Bermuda has highest percentage of obese adults

Most of our statistics concerning health in this part of the world comes from the United States. Just recently I read that in the 1970’s Americans spent about six billion dollars on fast food and in 2000 that figure rose to more than 110 billion dollars. When this is analyzed, it appears that more money is spent on fast food in the United States than on education, personal computers, new cars, movies, books, newspapers and recorded music combined.

It seems perfectly acceptable today for the average consumer to miss out on breakfast, purchase junk food every day and to do as little exercise as possible. It wasn’t so long ago that people rode pedal bikes to get from one place to another or walked to work, school or church. Meals were at a table and breakfast was a given. There was cooked cereal, fresh fruit and often eggs once or twice a week. People sat down and talked to one another. Today it’s get up at the very last minute, race out the door on an empty stomach and when hunger pangs strike, find a fast food outlet and buy a calorie-rich, nutrition-poor piece of junk food. Television is telling us to do this. Even busy, multitasking mothers are opting for the breakfast bar on-the-go.

The various revolutions we have experienced along the way have been both beneficial and detrimental to society. The industrial revolution changed the way we did things and automated our lives. However, it also pushed people off the farms and into the cities. As both men and women began to enter the work equally, the fast food revolution made it possible and easy to eat on the run. The downside is that people often do not plan to share meals together but rather eat when they are hungry. And unfortunately, it is often not a piece of fresh fruit that grabs one’s attention.

Today, technological innovations, more processed foods, a greater amount of ‘screen time,’ less exercise, and higher consumption of snack foods are all contributing to the obesity epidemic. People are getting fat. Obesity is now one of the most common preventable causes of death, only second to tobacco. Obesity causes many health complications including diabetes, heart disease, strokes and sleep apnea. Individuals who are obese have a 50 to 100 per cent increased risk of premature death from all causes compared to those with a healthy weight.

More than 500 million adults worldwide are obese. Bermuda has the highest percentage of obese adults at 40 per cent, followed by the USA (nearly 34), Mexico (30), New Zealand (about 26), Australia (nearly 25) and Canada (just over 24).

So what can you do about it?

• Stay away from processed foods, artificial sweeteners, refined grains, transfats and products containing salt.
• Eat healthy meals and snacks focusing on low calorie, nutrient dense foods such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
• Avoid saturated fat and limit sweets and alcohol.
• Drink water.
• Be physically active for at least 30 minutes a day.