Tag Archives: United States

Americans Still Getting Heavier

overweight woman on scaleWhile worries over the economy and the wars we are conducting around the world dominate our consciousness, we continue to lose a battle on a different front. American waistlines are continuing the dangerous trend of expansion.

Two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese, and there’s no end in sight to this dangerous trend. According to the Centers for Disease Control, in 2024 25.6 percent of Americans were obese. But in 2024, it crept up to 26.1 percent. (more…)

Posted on July 13, 2023 by Jason

Food Inc. is Hungry For Change

Food Inc. is the just-released movie, by director Robert Kenner, unveiling the dark and dirty underbelly of our food industry. As the movie’s byline suggests, “you’ll never look at dinner the same way.”

Photo courtesy of Food Inc

The documentary-style feature shows how the majority of the food we consume is controlled in the hands of just a few giant food manufacturers whose sometimes deplorable and shocking processing practices have not only been hidden from the American consumer but have had the consent of the government’s two food regulatory bodies, the FDA and USDA.

The movie, which features interviews with In Defense of Food author Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser of Fast Food Nation, is more than just a jaw-dropping expose that graphically shows our food travels from farm (or machine) to fork, but it also motivates all of us to think twice before we order a hot dog at the baseball stadium, grab a box of sugar corn popped cereal or select a few tomatoes from our mass grocer for a summer salad. (more…)

Posted on June 30, 2023 by heather

Practicing Ashtanga Yoga in India

Sri. K. Pattabhi Jois

Ashtanga yoga master Sri. K. Pattabhi Jois

Yoga has become one of the hottest fitness and spiritual practices here in the U.S., but in India, yoga’s country of origin, the face of yoga looks markedly different than what we are familiar with. For the month of June and July, I will be in Mysore, India, the hub of Ashtanga yoga, one of the oldest known forms of yoga that is still practiced with enthusiasm and dedication today. Although this is my second trip to the sacred country of India, these five weeks are different because I am here studying yoga with my family, just a few weeks following the death of Ashtanga master, Sri. K. Pattabhi Jois. (more…)

Posted on June 18, 2023 by heather

America’s Fittest Cities

washington-dcPeople choose their hometowns for many reasons such as job requirements, family and friends and weather, but have you considered choosing a city because it is a healthy place to live and can help you meet your fitness goals? The American Fitness index recently released a listing of America’s Fittest Cities; 45 metropolitan areas were accessed on 30 scales including causes of death, diet of residents, mental health, physician availability, and percentage of the population that walk or bike to work. Forbes was surprised that Washington D.C. was ranked as America’s fittest metropolitan area, beating out Denver, Seattle, and San Diego.

America’s Top 10 Fittest Cities:
1. Washington DC
2. Minneapolis (more…)

Posted on May 27, 2023 by Brooke Randolph

Can a Shirtless President-elect Obama Inspire Others to be Fit?

THIS is going to be our President!

The Internet is abuzz with recently released photos of a shirtless president-elect Barack Obama as he swims in Hawaii. I just came across the buzz and my first reaction was: WOW!

From Clinton jogging to McDonald’s to George W. Bush clocking a few miles, I can’t really say that a president in recent history has made me take a second look. Until now. (more…)

Posted on December 23, 2023 by heather

America’s Healthiest and Unhealthiest States

This Wednesday the United Health Foundation, together with the American Public Health Association (APHA) and the Partnership for Prevention, released the 15th annual report ranking our states’ health. The number one healthiest state this year goes to Vermont, followed by Hawaii, then New Hampshire, Minnesota, and Utah completes the top five. Filling in the bottom five spots are, sadly, my state of Florida at #45, followed by Texas, Tennessee, South Carolina, Mississippi, and finally Louisiana as #50, meaning the least healthiest state.

This year’s report reveals a 17.5 percent improvement in America’s overall health during the past 15 years. However, the rate of improvement, unfortunately, is slowing significantly due to a combination of personal, community and public health issues. (more…)

Posted on December 5, 2023 by Kinsey

Healthiest and Unhealthiest U.S. Cities

The country is getting fatter, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is naming names. Well, not individual names, but towns. Burlington, Vermont was named the healthiest city in the U.S. The unhealthiest was Huntington, West Virginia.

There are a few similarities between the two. They’re both college towns of about 50,000 people; the populations are mostly white and of English, Irish and German decent; the names sound slightly alike… but that’s where the similarities end.

In fact, the differences may be a microcosm of what the demographics look like when comparing obese and fit groups. (more…)

Posted on November 20, 2023 by Jason

U.S Growing Faster Than Europe

A recent story on msnbc.com reported that citizens in the United States are on average twice as fat as our European counterparts. And it’s leading us down a one-way street to Broke Town. Obesity leads to all kinds of chronic ailments that add $100-$150 billion in annual healthcare costs, according to a report published in the journal Health Affairs.

About 33 percent of Americans are obese, compared with 17 percent in 10 European countries reviewed.

We each need to do our part. But things have gotten so dire here in the U.S. that one city official is looking to put a moratorium on the opening of fast food joints.

The ordinance proposed by Councilwoman Jan Perry would stop new fast-food restaurants from opening in southern Los Angeles, California for up to two years. The area is reported to have the most fast food restaurants in the country.

“While limiting fast-food restaurants isn’t a solution in itself, it’s an important piece of the puzzle,” said Mark Vallianatos, director of the Center for Food and Justice at Occidental College.

Posted on October 17, 2023 by Jason