Girth of a Nation
Congratulations for taking on a major social issue in your report on overweight Americans [Cover Story, Jan. 16]. While the leading reasons for obesity continue to be studied, there can be little argument that it is caused largely by an excess of food, insufficient exercise and a growing lack of self-respect. Time to shape up, America!
Robert B. Craig Eatontown, New Jersey
Many Americans have simply given up on the battle of the bulge. The stringent diets and ``no pain, no gain'' exercise ethic of the '80s are probably the reason. The only way to successfully manage weight and achieve better health and fitness is through life-style changes in exercise and eating habits. People should look for fun, easy ways to get more active every day. The key is for them to pick exercise activities they enjoy, because they are more likely to stick to them. Crash diets and fanatical exercise regimes simply do not foster adherence.
Sheryl Marks Brown, Executive Director American Council on Exercise San Diego
Thanks for making me feel guilty when I ate my Big Mac this evening. Why is it that every time something makes us feel better, someone tells us why it's going to kill us? Just once I'd like to read about a person who ate an extra- rich Haagen-Dazs Triple Brownie Overload and had a good time doing it. I am sick of America's ridiculous obsession with how we look and what we eat. Living is a dangerous business, and simple pleasures should not be denied. I for one plan to enjoy my fettuccine Alfredo. It's safer than driving on the freeway.
Gabe Mejias Alexandria, Virginia
Many, many Americans are woefully out of shape. However, it's a cop-out to blame McDonalds or the American automobile industry for our epidemic of obesity. The primary blame rests squarely upon those who lack the initiative to establish a reasonable personal-fitness program and who lack the discipline to monitor the quantity and quality of their food intake. The obese have few to blame for their condition but themselves.
Richard C. DesLauriers Jersey City, New Jersey AOL: RickD4382
A lot of what the food hucksters sell us is simply not good for our bodies. We need to learn to lust after fruits, vegetables, grains, lean meats and good health; only then will we lose weight and keep it off. If we have the right attitude, it will produce the right behavior.
Joyce Swartz Montesano, Washington AOL: TetraRon
An estimated 300,000 lives are lost each year because of obesity-related conditions, making obesity the second leading cause of death in the U.S. after tobacco smoking. Researchers put the cost of obesity at more than $100 billion annually. This includes $45.8 billion in such direct costs as hospital care and physicians' services; $33 billion in weight-reduction products and services; $18.9 billion in the indirect costs of lost output caused by death and disability; and $4.1 billion in workdays lost to obesity- related illness. Americans must change the way they think about obesity. It is no longer simply an appearance issue; it is a serious disease that warrants increased attention from the public-health community.
C. Joseph LaBonte, President and CEO Jenny Craig Del Mar, California