Here in the United States, obesity is nothing more than a crisis among children and adults alike. In fact, it’s estimated that more than 75 million adults throughout the country are obese, representing up to one third of the entire adult population. In addition to this, around 17% of all children are obese as well, as many as 12.5 million of them. And by the time that we reach the year of 2030, even more people will be obese if nothing is done to stop it, as much as 50% of the adult population alone.
But obesity is not a simple issue, as it has many causes. One of these causes is very much diet, with people consuming far more calories in a day than their bodies need. The culprit for much of this is the widespread availability of unhealthy foods, primarily found in fast food restaurants, which have more than doubled in scope over the last few decades. Typical food in fast food restaurants is far from nutritionally satisfying but still contains high caloric amounts filled with saturated fats, refined grains, refined sugars, and excessive sodium. And with people busier and more stressed than ever before, fast food has become an easy option for far too many people on a regular basis for its ease and simplicity above anything else.
And it’s not just food that’s to blame – in fact, far from it. For children and adults both, exercise is far too infrequently utilized. The average adult, for instance, is more likely not to exercise than to actually engage in any type of rigorous physical activity, as only around 5% of all adults in the United States actually get even just 30 minutes of exercise in a day. On top of this, only around one third of this same population gets the recommended two hours of weekly exercise to remain fit and healthy. Not all of these people are obese or even overweight, of course, but most overweight and obese people do fall within this category (though, as can be said of nearly any generalization made, this is not true for all such people).
And for children, things don’t look much better – and in fact might even look worse. Thanks to the fact that electronics are becoming more accessible and more popular than ever before, fewer and fewer children are getting up and moving on a daily basis. In fact, the average child here in the United States will have as many as seven and a half hours of screen time – but less than half of all children in this country will engage in physical activity over the course of the typical day, putting them more at risk for conditions like obesity, among a number of others.
But the solution is simple: exercise and a better diet. Cultivating a better diet can be hugely difficult for someone who has never done it before, and often requires the help of a nutritionist or other such professional to get started. Exercise can be the same way, with many people choosing to utilize gyms and personal trainers to get themselves started on the path to physical fitness. However, there are so many ways to work out and all might not fit every single person.
Going to a sport store can open up a world of opportunity for many, as sports stores contain so much equipment to peruse. Sports stores will have equipment for beginners and sports stores will have equipment for advanced participants in any given sport. In addition to this, sports stores are also likely to have home fitness equipment for sale. When looking at this equipment in sports stores it can all seem very overwhelming, but the employees in these sports stores can help a person to figure out what the best option is for their needs – and their price point.
From sports stores to gym memberships to simply making an effort to walk whenever possible instead of taking a car, there are so many ways that all of us can become healthier than we have ever been.
