It’s no secret that obesity has been on the rise in America.
According to the most recent data, obesity rates for adults exceed 35 percent in four states, 30 percent in 25 states and are above 20 percent in all states. Louisiana has the highest adult obesity rate at 36.2 percent and Colorado has the lowest at 20.2 percent.
While rising obesity rates are nothing new, what’s new are emerging cultural attitudes about obesity acceptance and weight loss. As more people become obese, people who are overweight feel more mainstream and less pressure to lose weight.
Obesity Research
Researchers at Georgia Southern University analyzed U.S. government health surveys over nearly two decades from 1988 through 2014. The surveys involved in-person physical exams and health-related questions to participants, aged 20 to 59, asking if they’d tried to lose weight within the past year.
In the early surveys conducted in the 80s and 90s, about half the adults were overweight or obese. In 2014 those number rose by 15 percent to 65 percent.
So while the study found a trend of rising obesity rates it showed that attempts to lose weight declined. People who said they were trying to slim down fell from 55 at the beginning of the study percent to 49 percent towards the end of the study.
The study also found obesity to be most common among African American women with 55 percent obese in most recent surveys. And there was also a big decline in African American women trying to lose weight.
“Socially accepted normal body weight is shifting toward heavier weight. As more people around us are getting heavier, we simply believe we are fine, and no need to do anything with it,” said the study’s lead author Dr. Jian Zhang.
There could also be other reasons why weight loss attempt are trending downward.
Dr. Scott Kahan, director of a weight-loss clinic in Washington agrees that it has become more acceptable in some circles to be overweight.
However, he adds that many obese people still feel self-conscious and want to lose weight but are discouraged by repeated failed attempts at weight loss. Some give up out of feelings of pure frustration.
Mindset is Key
There are so many crash diets, diet pills and exercise gadgets on the market today that provide extreme, short-term solutions. Even if weight loss occurs people are not able to keep the weight off when they return to old eating habits.
True weight loss requires fundamental lifestyle changes, which can be psychologically, mentally, physically or socially tough for people to achieve without consistent motivation and support. Especially when the people around them are still eating and drinking in unhealthy ways, the temptation just becomes too great.
Obesity is defined by a body mass index (BMI) that measures height and weight to determine normal weight ranges. Those with a BMI of 25 to 29 are considered overweight; 30 and above is obese. A BMI of 30 generally reflects being about 50 pounds overweight.
While the positive side of fat acceptance is that people feel less ridiculed, there’s also a big, dangerous drawback. Being overweight is not just a matter of appearance. Obesity greatly increases the risks to of developing serious, debilitating and fatal disease such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer and many more.
And with obesity comes increased toxic load on the body, as most of the body’s toxins are stored in fat cells. Toxicity can also clog detox channels and cause weight loss resistance, further frustrating people’s efforts to shed pounds.
How a Full Body Detox Can Help with Weight Loss
Doing a whole body detox is one of the best ways to set the body up for successful weight loss. This is not a crash diet. Rather, it’s a way to lighten the body’s toxic load while eating plenty of real, fresh, nourishing food. In order to lose weight, the body needs to consume enough calories and the right types of foods to keep the metabolism humming. Otherwise, the metabolism slows down. So despite being hungry, the dieter does not shed weight.
The 21-Day Body makeover includes herbs and supplements that support the body’s detox channels, assisting all organs to work at their optimal levels and also provide a real food diet that keeps people full, increases energy throughout the day and keeps feelings of hunger at bay.
Approaching weight loss the right way is the best way to stave off weight loss frustrations and prevent obesity-related diseases.
