The Overwhelming Burden of the Overweight

I am 53 years old, 5'10" tall and I weigh 190 pounds. According to the Body Mass Index (BMI) I am overweight. I even look fat and have developed a paunch. A person is considered overweight when their BMI is over 25. Mine is 27.3. A BMI of 30 is obese. I should weigh around 170 pounds. The statistics say that I am now vulnerable to a plethora of different maladies that plague overweight people. Even though I feel fine I am worried about the cost of being overweight on my health. I am not as young as I used to be and I can feel old age creeping up on me. Old age is bad enough without the added health burden from something that is as sinister as excess body fat. I notice that I tire more easily and my joints, especially the ankles, seem to be bothering me a lot more recently. My appetite is increasing and I eat more often. I get the feeling that I am at the beginning of some kind of snowball effect. The more I eat the more the more weight I gain. The more weight I gain the more I can eat. I am at the beginning of the weight gain cycle. I am actually pretty lucky to be at this age and only a little overweight. I am also lucky enough to know what is facing me if I let this cycle continue. The Internet is loaded with statistics about what being overweight or obese does to the human body. Not to mention what it does to society as a whole. Things like increased heath care costs. Higher insurance premiums for everybody whether they have a weight problem or not. Statistics that say overweight employees cost their employers considerable more in lost time and workers compensation claims. Statistics that say that overweight white women don't make as much money as their non overweight co-workers. Like I said there are a million statistics that say being overweight is expensive for everyone. Of course you can't put a cost on your health. Once you have a heart attack directly related to being overweight I am sure the message will be clear. Lose weight or die. It may be a slow lingering death or it may be instantaneous. It may cost you or your insurance thousands of dollars that could have been spent elsewhere. Like looking for cures for diseases that aren't brought on by our own actions.
I don't know about you but I am going to try and stop the cycle beginning today. To begin I am going to make myself eat less. I am fortunate that I only need to lose about 15 to 20 pounds. I don't think that I will need a special diet. Just less food. I could be wrong. My metabolism may have changed to the point that I will need a diet plan. I am definitely not going to go around being hungry all the time. That is not my idea of a workable weight loss plan. If I continue to gain weight despite my best efforts I will look into a diet plan. If I were 25 or more pounds overweight I would not hesitate to purchase one of the new wave fat burning diet plans on the Internet today. I am fortunate that I operate a web site that specializes in diet plans and sells everything there is connected to health needs. I have had to learn about diets and dieting as part of being connected to this business. Actually that is what got me thinking about my health and the effects that being overweight has on it. There is no doubt that the fattening of Americans is having a devastating effect on the health care industry. To much money is being spent on this preventable disorder. Health care premiums are going through the roof. Health related costs are soaring. The government spends millions, if not billions of dollars of your tax dollars on this problem through one channel or another. I personally would like my money spent on something else.
I would suggest that you do as I am going to do. Break the cycle. Stop the weight gain and lose the excess weight needed to get to my optimal weight. This way I will not be a burden on the system or take money out of the pockets of my family. Money that I could spend on education, for vacations, or other things that are good for my family instead of spending it on special health care needs that the overweight incur. If you are overweight, now is the time to do something about it. It will only get harder as you age and gain more weight. It is easier to lose a little than a lot. If you need to, find a diet plan you think you can live with. Determine your needs and proceed from there. There are plenty of resources that will help you to conquer this disorder. With just a little effort you will be on your way to a happier and healthier life. You just have to take action.

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