#obesity

According to the surgeon general, obesity today is officially an epidemic; it is arguably the most pressing public health problem we face, costing the health care system an estimated $90 billion a year. Three of every five Americans are overweight; one of every five is obese. The disease formerly known as adult-onset diabetes has had to be renamed Type II diabetes since it now occurs so frequently in children. A recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association predicts that a child born in 2000 has a one-in-three chance of developing diabetes. (An African American child's chances are two in five.) Because of diabetes and all the other health problems that accompany obesity, today's children may turn out to be the first generation of Americans whose life expectancy will actually be shorter than that of their parents. The problem is not limited to America: The United Nations reported that in 2000 the number of people suffering from overnutrition--a billion--had officially surpassed the number suffering from malnutrition--800 million. ↗

— Michael Pollan

#diabetes #fatties #food #health #health-care

Childhood obesity is best tackled at home through improved parental involvement, increased physical exercise, better diet and restraint from eating. ↗

— Bob Filner

#best #better #childhood #diet #eating

The lack of access to proper nutrition is not only fueling obesity, it is leading to food insecurity and hunger among our children. ↗

— Tom Vilsack

#among #children #food #hunger #insecurity

The rise of childhood obesity has placed the health of an entire generation at risk. ↗

— Tom Vilsack

#entire #entire generation #generation #health #obesity

Exercise is one of the best ways in preventing the rapid growth of obesity in America. ↗

— Lee Haney

#best #exercise #growth #obesity #preventing

While approximately one in every 400 children and adolescents have Type I diabetes; recent Government reports indicate that one in every three children born in 2000 will suffer from obesity, which as noted is a predominant Type II precursor. ↗

— Tim Holden

#born #children #diabetes #every #government

Shrinking someone's stomach to the size of a walnut with surgery is one way to battle obesity and diabetes and may be lifesaving for a few, but it doesn't address the underlying causes. ↗

— Mark Hyman

#battle #causes #diabetes #few #may

Children with obesity and diabetes live harder poorer lives, they often don't finish school and earn much less than their healthy counterparts. ↗

— Mark Hyman

#counterparts #diabetes #earn #finish #harder

If we don't somehow stem the tide of childhood obesity, we're going to have a huge problem. ↗

— Lance Armstrong

#going #huge #obesity #problem #somehow

How much obesity has to be created in a single decade for people to realize that diet has to be responsible for it? ↗

— Robert Atkins

#decade #diet #how #much #obesity