As our society continues to spiral ever downward (or should that be ever OUTward?) into being fatter and fatter, the latest news is that it is becoming increasingly necessary for boys to have, quite bluntly, breast reduction surgery. According to the UK news site Times Online, doctors have seen a recent rise in cases of young boys who are so obese that surgical treatment for having ‘breast tissue’ is necessary.
This is sad, and disturbing, but true. If nothing else up to this point has jolted us out of our chairs and forced us into doing something, this should. It should be a wake-up call that things aren’t as they should be.
So why do we have this problem? The obvious reasons are that we eat too much and are too inactive. These are huge and can’t be overlooked. However we need to look deeper… what about all the chemicals in our food supply? Additives, flavor enhancers, pesticides, and synthetic fertilizers all can have unknown effects on our bodies. GMO foods (genetically modified) are becoming more and more prevalent even without our consent and knowledge. Can one or more of these things contribute to the obesity epidemic? Time will likely tell.
So what can you, as an individual do? Eat the right number of calories, and get enough exercise, for starters. Eat as many fresh, unprocessed, organically grown foods as you can afford and have access to. Make your eating about quality instead of quantity. If we and our families can live this way we can show our kids this isn’t the way they have to grow up.