Fast Food and Your Growing Waist

 

Most Americans are short on time as well as money and in turn rely “heavily” on fast food. Fast food companies make it extremely easy and cheap to pull up yell a number out to a speaker drive up and grab a bag and proceed to shove a 1500+ calorie meal into your body. 

Fast food restaurants are ever-present in the United States. On every corner there is a new one popping up each week it seems like. This is a good reason why so many people turn to them so willingly. But studies have shown that “fast food” can easily put you on the “fast track” to fat. 

With the fast paced American way of life it is very easy to fall into the evil traps of fast food. But have you given much consideration to what exactly that fast food is doing to your health and figure?

The stats show that Fast Food sales have seen a ridiculous increase of almost 1000% over the past 35 years. They have gone from $16.1 billion in 1975 to a “whopping” $160 billion in 2009. Their growth in profits is very easily seen just by simply going to the mall and looking at the many overgrown waist lines and every year Americans keep growing. 

 

Increasing Sickness

Reports from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state that the obesity epidemic in the United States is growing at a frightening rate. In 2010 not a single state had an occurrence of obesity less than 20% and 12 states had an occurrence greater than 30%. The CDC also reports that 2/3rds of the American population is overweight or obese and an alarming 1/3 of our youth are overweight or obese.

 

 

Fast Fried Facts

·        Obesity has become one of the most expensive health problems in the United States today, surpassing smoking, according to a study in Health Affairs- U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention      

 

     As a nation, we spend #137 billion a year on fast food and $60 billion a year on weight-loss solutions.- CNBC, “One Nation, Overweight” 

 

·        According to researchers from the University of Oxford and Columbia University, if current obesity trends continue half of people in the U.S. will be obese by 2030.- The Lancet Medical Journal 

 

·        The U.S. fast food industry spends approximately $1.6 billion each year on marketing aimed at children.- Federal Trade Commission

 

·        A recent study compared laboratory measurements of calories in 269 food items with the restaurants’ stated calories. Researchers found that 19% of food items had at least 100 calories more than listed and only 7% of the 269 foods tested were within 10 calories of what the restaurants stated.- Journal of the American Medical Association

 

·        According to the Nurses’ Health Study, Nurses’ Health Study 2 and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, the foods that contributed the most to weight gain are French fries, potato chips, sugar-sweetened drinks, red meats and processed meats, sweets and desserts, refined grains, fried foods, 100% fruit juice and butter.- New England Journal of Medicine

 

·        The medical costs associated with obesity are staggering, totaling about $147 billion in 2008.- U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

 

·        Today’s youth could be the first generation EVER to have a shorter lifespan than their parents.- New England Journal of Medicine

The Solution

ViSalus is passionate about taking weight off the world. That’s why the company is leading the charge to counter the global obesity epidemic and nutrition deficits with the one-two punch off the Body By Vi Challenge and Vi-Shape Nutritional Shake Mix. ViSalus knows that whether you’re male or female, young or ole, healthy or trying to get there, a fitness buff or an extreme sports athlete, building a solid, sustaining nutritional foundation is key for your health, vitality and longevity so you can achieve your personal victories.

Those personal victories are even sweeter this year with the launch of Project 10. “To be able to potentially win $1,000 just for losing 10 lbs. is powerful and profound,” says Blake Mallen, ViSalus Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer. “We know that every victory has meaning, and we want to make sure we make anybody with a result on The Challenge feel like a hero.”

On top of potentially winning $1,000 for losing 10 pounds ViSalus also donates a bag of Vi-Shape NutritionalShake Mix to an at risk child to help get them proper nutrition. ViSalus strongly believes in changing the health of our future generations and truly is committed to the elimination of obesity.