Houston’s “Fitness Czar” Samir Becic‘s new campaign is onto its next phase! With his focus on promoting health and fitness, Samir is no stranger to campaigning- in fact, he famously ran 7 marathons in 8 weeks wearing a 73.5 lbs weighted vest to promote awareness and lived for 6 weeks with a 300 lbs weighted suit to better understand obesity. Reaching national and international levels with his campaigns, Samir is no stranger to tying politics into his fitness agenda. In recent years, he’s spearheaded dozens of campaigns including sending dedicated and signed books of his HarperCollins published “ReSync Your Life” to U.S. political leaders in an effort to inspire them to keep motivating Americans to live healthier and fitter.
Obesity is a public health issue that is even more of a problem than the opioid epidemic. A rise in obesity also means a rise in diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, high cholesterol, and more. Having said that, it is important for there to be laws and regulations regarding things such as nutritional value in foods and physical activity. In Texas alone, there is a higher obesity rate in comparison to the United States as a whole. In fact, obesity rates in Texas have gotten so severe, the state has joined 15 other states that have over 35% of adults being considered ‘obese’. According to new data by the CDC, the U.S. adult obesity rate stands at 42.4 percent, the first time the national rate has passed the 40 percent mark, and further evidence of the country’s obesity crisis. The national adult obesity rate has increased by 26 percent since 2008. If no change is done, obesity-related diseases and death rates are to rise dramatically by 2030. Having said that, 4 x#1 Fitness Trainer in America Samir Becic wants to reverse these trending statistics and make a change. Since the start of the year, he’s sent over 500 letters to school districts throughout Texas and nationwide. Now, he’s reaching out to local lawmakers.
As part of the next phase in his 2022 fitness campaign, Samir is reaching out to prominent Texas politicians to bring awareness to the ongoing issue of obesity. He sent letters to the 150 Mayors of the largest cities in Texas and the 50 councilmembers of Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, and Austin. Now, he’s putting pen to paper to write to the 55 County Judges of the largest Texas Counties and the 20 Commissioners from the counties that include the cities of Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, and Round Top. This is in addition to previously sending dedicated books to the 36 U.S. Congressmembers and 2 U.S. Senators that represent Texas! In his letters, Samir highlights the importance of fitness and nutrition in hopes of making an actionable change at improving the health and fitness of Texans.
As part of my 2022 health and fitness plan for Texas, I’m sending 500 letters to leading state politicians to motivate them to promote a healthy lifestyle. The letters will be sent to Mayors, Senators, State Reps, Judges, Councilmembers, and Commissioners across our great state.
— Samir Becic (@SamirBecic) March 9, 2022
With the support and help of county judges and commissioners, a lot can be done. A County Judge’s roles include being supervisors of the commissioners’ courts, providing safety, public transportation, parks, collecting taxes for the county and municipal organizations, enforcing specific duties given by Texas statutes, and more. The commissioners work hand-in-hand with the judge to be able to create policies that will benefit Texans.
Texas has an ongoing issue with combating obesity, therefore it is pertinent for the people of Texas to learn the importance of health and fitness to adopt these ideas in order to lead a healthier lifestyle. Here are some alarming facts about obesity in Texas:
- In Texas, data has found that obesity costs $10.5 billion in 2001, with that cost estimated to grow to $39 billion in 2040
- Over 20% of adults in Texas of different age ranges are obese
- In Texas, over 30% of its population is obese
- The highest obesity rates in Texas are among those aged 45-54
- Over 30% of adults in Texas get less than 7 hours of sleep (a major contributor to obesity)
- In 2019, 27.2% of adults were physically inactive
- 90% of adults in Texas during the year of 2019 were not eating the daily fruit and vegetable daily intake levels
