CityView Magazine - Fayetteville, NC
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/55927
health The science behind using hypnosis for weight loss "standing at a crossroads." For the first time in modern history an American's life expectancy is shorter than it was for the previous generation's life expectancy, due to rise in obesity. She stated, "Today's epidemic of overweight and obesity threat- O ens the historic progress we have made in increasing American's quality and years of healthy life. Two-thirds of adults and nearly one in three children are overweight or obese." In the report, she goes on to detail the medical complications related to obesity, including diabetes and heart disease, some of the causes and some potential solutions. Likewise, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predict that one-third of children born in the year 2000 will become diabetic in their lifetimes. Obesity is caused by a combination of factors. Easy ac- cess to calorie-dense foods, poor eating habits, overeating, under exercising, too much screen time, stress, genetics — these are all some of the causes. Likewise, babies born to obese mothers are at increased risk of developing obe- sity. In other words, obesity breeds obesity. Some medi- cations commonly prescribed for psychiatric conditions cause obesity; patients with schizophrenia get a double whammy of mental and physical illnesses shortening their lives. With such a multifactorial problem as obe- sity, there is no single easy solution. Everyone knows that we need to eat better and exer- cise more. We hear this message over and again — and we listen. Membership rates at gyms go up dramatically in January and February and diet books fill the shelves at bookstores, each touting different eating plans and promises to whittle waistlines. But gym attendance starts to wane in March and April and few people man- 44 | March/April • 2012 BY LENNY SALZBERG, M.D. besity is huge — pun intended. Everywhere you look there are bariatric surgery centers, weight loss clinics and "miracle" weight loss supplements. A report from Sur- geon General Regina M. Benjamin described our nation as Thinking Thin