Attention All Alabamians!!

Hey! Okay, I just read this article about childhood obesity, and it really hits home! Children this generation are estimated, for the first time apparently in two centuries, to have shorter life expectancies than their parents! That is big! That means the kids in this generation will be lucky to watch their grandchildren grow up like the grandparents today! We need to raise awareness which is what this article is about. Alabama is ranked 2nd in obesity and 3rd in type 2 Diabetes. If you want more info!? Click here.

Oh, Society...

Society is an unfortunate and uncontrollable factor in sufferings. The media is not just to blame, but more than 11 million individuals in the United States alone suffer from the deadliest mental illness there is - eating disorders. Though they fall more heavily towards Caucasian females, 12.3% of America's teenage population has some type of eating disorder. But, is that counting obesity? Despite common belief, obesity IS an eating disorder.

Humans are mass, too, and as so we have volume. When a body's volume is over 30kg/square meter, that person is considered obese. Sadly enough, over 20% of America's adults meet this criterion; and that's not even counting teenagers now-a-days. Obesity, though it might not kill you like Anorexia, it exposes you to Diabetes Mellitus, Atherosclerosis, Obstructive Sleep Apnea, and has also been a factor in Coronary Artery Disease and stroke.

Diving a little more into Anorexia . . . (these are my notes and I do need more information), the seven biggest signs are: Extreme weight loss, never or rarely eating, avoiding crowds, an obsession over body image, wearing baggy clothes, for women, missing 3 or more menstrual cycles (this can be a result of pregnancy, too), and eating only very specific foods when the person DOES eat.