So the people who can save us from obesity are...???

The following article puts a "fun spin" on the battle between "Health officials vs. Processed Foods/ Fast Food Officials" (Why Activists Alone Can't Stop Obesity). Here's what we know:

• Healthcare officials (doctors, nutritionists, medical researchers, etc.) are saying we need to reduce intake of processed foods and foods scientifically proven to be unhealthy
• Fast food industry officials are trying to market their previously labeled "good for you" foods as "we've made changes to the foods and now they're good for you" foods
• Processed foods industry officials are fighting regulators for the amount of salt they put in foods because they won't taste good, even though the amount of salt they have put in a small snack bag is roughly half the amount recommended by the FDA

But what we don't know and is still unclear to us - "who do we listen to and how do we get healthy???"

The end of the article states:

...So is there anyone left who can make a serious dent in obesity? Can consumers be the ones who step up? Tune in next time...

The writer asks "who can save ourselves"....say this statement again...."WHO - CAN - SAVE - OURSELVES???"...Ourselves!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Take the best from both sides and make it your own information to make your "informed" decisions. Learn about the ingredients in your foods / cook your own foods so you know what is in the foods you're eating / read the labels of the processed foods (the ingredient at the top of the list is the one that is most abundant in that package) / understand what the nutrition information on the labels do for your body (carbohydrates, sugar, fats, fiber, protein, etc.). What's my point?

We as a society is looking to one group or entity to tell us what to do to be healthy. This mentality is what got us in trouble, because we "only listened" to the fast food / processed food industry feed us information that you need more convenience to have a great life. And this mentality has produced an obesity epidemic and the highest rates of diabetes and heart disease in our nations history. But if we listen to the healthcare group completely, we get a lot of data and graphs and information that we don't understand and get turned off before we get to the part that tells us, "eat this vs. not that" or we get caught up in trying to challenge a billion dollar industry to make changes to their fast food conveniences.

The REAL ANSWER is to depend on information from both to make informed choices and depend on OURSELVES to make our lives healthier. If we wait for someone to tell us what to do, we will be unhealthy, in the hospital, and living a miserable life. But if we take the initiative to take back our own health and do what we have to do to listen to healthcare officials and while having the taste we get from convenience foods we can strike a balance for what we need to do for a great life.

Here are some great links to check out more information to make informed decisions for taking responsibility for your own health:

1. First lady to chefs: "It's got to be a collaboration"
2. New Data Prompt Renewed Calls for Public-Health Initiative to Cut Salt in US Diet
3. Type 2 diabetes called 'public health humiliation'
4. 40 Desserts That Can Kill You
5. Japan, Seeking Trim Waists, Measures Millions