Hot Business Trends - Obesity

Author: Naz Daud

Food is big business currently. The shocking rise in the number
of obese adults and children is great for the food industry.
They love it when we eat more.

People who have a Body Mass Index (BMI) equal to or greater than
30 are classified as obese. BMI is calculated by dividing your
weight in kilograms by your height in metres squared. It's
fairly easy to assess the BMI in adults but slightly trickier in
children as you also then have to take age into account.

Around 25 percent of all adults and 20 percent of 15 years old
in the US are now obese. The overall trend is set to rise even
further in the next decade.

These figures have created a mini boom for low calorie healthy
food alternatives. The food industry main aims are to ply us
with cheap, unhealthy, high fat food and then market more
expensive low calorie alternatives! You can now even buy pet
food for overweight cats and dogs.

Vending machines selling high calorie fizzy drinks are springing
up everywhere whilst chip shops and fast food takeaways are
raking in the profits supplying cheap and nasty food quickly.
Some children would like to eat healthily but temptation is
everywhere.

Banning unhealthy foods in schools is unlikely to work unless
you also stop the children leaving schools for their lunch! Most
schools have within walking distance shops and fast food outlets
that have seen their trade increase as children shun the move
towards healthier meals in schools.

The race has begun to find a miracle pill that would stop us
eating too much and help us to switch our hunger off. Many
pharmaceutical companies claim that they are now close to
finding a safe drug that helps us to burn more calories and stop
the body from storing fat.

Does genetics have a part to play? Can you imagine if a company
found fat genes that they could then patent and remove from
babies in the womb? Big business indeed!

Sales of drugs to counteract the side effects of obesity (like
diabetes) are also exploding. Overweight people struggle with a
lot of weight related illnesses and the pharmaceutical giants
have a pill for almost all know side effects of obesity!

The impact of obesity on small business owners is significant
due to lost productivity and higher rates of absenteeism. How
business deals with obesity is going to be very interesting in
the years to come.

Businesses that can market products and services to this
expanding market place will do well. Entrepreneurs who can find
ways to make the lives of obese people easier and more fun
rather than just trying to get them to lose weight will enjoy
the fruits of their labour.


About the author:
Naz Daud - CityLocal Franchise Business
Franchises and UK Business Directory Franchise Opportunity & Business
Opportunities

Title: The Problem Of Obesity In America

Author: Cindy Heller

Obesity in America is the second leading cause of preventable
death in the U.S. Approximately 130 million adults in this
country are overweight, about 70 million are obese with the Body
Mass Index (BMI) > 30. Approximately 62% of female Americans and
67% of male Americans are considered overweight. Today, there
are above 25% of American children are also obese or overweight.
An estimated of 400,000 Americas deaths per year may be
attributable to poor diet and lack of physical activity.

What can we do?

There is no doubt that obesity in America is growing. Take a
look at any of the shopping mall and restaurants and you will
see many, many overweight and obesity people. Why US have such a
big number of obesity problems, when it is not an issue in many
of our countries? What can be done to solve this problem?

Can Lifestyle be the cause?

Lifestyle seems to be one of the causes of obesity in American.
Take a look at some foreign countries; people there do not drive
from place to place unless they need to. I think part of the
reason for this is the high price of petrol and motor vehicles.
Come back to America, this is not the case here. Americans drive
everywhere, especially if there can avoid walking. From the
study, it is believed that almost 75% of county residents may
enjoy a completely sedentary or inactive lifestyle. When you
combine this eating habit with the American lifestyle and you
know why obesity in America is on the rise.

Food Driven Society and Activity-Scarce Environment

Many experts are of the opinion that obesity in America is such
an epidemic is because we are a food driven society and having
an activity-scarce environments. The movement you switch on the
television for few minutes and you will be bombarded with
advertisements for fast food, restaurants, sugary drinks, and
more! There are many fast food stores around the streets. It is
easy to get access to too much food, and usually we eat far more
than we need and with new technology making us easier to avoid
exercising.

The Worksite Environment

Since the average American adult spends at least 40 hours a week
at work, it is important to address nutrition and some physical
activity in the worksites. Most worksites have responded to the
challenge, and by 1999, a total of 95%of national worksites with
above 50 employees offered nutrition, weight management classes,
or counseling at the worksite or through their health plans.
Individual efforts to have more physical activity at the
worksite and eat healthy are confounded by the following.

- More people living farther away from workplace, thus spending
more time commuting (driving replace walking/biking)

- Worksites are increasingly automated and less movement for the
body

- More soft drinks and high calorie foods and snacks at
worksites

The Neighborhood Environment

Modern lifestyles contribute greatly to physical inactivity.
Cars are used for short trips, and the number of walking trips
the average American adult takes each year has decreased 42%
between 1975 and 1995. This was also true that for American
child, who decreased walking trips by about 37%. Today, only
about 10% of school students walk to school as compared to the
majority of students one generation ago. It is no easy and
challenge for Neighborhood to obtain the recommended amount of
physical activity includes the following.

- The design of Neighborhood is not suitable for walking or
biking

- More neighborhoods that are seeming as unsafe

- More time spent in automobiles

Treating Obesity in America

The best way to treat obesity in America is through education.
The American public needs to be well informing what type of food
is best for them and how can it be prepared. Restaurants should
come out with smaller portions meal for the health conscious
people. People need to study and know what are carbohydrates and
saturated fats related to the bodies, so they can choose and the
select a correct healthy food to eat. Another way to treat
obesity is to have more exercise, like swimming and walking!
Walking is a good exercise that anyone can do. If you can do it
everyday, its can help you lost weight quickly and easily.

Help from Government

It is certainly calls for strong will to cope with the problem
of obesity and Americans now before it turn to worse. This
obesity problem is very serious and it is threatening tobacco to
become the No. 1 cause of deaths in the America that may
possibly have been prevented. The America government known the
problem and has adopted some solutions, like the Medicare has
opened the door to covering overweight and obesity treatments,
while the Internal Revenue Service has also begun to allow tax
breaks for some weight-loss programs in America.


About the author:
Cindy Heller is a professional writer. Visit fast food obesity to
learn more about deseases caused by obesity and other leading causes of deaths from obesity.