Why is Belly Fat Increasing Among Americans?

We’ve all heard the reports.  Americans are fatter than ever.  We are the most obese nation in the world, which is often attributed by other countries to our wealth and supposed arrogance.  But those of us struggling with abdominal fat know that we aren’t just rich and arrogant; there are real problems that have to be addressed if we’re going to get healthy.

One reason that belly fat is increasing in the US is because it happens naturally as men and women age, and the population of the United States is aging. The most numerous generations ever born, the baby-boomers are getting older, and as a group they are reaching the place in life where the body starts shifting fat from legs and arms to abdomens.  If the largest population segment is gaining weight, then the numbers indicate that our overall weight is going up.

Another reason that belly fat is increasing is that, contrary to the perceptions of others in the world, most Americans are not rich.  This means two different things in terms of belly fat.  One is that most families must have two parents working outside the home if they are to survive and pay their bills.  Add family obligations to that, and you have people who just do not have time or energy for a disciplined exercise program.  It’s not that they’re completely sedentary; it’s just that most of their activity is geared toward getting something accomplished, rather than simply caring for their bodies.

Exercise is one important factor in reducing belly fat, and people just don’t have time for it.  Another reason on increased belly fat is an economic issue: good food is expensive food, and most Americans simply can’t afford to eat healthy.  For example, five pounds of 98% lean ground beef costs twice as much as a five pounds tube of 70% lean ground pork.  So, a well-to-do person eats two percent fat, and the struggling person eats thirty percent fat.  Whole grain bread is three times more expensive than off-brand white bread.

Every struggling family knows that carb-filled spaghetti and sugar-filled sauce can feed a family for fewer than five dollars.  The unhealthy foods, the ones that cause life-risking belly fat, are the only ones that the working-poor and near-poor can afford, and those are the two fastest growing segments of the American population.

Another theory for the increase in belly fat is that it’s not really belly fat we’re seeing at all.  Rather, it could be a bloated colon. With all the unhealthy foods that Americans eat, much of it doesn’t get properly digested, accumulates, and ends up blocking the colon.  Again, this is a side effect of improper diet, but can be helped by increasing fiber and occasionally receiving a hydro-enema to cleanse out rotting food in the colon.  Consume ten glasses of water a day, and belly fat could significantly decrease because of the care given to the colon.