with a resulting boom in diabetes, and the many serious maladies associated with both obesity and diabetes. Hospital services are expanding to meet the need.

“The rise in obesity has increased the prevalence of type 2 diabetes, and shockingly in children, teenagers, young adults,” said Ann-Marie Hedberg of the UT Health Science Center. “Obesity, with type 2 diabetes, and then all of the early onset complications” such as renal failure.

Hedberg says these complications lead to “huge” hospital admissions. “As far as growth with hospitals, it’s absolutely an area of extreme focus. Diabetes has an enormous co-morbidity. Hospitals have to control complications with every admission.”

Transplants due to obesity are also on the rise.”

Something is wrong with this picture!

Hospitals are spending millions and millions of dollars expanding to be able to treat more and more obese individuals and the associated complications.

Why aren’t the millions of dollars being spent to prevent and reverse obesity and prevent these complications in the first place?  There are a number of herbal supplements that improve glucose metabolism and decrease insulin resistance in Type 2 diabetes.  Why aren’t these being recommended?

One of the measures of being overweight and obese is the “body mass index” or BMI.  A BMI of 27-30 is overweight and greater than 30 is in the range of obesity and considered dangerous.

A desirable BMI is below 27.

You can calculate your BMI here:
Online BMI Calculator

How did you do?

Are you happy with your results?

If not, make a commitment to yourself today to lower your BMI so that you can enjoy lifelong health!  I will work with you on this commitment as long as you are serious.  If you want help contact me by email at DrWeaver@DrSeymourWeaver.com and I will help you with achieving this goal.