Collin County Living Well Magazine November/December 2016 | Page 30

Obesity
in
America
By Joan Weems, RN

P

ersons that are overweight do
not like other people telling them
they are overweight. I was one
of those that always thought I
was overweight whether I was or not.
Well I’ve always struggled with being
overweight. This year I got the courage to have a gastric sleeve and have

lost 61 pounds.
At work, we have the health insurance
people saying, “You have got to get
the weight of your people down or
your rates for health insurance are going to be doubled.” So we try to have
a “healthy business.” And after achieving that award, for several years, too

many people still have high blood
pressure due to being overweight. We
have done the Biggest Loser Contest
over and over in the past years, and
someone always gets on the band
wagon and loses an unreal amount
of weight only to gain it back––plus
more––because there was no lifestyle
change. We encourage walks on
breaks, workouts at noon lunch break,
and even when having meetings we
serve healthy food and snacks.
Life in America has become so fast
that many people eat fast foods, most
of which are unhealthy. We eat bigger
food portions, and move less. As a result,
the number of Americans who are overweight or obese (more than 20 pounds
overweight) has been rising. One in
three American adults are obese, and
another one-third are overweight.
Being overweight or obese can have
far-reaching health consequences.
According to the Centers for Disease
C