|
March is National Nutrition Month
|
|
Everything is getting bigger. Twenty years ago, a bagel was three inches around and contained 150 calories. Now, the typical bagel is twice that size and has 350 calories. In the 1980s a cheeseburger was just 330 calories; today it packs a whopping 580 calories.
Unfortunately, it is not just our food that is increasing in size: our waistlines are expanding right along with it. Recent studies show that the average American waist size for men has gone from 35 inches to 39 inches in the last 40 years. For women, it has increased from 30 inches to 37 inches. The National Institutes of Health reports that 39 percent of men and 60 percent of women carrying too much fat around their middle.
There are health risks associated with a larger waist size. If you tend to carry your weight in your stomach, you are at greater risk for heart disease than someone who carries their excess weight around the hips. So while being overweight ...
>more
|
