Obesity And Fast Foods - The Lethal Link

Obesity and fast foods - there's little doubt about the link. Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the United states. And it's an epidemic that has grown side by side, step by step with the the fast food industry.

Eric Schlosser in his brilliant and shocking book, Fast Food Nation, describes the US as "an empire of fat," and he lays the blame for this clearly and convincingly at the door of the fast food industry.

Obesity Fast Food Data

Twice as many American adults are obese today as in the 1960s. More than half of all adults and a quarter of all children are now obese. Over this same period, fast food has become cheaper and easier to buy. Further evidence for the link between obesity and fast food can be found outside the US. Since the early 1980s, American-style fast food culture has spread like wildfire around the world... And obesity has followed, accompanied by its many unwelcome side effects: heart disease, diabetes, arthritis and other ills.

As people in countries like Japan and China have abandoned traditional healthy diets in favour of fast food, the rates of obesity and associated diseases have soared.

In countries which have resisted the spread of fast food culture, like France, Italy and Spain, obesity is far less of a problem. The good news is that there is now more awareness about the ill effects of fast food than ever before, thanks in part to books like Fast Food Nation and documentary movies like Morgan Spurlock's popular and punchy Super Size Me.

There also seems to be a genuine change in people's attituded to to food and how it is produced. As Schlosser says modestly of his book: "its success should not be attributed to my literary style, my storytelling ability, or the novelty of my arguments.

"Had the same book been published a decade ago, with the same words in the same order, it probably wouldn't have attracted much attention. Not just in the United States, but throughout western Europe,people are beginning to question the massive, homogenizing systems that produce, distribute, and market their food. The unexpected popularity of Fast Food Nation, I believe, has a simple yet profound explanation. The times are changing."

What can we do about fast food and obesity?

So what can we do to as consumers to tackle the problem of obesity and fast foods?

First, we can stop supporting the traditional, unhealthy fast food chains. Let's rather buy from outlets that sell healthy alternatives. More and more of these restaurants and delis are opening. There should be at least one near you. Support it!

Another thing we can do is to lobby our congressperson (or MP or some other political representative if we're in a country outside the US) to ban all advertisements that promote foods high in fat and sugar to children.

As Schlosser points out, prevention is far better than cure. "A ban on advertising unhealthy foods to children would discourage eating habits that are not only hard to break, but potentially life-threatening."

Such a ban may sound far-fetched, until you remember that 35 years ago a ban on cigarette advertising sounded equally unlikely. Five years later Congress banned cigarette ads from television and radio. And those ads were directed at adults, not children.

Smoking has declined ever since.

It's time we did something similar with obesity and fast food

Alan Cooper is a journalist with 20 year's experience and the publisher of http://www.ObesityCures.com, a site with the ambitious aim of being a "one-stop-shop" for impartial information on obesity and weight loss solutions - including fad diets, prescription weightloss pills and herbal diet aides.

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Quit Smoking: Why People Do Bad Things (Even When They Know They Shouldn't)

Do you do Bad Things? Even though you know you shouldn't?

It's not your fault. It really isn't. You know you should stop doing it, but no matter how much you know that, and how much you try, you just can't stop!

Everyone knows how to lose weight. Don't eat fattening foods. Exercise. Everyone knows how to give up smoking. Dont light the cigarette. Yet having this knowledge just isn't enough. Sometimes even having the desire isn't enough! Time and again I hear about people who get really close to quitting smoking. They can get all the way down to one or two cigarettes a day, but just can't give up those last two. Many even make it all the way down to zero, but the cravings, oh the cravings! They are wretched, those cravings. Most will go back to smoking within the first few days. They can cut away most of the "stuff" that keeps them glued to the cigarettes, even not be addicted to nicotine anymore(!), but there is just something deep in their core that magnetically pulls them back in, like two lovers who know they are bad for each other but just can't help themselves.

What is this thing? What is at this core?

Let me take a step back for a moment. How many adults do you know who are happy? I mean really, truly happy? Think that question is foolishness? Let me ask you this. How many people do you know who love their work? I'm talkin' jump out of bed in the morning, can't wait to start. Sadly, the percentage is very small. Why is this?

We live in an interesting quick-fix culture. People don't really have to deal with their issues. We've got:

* television
* movies
* shopping
* toys
* and hitting the gym

to distract us and make us feel better. Even more than that, many people's issues are quite buried. Think of dreams that were squashed when we were young. "An artist? You could never make a living at that! You should be a doctor!" People often forget what their dreams once were.

As a result, I see an awful lot of unhappy, unfulfilled people walking around. They don't know what is bothering them, they just have that gnawing feeling that there must be more. Advertisers pray on this, selling us more and more bottles and gizmos to give us that ever elusive Happiness.

True inner needs? People either:

* think they're impossible to fulfill
* are too scared and resigned to fulfill them
* or are so disassociated from those needs that they don't even know what they would be even if they had to guess!

All those "bad" things -- smoking, overeating, gambling, alcohol, the list goes on and on -- are easy ways to fill the void. Smokers will be able to relate to this one -- if you've just had a fight with your family, what do you do? You go for a smoke. Smoking makes it feel like the problem goes away. (I call this the "smokescreen." Har har!)

I'll let you in on a little secret--the real reason it's so hard to quit is not the nicotine. It's this void-filling. When you quit smoking (or any bad habit), you're suddenly faced with real life. All those stresses and needs that you've been avoiding? There they are, pulling at your coat tails, yelling, "Pay attention to me! Pay attention to me!" If you got in touch with your real inner needs and took baby steps to start fulfilling them, you would actually have little desire for cigarettes. It's true! I see it happen time and again in my Stop Smoking Coaching practice.

