|Environment |
|Our environment doesn't support healthy lifestyle habits; in fact, it encourages obesity. Some reasons include: |
|Lack of neighborhood sidewalks and safe places for recreation. Not having area parks, trails, sidewalks, and affordable gyms |
|makes it hard for people to be physically active. |
|Work schedules. People often say that they don't have time to be physically active because of long work hours and time spent |
|commuting. |
|Oversized food portions. Americans are surrounded by huge food portions in restaurants, fast food places, gas stations, movie |
|theaters, supermarkets, and even home. Some of these meals and snacks can feed two or more people. Eating large portions means |
|too much energy IN. Over time, this will cause weight gain if it isn't balanced with physical activity. |
|Lack of access to healthy foods. Some people don't live in neighborhoods that have supermarkets that sell healthy foods, such as|
|fresh fruits and vegetables. Or, for some people, these healthy foods are too costly. |
|Food advertising. Americans are surrounded by ads from food companies. Often children are the targets of advertising for |
|high-calorie, high-fat snacks and sugary drinks. The goal of these ads is to sway people to buy these high-calorie foods, and |
|often they do. |
|Genes and Family History |
|Studies of