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The Problem With Obesity…

LenDentonThrive Letter #55

Hey Brothers!

Welcome to the LenDentonThrive Letter!

I’m on a mission to help guys over the age of 50 get lighter, stronger, and live longer. We do that by building healthy, sustainable lifestyles. I call it the ThriveLife! And, I write this newsletter to share strategies and tips to help you build your own, custom ThriveLife

An Obesity Epidemic

America is experiencing an obesity epidemic. And, in the big-picture view of human development, it's a relatively recent, distinctively American event. Let’s take a closer look at how we got here. 

In 1960, the average weight for an American adult male was 166 pounds. Today, the new average weight is around 199 pounds (per the U.S. CDC.). That’s a gain of 33 pounds. And today, the average American guy’s waist measures 40.2 inches.  More than 40% of U.S. men are obese, putting the USA in the Top 10 rankings for global obesity.  (According to the CDC, the definition of obesity is a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or above. You can calculate your BMI here.)

This is a big change over a relatively short period of time. So, how did this happen so quickly? 

Basically, it’s our food.

For the vast majority of human history, calories were scarce and expensive. But, something started happening in the USA during the late 1950s into the 1960s, that changed everything. Calories became increasingly cheaper and more plentiful year after year. This was made possible by the mass industrialization of our food. 

We went from exclusively growing our food on farms, to manufacturing it in factories!

This switch to industrialized food made calories cheaper, more plentiful, and more convenient to consume. Fast food also began to take its dominant role in American culture around the same time.

These influences completely changed the way that Americans ate. In the past, Americans ate whole “farm foods” as their primary source of calories. The advent of manufactured, processed foods meant that Americans were increasingly consuming foods created in factories.

These new factory foods were cheaper and more convenient, but the nutritional content was different.  They contained highly processed carbohydrates, high-calorie sweeteners, and manufactured fats.  This combination of processed carbs, sweeteners, and fats made them taste good. But, they affected the pleasure centers of our brains, making many of these foods addictive!

Americans ate more and more of these manufactured foods every year. And, as they did so, they became more and more obese!

And, obesity has brought its own set of problems. Let’s look at the top 4 problems typically associated with obesity.

Problem #1 - Cardiovascular Disease (CVD)

The explosion in obesity has been accompanied by a rise in the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases including high blood pressure, heart attacks, and strokes. Today, CVD is the leading cause of death for American men. The risks of developing CVD increase as weight (as measured by Body Mass Index) rises. Further, the risk of CVD also increases as waist size increases. Obesity is a primary risk factor for CVD.

Problem #2 - Diabetes

Diabetes is a condition where the body experiences acute insulin resistance. Severe diabetes can result in complications such as heart disease and stroke, blindness, kidney disease, and lower extremity amputations. Over-50 Guys who suffer from diabetes have life expectancies that are 6 years less than those without diabetes. 

Problem #3 - Cancer

You may be surprised to learn that being overweight or having obesity is linked with a higher risk of getting 13 types of cancer. These cancers make up 40% of all cancers diagnosed in the United States each year.

Being overweight or having obesity doesn’t mean that someone will definitely get cancer. But it does mean that they are more likely to get cancer than if they kept a healthy weight.

Problem #4 - Dementia

According to the Alzheimer Association, obesity between the ages of 35-65 can increase dementia risk in later life by about 30%.

The Biggest Problem with Obesity

The biggest problem with obesity is that Over-50 Guys don’t think that obesity is really a problem.

Yes, it’s something that they would rather not have to deal with. But, far too many men simply accept obesity as a normal condition in their lives. And as a result, they are also accepting the consequences of obesity - significantly increased rates of chronic diseases, bad health outcomes,  and early death! 

Changing Direction

Our lives are the single most valuable asset we possess. Yet, most Over-50 Guys put more energy into their jobs and their hobbies than they put into their health and fitness. 

Changing direction begins by simply changing our minds. Fitness is just behavior. So, when we change our minds, it changes our decisions, and ultimately, our health and fitness. 

The first step in a new and better direction is to change our minds about what we eat. If we can change our food, we can change how we look, how we feel, and how long we’ll live. 

Food is that important!

Ten years ago (at age 56), I changed my mind about my health and fitness. I was 70 pounds overweight with bad cholesterol and an ugly family history of heart disease.  

By changing my mind, I changed my diet and my life. 

Now, ten years later, I’m more fit and healthy than I was then. 

It was worth the work. I was worth it!

So are you! 

Don’t allow yourself to fall into the Obesity Trap. If you’ve already fallen into the trap, I’ve written a plan to help you get out of it. It’s called the ThriveLife.

The ThriveLife changed my life, and it can do the same for you! You can read more about it here.

Thanks for reading this week.

I write this newsletter to make a positive impact on the lives of Over-50 Guys and their families. If you found this information useful, please consider subscribing to receive new editions each week.

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