How do you do that, you ask? Here are some baby steps that you can start trying out now:

* Next time, instead of taking that quick fix--stop.
* Have a little quiet time and listen to what your insides have been trying to tell you.
* Try journaling -- don't edit your thoughts, just write.
* Some people find meditation and yoga to be great accesses.
* Try deep breathing.
* Go for a quiet, leisurely walk by yourself.
* Personally, I find it easiest to just start noticing where in life I seem to be avoiding things the most, or if I want something more immediate and active, doing a mindmap (a word drawing) to figure out what I'm really thinking.

For each person, the key to figuring out your needs is different. Play around with it, don't give up! You'll be glad you did!

Jill Binder is The Stop Smoking Coach with a 90 day program to show people the 8 steps to quitting smoking forever, with a 100% success rate. She is the author of "What's Your Smoking Type?" and has appeared on "Daytime" (TV), "Radioactive Women" (Radio), "Good Times" (magazine), and "Metro Toronto Today" (newspaper).

You can sign up for her newsletter, "YourTurn - Turn Your Weaknesses Into Your Perfect Life" at http://www.StopSmokingCoach.ca

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Alcohol Addiction - What Were You Up To Last Night?

Do you remember what you did last night? And the night before, and the night before that?

If you have mornings where you forget what you did the night before, it is time to take a serious look at your drinking habits.

Alcohol addiction could mean that you drink every day; or that you drink to excess every week; or that you feel you can't cope without alcohol. You don't have to be permanently drunk to be addicted.

Consider the effects that your drinking has at the moment. If you can honestly say that you hardly ever get drunk, you never do something you regret the next day, and you can cope without alcohol, then relax - you are out of the danger zone. But if your answer to any of these questions is "yes," then you could be on a slippery slope.

Alcohol addiction creeps up on people without warning. They believe that they have all the control, and feel, "It could never happen to me!" But, one day, they wake up realizing that they are out of control. The alcohol has taken over.

They think it's too late. They spiral into lack of self-respect, hurting their body, then their mind and spirit, and finally their loved ones.

But the good thing is that it's never too late. You can find stories of people who have had the most harrowing of experiences, going right into the gutter (often literally); yet, eventually, they did find out how to stop drinking alcohol and now they are completely free of that prison.

How did these people do that? Well, each one has his own story. However, there are proven ways that help you tremendously. Because, you can't do this by yourself. If you are addicted to alcohol, you will need help. One thing to remember is that there are a number of organizations to deal with such problems, from official government organizations, to charitable ones such as The Samaritans.

Of the self-help tools available, there are books available in the library, and self-hypnosis CDs and downloadable MP3s (by reputable hypnotherapists). Other routes include getting help from the medical profession (e.g. CBT), and from complementary therapists. The more avenues you experiment with, the greater the chance of your success, because they all work together to make it more powerful.

By combining professional help, self help, support from friends and family, and help from expert organizations, you can overcome this.

And it's power that you want: Aren't you tired of being the slave to alcohol?

Alcohol addiction needs help to overcome. Get all the support you can, and do everything you can to learn how to stop drinking alcohol.

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31 Ways to Get An Extra Hour Out of Each Day

How can you get an extra hour out of each day? For many small business owners this is a daily challenge.

I myself have often wished that there were 27 hours in the day. Ill even settle for 25.

Here are some tips to help you squeeze those extra minutes out of your day. Of course, you can adapt these so that they will fit in with your situation. I hope these are helpful to you.

1. Get up earlier

2. Watch less TV (I mean how many Law & Order spinoffs does one need to watch?)

3. Avoid allowing others to waste your time

4. If you dont have to drive to work, use that time to study or plan. If you do drive to work listen to a motivational tape on the way to work instead of that mindless dj talk.

5. Organize your work; do it systematically.

6. Make creative use of lunchtime.

7. Delegate authority if possible.

8. Spend less time on unimportant phone calls.

9. Think first, then do the task.

10. Do what you dream about doing, instead of just dreaming about it.

11. Work hardest when youre the most mentally alert

12. Eliminate activities that make the smallest contributions to your life.

13. Always do the toughest jobs first.

14. Before each major act ask, "Is this really necessary?"

15. Choose interesting and constructive literature for spare time reading.

16. Learn how to sleep. Sleep soundly, then work refreshed.

17. Skip desserts.

18. Stop smoking.

19. Write notes or letters while waiting for others.

20. Always carry an envelope with paper in it and a few stamps.

21. Combine tasks that are done in the same area.

22. Be prompt for all appointments.

23. Lay out your clothes the night before.(I need to remember this myself)

24. Call on specialists to do work that you cannot do efficiently

25. Learn to read more rapidly.

26. Take a nap after dinner. Then take a shower. Begin the evening hours relaxed and refreshed.

27. Avoid interruptions.

28. Avoid making a big production out of tiny tasks.

29. Search out job shortcuts.

30. Know your limitations.

31. Work to your full capacity. I know it's tough to break bad habits. However, it is necessary to make sacrifices so that your business can be successful. Don't try to implement all of these ideas at once. Implement them one at a time and repeat them until they become a part of your daily routine.

DeAnna Spencer is a virtual assistant that helps entrepreneurs run a successful business by providing affordable administrative help. She also publishes a blog for small business owners. Visit this small business resource today.

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