How Do We Stop This Trend?!
During the past 20 or so years there has been a dramatic increase in obesity in the United States. If you are more than 30 pounds overweight, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers you obese.
In 2008, only one state (Colorado) had a prevalence of obesity less than 20%! Thirty-two states had a prevalence equal to or greater than 25%; six of these states (Alabama, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia ) had a prevalence of obesity equal to or greater than 30%. That’s one in every 3 people…is obese!
Look at this map from 1985:
This is not good. There are lots of things to blame, but the important thing to note is that being obese increases your risk of diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, metabolic disorders, etc. If you are lucky enough to live through all of these medical issues, it’s also been proven that being obese takes 7-10 years off of your life. Think about that.
Reversing this trend obviously has to start with the next generation. So encourage children to eat healthy and be active…and maybe we’ll start seeing more blue on this map in a few years!
YESTERDAY’S WORKOUT:
Ran 8.41 miles in 1:06:12 (7:52 min/mile pace)
Back to my Zone 2 (154-162) Endurance building workouts. I maintained an average heart rate of 155 over the entire run with a max of 164. It’s encouraging that I was able to keep my HR in my endurance building zone and still run under 8 minute miles. Maybe it won’t take as long as I thought to get my fitness back!
TODAY’S WORKOUT:
2 hours on the bike. 10 minute warm-up, 45 minute spin class with lots of hills, then 65 minutes of riding in Zone 2 (125-137). Average HR was 133 with a max of 152. I still don’t have the fitness back on the bike, but it’s getting there.
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