Weight Loss! Lets get in shape!

By Bryon Zirker

Weight loss stats:

72 percent of Americans overweight or obese
30 percent actively attempting to lose weight

Two big reasons why we are not slim.

1. No motivation.
2. We do not know how to do it.

This is according to the Yankelovich Preventative
Healthcare Study of 6,000 U.S. adults.

There are over 100,000 sources of healthcare and
diet information for use to help us slim down. All
of this data is part of the problem. Just way too
much information, a lot of it contradictory and
confusing.

Some road blocks that are killing our motivation
to lose weight are.

Hate to exercise: 22 %

Love the junk food: 21 %

No will power to stay on task: 15 %

Road Blocks that come from misunderstanding or
lack of education include:

Cost of a successful weight loss program: 20 %

No insurance coverage of weight-loss programs: 19 %

Can not find out the best plan to lose weight: 14 %

These stats are costing us dearly. The study found
that 29 percent of adults have felt healthy and full
of energy for only two weeks or less during the past
month, including 9 percent who have not experienced
health and energy at all.

The most unhealthy tend to not be married, under
the age of 40, or have children under the age of six.
75 percent of U.S. adults have a body mass index (BMI)
of 25 or greater. This is considered overweight
according to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.

The Yankelovich study then asked respondents to name
the top 10 ways to stay healthy. Not surprisingly,
diet and exercise missed the list completely. Instead,
coming in at No. 1 was "maintaining personal hygiene
and cleanliness," followed by "maintaining a positive
attitude" and "maintaining/cultivating healthy family
relationships." Diet and exercise placed 13th and 17th
respectively.

Perhaps the most startling reason we're still fat is
we just don't know how to lose weight. "We are
battling a lack of health education," said Steve
Bodhaine, group president of Yankelovich and director
of The Segmentation Company. "Almost 65 percent of
people have never been to a nutrition class and about
half have never taken an exercise or fitness class.
Those are staggering numbers."

So people are fat because they just do not know how
to lose weight. There is a lack of health education
tied with the fact that the majority of food companies
make unhealthy and addicting foods, some that have
ingredients that can eventually cause disease and death.

It's time to get smart and get in shape.

My next post will show you how to get in shape.