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The real American health epidemic
Chances are you have been told that America faces several epidemics: gun violence, AIDS, poverty, heart disease, cancer, etc…
If you look around, however, you may have noticed another growing epidemic that is seldom spoken of, especially in polite company.
It appears that obesity is the new trend in America. It is also a trend that creates an unrivaled vitriol when mentioned. Fat shamming, thin obsessed, weight nazi, are just a few labels hurled at those who question this trend. Articles have been written in defense of being fat and healthy versus those who are apparently “thin and fat”.
In 1960, the average American man weighed 166.3 pounds and the average woman 140.2 pounds. By 2002 those averages rose dramatically to 191 pounds for men and 164.3 pounds for women. The most recent data from the CDC from 2012 shows an average weight for men and women has risen further to 195.5 and 166.2 respectively. That means that as of 2012, the average American woman weighed the same as the average American man in 1960.
The CDC states in their obesity fact sheet that 35% of Americans are obese and that obesity costs the economy an estimated $147 billion per year (as of 2008) and the annual “medical costs were $1,429 higher than those of normal weight. (CDC)”
According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases:
- More than 2 in 3 adults are considered to be overweight or obese
- More than 1 in 3 are considered to be obese
- More than 1 in 20 adults are considered to have extreme obesity
- About one-third of children and adolescents ages 6-19 are considered to be overweight or obese
- More than 1 in 6 children and adolescents ages 6-19 are considered to be obese.
A report by researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, featured in the Journal of the American Medical Association, “estimated that 67.6 million Americans over the age of 25 were obese…and an additional 65.2 million were overweight. (LA Times)” For the first time in the history of the United States, obese people now outnumber those who are overweight! According to Lin-Yang, a research associate with Washington University’s Prevention Research Center, “This is a wake-up call to implement policies and practices designed to combat overweight and obesity.”
According to the CDC “Obesity is a leading cause in heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer, some of the leading causes of preventable death.”
This means that most of the major health problems we are told are epidemics, are actually preventable by reducing our waist size and monitoring our diet and lifestyle.
According to Dr. Stephen T. Chang:
“When a person becomes excessively overweight, the whole body is burdened. For every inch you gain in girth, the body grows approximately four miles of blood vessels to nourish the extra tissues. Blood which would normally be sent to the head and brain remains in the abdominal cavity, aiding the digestive organs with their increased work load. The heart must work harder due to the increase in fatty tissue. Because of this undue strain, the heart gradually becomes critically weakened and more likely to collapse… Excess fat also obstructs the blood flow contributing to high blood pressure, puts stress on the spine and can cause back pain…. So there is not much to gain from being overweight.”
The economic effects listed earlier does not take into account the non-medical costs of obesity. For instance, airlines and car companies are beginning to make seats (as well as the overall size of the car) larger to accommodate larger Americans. Some companies, Subaru as an example have been criticized for not making their seats larger. Disney and Universal Studios have been sued in the past for their rides “not accommodating larger people”, as a result Universal Studios is making the seats in some of their rides larger. This extra cost will surely be passed onto consumers as the result of higher ticket prices.
Another problem with the growing size of the American waist line is that funeral parlors are finding it more difficult to carry caskets large enough for the recently deceased. Many of them have to special order extra large caskets that are often double the size of a traditional casket, and double the cost as well.
A few questions we can ask ourselves are; just how large is the average person going to get? When will enough be enough? Can Americans decide individually and collectively that lifestyles and diets need to be moderated and changed or will it take government control and regulation? How high does the percentage of obesity need to be before the country’s productivity suffers as people are unable to work sufficiently and efficiently?
How long will we continue to accept death and disease caused by things that are preventable?
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Caution swim at your own risk, has an entirely new meaning
Headlines like these are sure to grab people’s attention: “Unseen killer lurking in Florida waters takes Lake County man’s life” and “Woman gets flesh-eating bacteria at Dallas mud run, goes blind in one eye”. But how many people actually understand the risks, and think that these are just isolated events.
Many people relate to a peaceful walk along the beach, a nice gentle soaking or swim in the ocean-lake-river or pool as a great way to spend a vacation or unwind during the hot summer months. How many people realize the risk they are taking every time they do this? We all know not to jump in head first in shallow water (or if you do not know how deep the water is), never swim alone, don’t wear jewelry while swimming in the ocean, no yellow bathing suits, don’t swim if you are menstruating or bleeding, never swim right after eating etc… Yet, have you ever been told that if you have a cut, go soak in the ocean because the salt water will “clean it”?
For thousands of years Taoists have advised: that life should remain as natural as possible. Fish are designed to swim and live in water, doing so is safe for them, monkeys are designed to swing from trees and doing so is safe for them as well. Problems arise, however, when life, in particular man, begins to do things that we really are not designed to do.
Carson Yeager decided to enjoy a few hours on a pontoon boat and swim in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida, within 48 hours he was dead after contracting Vibrio vulnificus. He was only 26 years old.
According to the CDC, Vibrio vulnificus can cause:
“disease in those who eat contaminated seafood or have an open wound that is exposed to seawater. Among healthy people, ingestion of V. vulnificus can cause vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. In immunocompromised persons, particularly those with chronic liver disease, V. vulnificus can infect the bloodstream, causing a severe and life-threatening illness characterized by fever and chills, decreased blood pressure (septic shock), and blistering skin lesions. V. vulnificus bloodstream infections are fatal about 50% of the time.
V. vulnificus can cause an infection of the skin when open wounds are exposed to warm seawater; these infections may lead to skin breakdown and ulceration. Persons who are immunocompromised are at higher risk for invasion of the organism into the bloodstream and potentially fatal complications. (CDC.gov)”
This particular bacteria can enter the body through any open wound, including scrapes, cuts and abrasions.
In June 2015 a Texas woman participated in a “mud run” and contracted a form of flesh eating bacteria that left her blind in one eye.
In 2013 it was reported that since 2001 there were over 400 reported cases of brain eating amoebas worldwide. Since 1962 more than 30 people have died from brain eating amoebas just in Florida. Naegleria fowleri, can enter the body through any opening (eyes, nose, mouth, ears etc…).
Suggestions were made regarding how to prevent these problems in a prior article on brain eating amoebas. Those tips still apply.
A good general rule, and going back to sound Taoist advice: If you enjoy the water use a boat, if you must swim then bathe before and immediately after, keep your head out of the water, and stay out of the water if you have any type of cut, scrape or abrasion etc… If you like to swim in pools, keep in mind that a swimming pool is no different than a bathtub, just larger. Would you take a bath with those same people in the pool? If you like to swim in the ocean or lakes, keep in mind that you are swimming in the same water that the animals use for their elimination, and they not only live in the water they also die in there as well. Ever had a fish tank, then you know how difficult it is to keep it clean. Can you ever get it 100% clean? Have you ever seen a large hand with bleach and cleaning agents clean a lake or the ocean?
Don’t miss another Taoism article. Receive e-mail alerts when new articles are available. Just click on the “Subscribe” button below; also make sure you click all of those social network buttons and share the article with your friends and family as well. You can also follow the Qi Institutes Taoism blog.
Do you have a story, photo or video from your area that would be of interest to Taoists? Feel free to email and they may be included or featured in a Taoism article.
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