According to the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention), obesity-related deaths in America have climbed to more than 300,000 a year,  SECOND ONLY TO TOBACCO RELATED DEATHS . Yet there are no warning requirements for high calorie, high fat food items. Shouldn’t there be a warning on that Big Mac that reads: WARNING, EATING A DIET HIGH IN FAST FOODS HAS BEEN SHOWN TO MAKE YOU FAT, UNATTRACTIVE AND LEAD TO PREMATURE DEATH!  Obsesity is the leading cause of cardiovascular disease, type II diabetes, and a contributor to many types of cancer. Obesity in adults has increased by 60% within the past twenty years and obesity in children has tripled in the past thirty years. A staggering 33% of American adults are obese. 

The simple fact is that most of us sabotage our own health by poor eating and lifetstyle choices. Corporate America has capitalized on our evolutionized craving for high fat, high calorie foods by providing the ability to access a virtual unlimited menu of unhealthy, highly processed foods for $1 simply by rolling down the window (actually we don’t roll down windows anymore, we push the button, thus relieving our fingers of that strenuous, calorie burning task). I once drove 300 miles, and using cruise control was able to  severely limit any body movement and calorie burning, but was able to consume over 5,000 calories in less than 5 hours.

I have never smoked, but I suspect that my poor eating choices for much of my life have left my heart just as unhealthy as a lifelong smoker’s. My first resolution for the New Year: Be Conscious of Every Eating Choice that I Make Every Day.  Being conscious of each choice doesn’t guarantee a good choice. But it does make me say, “Yes, the satisfaction I am going to get from this Big Mac is worth more than life itself.” Sort of like shaming myself into being a healthier eater. 

I wish  you all a New Year full of healthy eating.

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