To support HFR founder Samir Becic’s Petition, please sign it at Change.org.
I would like to know when the presidential candidates and the debate moderators will address the obesity epidemic in the United States?
My name is Samir Becic and I have worked in the health and fitness industry in America for the past 15 years. During that time I advocated for healthy living and created Health Fitness Revolution to help spread my message. Sadly, my time in the field has shown me how deep America’s obesity problem has become and what it means for everyone in this country.
36% of Americans are obese, including 115 million people and 17% of our nation’s children. This is a human tragedy with very real consequences for those affected. According to the CDC, obesity causes an increased risk for a number of diseases including high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, coronary heart disease, stroke, cancer, mental illnes and death.
The obesity crisis is intimately intwined in politics. Lobbyist influence, nutritional policy, and health and wellness initiatives impact the health of this country and can contribute to or prevent obesity. Children are particularly vulnerable to political machinations and the decisions of those who do not have their best interest at heart. They are also the demographic that has a steadily increasing rate of Diabetes Type 2.
As it stands now, obesity spending is expected to cost the country$344 billion by 2018. Healthcare reform has figured prominently this election cycle, yet the candidates and media have been silent about the obesity crisis and the terrible human and financial costs it is inflicting on America.
As an experienced health and fitness professional, I am calling on the debate moderators to raise this important issue in the presidential debates so the candidates can clearly and decisively state what their administration would do to address the rising rates of American obesity, and how they would improve our nation’s health.
Obesity, morbid obesity, and super obesity are sapping our nation’s potential by straining human potential. We need to fight this illness with all the power we have in order for our children to have a better future, and in order for those suffering from morbid obesity to have a second chance at life.
