CNN recently
published an article {link} titled, “1 in 5 people will be obese by 2025, study says.”.
Boy that title will
catch your attention, right?
Read it, it’s good.
But here’s the deal- even though there are some very, very valid points in this
article, there are also some things that should be further discussed.

What you should
know

First

Yes, globally
we have a health epidemic. We are growing wider and the factors influencing our
waistlines are now habits and lifestyles… and we all know that habits,
lifestyles and BEHAVIORS are hard to change. Not impossible. But hard. If
habits, lifestyles, and behaviors were so easy to change then, whew!, some
parts of life would be so different.

Second 

Knowledge
doesn’t mean we automatically change our behavior. We all have various reasons
why we engage in certain behaviors- emotional motivations, physical, social,
financial, fear, shame, acceptance, convenience, etc etc etc.

Third

This article
is completed based on an individual’s BMI. Body Mass Index. This categorizes
someone as underweight, normal, overweight, obese, obese class 1, obese class
2, etc, based on height and weight. The thing is that it doesn’t take into
account muscle mass. Since muscle weighs more than fat, an athlete who is
extremely muscular would be categorized as overweight, obese, etc, when they
clearly are not.

Fourth

Categories
are based on a height and weight chart, which is the easiest and most
convenient way to determine calculations. There are many, many more methods to
calculate someone’s excess body fat but it’s through more time- and labor-
intensive options. And some are costly. And none of them are really easy, quick
and convenient. But definitely more effective and accurate.

Fifth

This article
should be interpreted as an awareness article. This article should not be dismissed- there is some very alarming information in this article that is indeed factual. This is an article that reminds us that
we need to CHANGE and focus on health. More specifically, mainly moving more and eating better.