- “The
best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago.
- The
second best time is now.”
The
following article was presented to me this week and I think this is an
excellent hand-out for you to provide your clients that are trying to
improve their health and fitness lifestyle. You have already been warned
to never represent yourself as something you are not (MD, DO, DCM, RD,
etc.), but you must be prepared to offer your clients solid, industry
standard advice that will help them achieve their goals.
-
- How
and why do Americans become obese,
- what
are the risks and how can we help?
by Christina Bell
In 1999-2000, an
estimated 64% of U.S. adults aged 20 and older, nearly 59 million
people, were obese or overweight. In my opinion people become overweight
or obese due to limited education on nutrition, food choices, and lack
of motivation to exercise.
Americans
constantly rely on “fast” foods or convenience foods, which lead to
overeating and poor nutrition. Instead of eating unhealthy foods, people
can use the food pyramid as a general guide in choosing a healthful diet
that is right for themselves and their children. The pyramid calls for
eating a variety of foods to get the necessary nutrients to provide
adequate calories to promote general health in adults and growth in
children.
According to most dietitians there are no good
foods or bad foods. It is the amount we eat that’s the problem. A
portion of pasta in a restaurant is 3 cups, whereas the actual serving
size is only ½ cup! Because the portion sizes we eat are growing, so are
Americans. Carbohydrates, proteins and fats provide calories to our
bodies. We need them all daily, along with vitamins, minerals, and
water. Changing successfully to a healthy diet won’t happen overnight.
Like most worthwhile things, it takes time and effort. The bottom line
is, we should change our eating habits to:
-
Consume more
fruits and vegetables, lean protein sources and high fiber grains;
-
Eat smaller
portions;
-
Cut back on
less healthy carbohydrates and fatty foods.
Being overweight and obese can lead to health
problems, which can bring about economic consequences for the
U.S. healthcare
system. The increasing prevalence of being overweight and obese is
associated with both direct and indirect costs. Direct healthcare costs
refer to preventive, diagnostic, and treatment services for overweight
and obese people (for example, physicians visits and hospital and
nursing home care). Indirect costs refer to the value of future earnings
lost by premature death.
Approximately 300,000 deaths each year in the
United
States may be attributed to being overweight or obese. Regular physical
activity is extremely helpful for the prevention of becoming overweight
and obese, especially when it is combined with calorie reduction. In
addition to weight control, physical activity helps prevent heart
disease, helps control cholesterol levels and diabetes, slows bone loss
associated with advancing age, lowers the risk of certain cancers, and
helps reduce anxiety and depression. People become overweight and obese
due to poor nutritional education and their inability to commit to a
healthy lifestyle that includes physical fitness. With simple lifestyle
changes and a commitment to becoming a healthier society, Americans will
begin to lead a healthier lifestyle.
The
author, Christina A. Bell, is an extremely hard working tennis player
and grade school student (age 12) and I am proud to say she is my
daughter. She has granted reproduction rights to all IFPA Certified
Instructors (negotiations were brutal).
-
- Certification
News:
- The newly revised IFPA Advanced
Personal Fitness Trainer (APFT) is now complete and is a quantum leap
forward among all the personal training courses available today!
-
- New Poll
Question:
-
Please go to the IFPA web site and
take the new poll question.
-
- Conference
News:
- The IFPA “Fitness By
the Bay” Conference is less than 3 weeks away and many of you have
registered and have not yet filled-out your topic selections, please
do so as soon as possible. For those of you that have not yet
registered WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?? Call today (800) 785-1924 or
register online at www.ifpa-fitness.com.
- The conference has
been developed for you to increase your knowledge, skills, abilities
and as a result…your profit potential. The conference is about
making changes, changes that will result in improvements.
- You cannot change the
past with the hopes of changing your present. You can however change
your present with the hopes of a better future. You need the best
tools available to help you build a successful career, and the
conference is filled with those tools.
Looking forward to
seeing and greeting you at the conference.
Sincerely, Jim Bell
