by Ann Major

Created on: March 06, 2010   Last Updated: June 10, 2010

Being more active is just a drop in the bucket and will not cure America of its obesity problem.  By the time a person has achieved obese proportions, the limbs no longer have mobility, the major organs are being taxed to the hilt, and being more active would actually be deleterious to one's health.  Before addressing the physical aspects of obesity/health, other issues need to be addressed.

Fat has a history.  Be forewarned, fat cells accumulated during a person's lifetime are there to stay.  Fat cells have memory, just like a computer.  Just because something is deleted, it is not necessarily gone. Fat cells hide in the body very much like bytes in cyberspace, just waiting to be reactivated at an opportune time.  That's why when a person loses weight for a short period of time, the potential to gain weight is possible, plus a few more pounds.

So before embarking on any kind of activity, an obese person must do a one-eighty degree turn, a complete overhaul of one's mental processes.  It was a lax lifestyle of convenience, laziness, instant gratification and even low self-esteem which has led a person to an obese state.  It will take a lifetime of commitment, dedication, and lots of hard work to get out of a love affair with food.

No kind of activity will help obesity if the reasons for eating are not addressed.  Like smokers and drinkers, overeating is linked to established eating habits.  Changing these habits will help one to not eat so much.  Knowing why one eats when one is feeling lonely, depressed, sad, angry, etc. will help channel these responses to elsewhere rather than always food to solve the problem.  Gaining more self-confidence and self-esteem through other channels will help curtail out-of-control eating habits.

Obesity cannot be addressed if the general populace knows so little about nutrition.  Even when we think we are eating right, we often self-sabotage ourselves because we know so little about how certain foods work in our bodies.  We need to be better, more informed consumers. 

Cigarette companies do not advertise the multiple chemicals added in a single cigarette; just as food manufacturers do not tell you about the fillers, additives, preservatives, coloring and flavorings used to enhance processed food aimed at creating food addiction.  Eating lots of sugar will in turn make the body crave more sugar.  Withholding sugar will

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