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Created on: May 03, 2009 Last Updated: August 12, 2010
Obesity has not always been viewed as a problem. It used to be that weight was a sign of success and that should be an indicator of the root of the problem. Access to a rich diet and good medical treatment were far less common. There is a social factor involved, but it is a long shot from being a black and white issue of the evil culprit you can cure.
It is suspected that nearly twice as many poor citizens are affected than those above the poverty level. One of the main causes for this drastic difference is the quality of food that is provided at the lowest cost range. Oddly, such food is often the most profitable to eat, but it tends to be the worst in terms of dietary health. There are a lot of adults, however, who look healthy on the outside and still become sick or die at a young age.
The core issue relates to medical advancements. In the past, genetic flaws and diseases would have been naturally eliminated very early in life or prior to conception of children. This would drastically effect the visible unhealthy population, but that does not mean it wasn't always there.
So, how do you fix this problem? Do you decide that some people are just bad apples in society? That is really the only end result of most modern thinking. They are already starting to limit and control health care with that mentality, even if it appears benign. Others like to blame the food, but this doesn't fix genetics; further, dietary focus can actually be harmful when done improperly.
The first step is accepting yourself. You are blessed to live in the current world. You might not always be healthy, but you are alive and fighting. Listen to your body, it always tells you what it needs. The trouble is that most people ignore or misunderstand those urges. It is that ignorance combined with faulty dietary logic that has caused much of the continued problem. In essence, we trust so much the advances that help prolong life that we don't see the fault in bad dietary medicine.
For example, you will want sweet foods when you are tired or are feeling less alert and responsive. You will want proteins when your body needs to recover from strain or overuse. There is a reason behind these so called emotional cravings. You will be healthier if you listen to them rather than plan a diet based on faulty logic. The next step is managing what you ingest and continuing to listen to your body.
We need to stay active. If you eat a lot of sugar and do nothing to process the sugar, it is just common sense that you are doing damage. Sugars convert to various things, but the primary need is mental activity. You must be alert as well as active and this is what your body is seeking in the first place. The same is true in principle with the other example. Protein ingestion in moderation usually comes prior to rest and your body will seek that after a good meal of this type.
By ignoring natural urges and setting a diet, you are confusing your body and giving it improper reactions by mixing unneeded foods. Physical urges are also important, they control where and how nutrients are distributed in the body. So, you can blame modern medical dietary understanding because it, not obesity, is the problem; however, be thankful for all of the positive health advancements that give you time to learn this lesson.
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