We seem to have created a society that accepts nonstop food and beverage consumption as the norm, and the fastfood and snack-food industries use clever marketing schemes to capitalize on this vulnerability. Portion sizes have grown as well. The status of physical activity among Americans is equally grim. The problem is growing fastest among children and teenagers-25 percent are now considered overweight or obese, double the percentage of just 30 years ago. Kids are spending more time in front of the computer, watching television, and playing home video games, while public schools have less funding for physical education programs.
Parents are less active too, partly because of their increasingly hectic lives.
To save time, we drive everywhere, even short distances. And increased automation at work means that adults expend less physical energy on the job, despite working longer hours. Most of us will attest, however, that this is easier said than done. Jeffrey P. Koplan, director of the CDC, has called for a national initiative to help Americans lose weight. For starters, he recommends closer collaboration between individuals and their health care providers.