How Chubby Are We?

   Here goes for another unpopular topic ... our ever-expanding waistlines. Dr. Sheela Basrur, Ontario's chief medical officer, has just announced "almost one out of every two adults in Ontario is overweight or obese." The jump to extrapolate from my corner of North America to every other is probably not too great a jump. In fact, our stats are usually comparable to those in the States, so it is probably safe to say that obesity is approaching epidemic proportions nearly everywhere in North America. Unhealthy eating and sedentary lifestyles are being singled out as the main causes for the epidemic. Obesity is not simply a cause of being too heavy to buy designer duds, however. Being overweight can be a contributing factor in many other equations. Obesity is linked to various cancers; to diabetes; the risk of stroke; hypertension; gastroesophageal reflux disease; gallstones; osteoarthritis; etc. The list goes ever on.
   What to do? Well, for one thing, if you read the entry just below, you'll see one little suggestion. While you're busily occupied somewhere other than on the couch, you're not as likely to be stuffing your face with empty calories. The crux of the matter comes down to self-discipline. I know, I just said a bad word. Most people are not willing to sit and listen to anyone tell them that they would be better off if they learned how to say "NO!" to themselves. It is, however, the truth. Take out a subscription to the Nutrition Action Healthletter, a publication I have waxed eloquent about more than once in my writing here. Sit down and read it after you get home from an afternoon of volunteering, and start taking notes. Look ahead. So often, our vision is pretty much limited to this week, this month, this year. You have to get past the calendar currently hanging on your wall, and think about the one you're going to hang there ten years from now. What reminders do you want to enter on its pages? Do you want them to be doctor's appointments, and clinic hours, or would you rather they be for activities and events you can smile about and happily anticipate? Do you want to be able to get to them under your own steam, or with someone pushing you in your wheelchair? If this all sounds a bit drastic to you, remember, it's a chief medical officer using the word "epidemic", and she is not the only one on the continent to have used it. We need to start now to make a difference in how we care for ourselves. If we don't, tomorrow may bring a horrendous price tag that we will have to pay for today.