Weight Loss - Half of U.S Adults Will Be Obese by 2030The majority of Americans can benefit from weight loss. One of every two people in the United States will be obese by 2030 if current trends continue, according to a new report addressing the global obesity crisis. If allowed to continue, these trends will result in substantial burdens to the health-care system and the economy. Implementing governmental policies to reverse this trend will require changes in the way foods are marketed, including tax strategies to make healthy foods more available and less expensive, and unhealthy foods more expensive. Most experts recommend reducing calorie intake by about 500 calories a day to achieve weight loss of a pound a week. Unfortunately, as the body adapts to the change and weight is lost, even fewer calories are needed to maintain or lose more weight. To help people more accurately determine how many calories are needed to lose weight, the report recommended that “every change of energy intake of [about 24 calories] per day will lead to an eventual body weight change of about 1 kg (just over two pounds), with half of the weight change being achieved in about one year and 95 percent of the weight change in about three years.” The report also says the obesity epidemic cannot be changed unless the government provides leadership, regulation, and funds for weight loss programs, monitoring, and research. -Jennifer Huget, Washington Post source
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