| I have a (wholly unsurprising, considering my | | | | to spend an hour walking to and from the |
| profession) confession to make, dear readers: | | | | grocery store these days? |
| I'm overweight. Not alarmingly so, like the | | | | |
| rotund McDonalds victims we see on television | | | | Solution: |
| or the huge guy creating his own Lake Mead of | | | | |
| sweat next to you on an airplane, but I do | | | | We all need to drive at some point, but take |
| have a belly on me. And unfortunately it's | | | | a long, hard look at your daily commute and |
| only getting bigger. | | | | determine when a car is truly necessary and |
| | | | when you're just being lazy. If the store's a |
| But hey, I'm not alone! A striking 67 percent | | | | couple miles away, ride a bike. If it's a |
| of Americans are currently overweight, and of | | | | mile or less away, walk-this goes double for |
| those people almost half are obese-that is, | | | | folks in the warmer areas. A Minneapolis |
| their Body Mass Index is over 30. We're all | | | | resident in winter has an excuse to drive |
| aware by now of the dangers inherent in | | | | that short hop to the store; a Boca Raton |
| obesity: high blood pressure, heart disease, | | | | resident does not. And while you're at |
| depression, and other general nastiness; | | | | it-take a brisk walk a few times each week |
| according to the U.S. Surgeon General, it | | | | anyway! |
| kills 300,000 people per year. To put those | | | | |
| numbers into perspective, cigarettes kill | | | | Portion size. |
| between 400-500,000 Americans per year. When | | | | |
| our eating habits are killing us almost as | | | | Ideally, dinner should be the lightest meal |
| much as tobacco, it's time to think about our | | | | of the day, as the human body stores calories |
| lives. | | | | more efficiently at night (energy burns |
| | | | faster earlier in the day). However, while |
| And while other countries are having this | | | | most Americans eat minimal breakfasts and |
| problem, too, they're nowhere near as bad off | | | | often small lunches, dinner is usually a |
| as the US of A. Why? Why us? Of course names | | | | smorgasboard, particularly when we dine out. |
| like "McDonalds" and "Burger King" | | | | And we're dining out a lot. Everywhere around |
| immediately come to mind, but fast food is | | | | the country, people are hitting up |
| only one part of a much larger collection of | | | | restaurants more than ever before. Increasing |
| problems; everything from our biological | | | | culinary sophistication and an ever-growing |
| wiring to the size of our country itself | | | | group of foodies are both factors, but as |
| factor in, creating one big overweight whole. | | | | usual it all boils down to time. Americans |
| | | | are busier than ever; many families dine out |
| Biology. | | | | or order in up to three times per week rather |
| | | | than slaving away in the kitchen for hours |
| This one isn't unique to America, but it is | | | | after work. |
| especially problematic in the industrial | | | | |
| First World. Human beings just aren't wired | | | | Solution: |
| to consume as few calories as possible; | | | | |
| epochs of evolution have conspired to make us | | | | For starters, follow your mom's advice and |
| awesome at saving calories and lousy at | | | | chew your food. We've all heard it a dozen |
| losing them. It's much easier, after all, to | | | | times, but it bears repeating: your body |
| eat 100 calories than it is to burn them off. | | | | doesn't automatically know when it's full. It |
| It may be a curse now, but if you're a | | | | takes the brain a good ten minutes to send |
| starving hunter-gatherer and there's no | | | | the "stop eating" signal, and you can scarf a |
| commercially-available food for another | | | | lot more strip steak in ten minutes. On the |
| several thousand years, you want every bit of | | | | same track, drink plenty of water. Good-old |
| nutrition you can glean from your dinner. The | | | | H20 takes up a lot of space in your belly, |
| human body can survive for 8 days without any | | | | meaning the "I'm full" response will hit you |
| food; imagine how long you can go on a | | | | quicker. |
| little. And in America especially, a little | | | | |
| is never enough. | | | | And finally, if it applies: stop dining out |
| | | | so much. You'll feel less compelled to eat |
| Solution: | | | | everything in sight when you didn't pay |
| | | | someone else to make it for you. On that |
| There isn't one, really. You can't change | | | | note, here are some delicious, healthy, and |
| millions of years of evolution with willpower | | | | quick recipes to ease the restaurant |
| alone. What you can do is restrict your | | | | withdrawal! |
| calorie intake and increase your calorie use, | | | | |
| making this little biological stumbling block | | | | Chicken Mediterranean Salad |
| irrelevant. | | | | |
| | | | Encrusted Walnut Chicken |
| Transportation. | | | | |
| | | | Broiled Lemon Fish Fillets |
| The world's love affair with cars has plenty | | | | |
| of detrimental environmental effects, but as | | | | Cream of Roasted Walnut Soup |
| it turns out there are some physical | | | | |
| problems, too. Americans especially drive | | | | Bean and Cheese Enchiladas |
| everywhere, foregoing bicycles or their legs | | | | |
| in favor of shorter trips to the store or to | | | | Barbecue Pork Skillet |
| work. The Surgeon General's office recommends | | | | |
| 30 minutes of intensive exercise at least | | | | Armed with these recipes and more from our |
| three times a week or 20 minutes of moderate | | | | Quick & Easy and Healthy sections, take a |
| exercise daily, and in the Information Age | | | | crack at our nation's obesity |
| most of us rarely walk farther than the space | | | | problem--whether you do it by shedding some |
| between our parking spots and our chairs. | | | | pounds yourself, or helping out someone else |
| It's not entirely our fault; while smaller | | | | you know. If you're concerned about your |
| European cities make walking everywhere | | | | health, check your Body Mass Index. After |
| easier, an American in, say, Phoenix may find | | | | that--maybe I'll see you at the gym! |
| geography working against him. Who has time | | | | |