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Obesity Facts

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    Food for thought as you prepare for the super bowl today? The alarming rates of Obesity need to published and talked about.  Everyone wants to “live in the moment” But we are stealing precious moments due to our repeated poor food choices.  If you want to be around to outlive your kids, and you want to be the fun mom or fun grandparent that can keep up with the kids we need to educate ourselves and start making better choices to make that happen.

    You can do it.  We can do it, and I can help!

    Obesity facts:

    Today, about 75% of US men and 67% of US women are either overweight or obese. Between 1988 and 1994, 63% of men and 55% of US women were overweight or obese.

The NHANES says that about 35% of men and 37% of women are obese, 40% of men and 30% of women are overweight. 2/3 of US adults are at a unhealthy weight.

    US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that Americans have been gaining weight since the 1960’s. The average US woman weighs about 166 pounds compared to 140 in 1960. 166 was the average for a man in 1960.
    Our children are not expected to outlive us. Obesity is one of the biggest contributors to this shortened life expectancy, it is the root of a lot of chronic health conditions.

    Our environment contributes in some of the following ways:
    Overuse of antibiotics in food production and medicine
    Growth-enhancing drugs used in food animals
    Endocrine-disrupting chemicals and pesticides
    Social media centered around junk food and artificial sweeteners.
    Highly processed genetically modified (GM) foods are full of ingredients that contribute to metabolic dysfunction and weight gain/obesity.

    The McKinsey Global Institute says the annual global cost of obesity is now $2 trillion. (For comparison, alcoholism costs are $1.4 trillion annually, road accidents cost $700 billion, and unsafe sex costs $300 billion)  The McKinsey report estimates that nearly 1/2 of the world’s adult population will be overweight or obese by 2030.

    In the US, 8 obesity related diseases account for 75% of healthcare costs. These include type 2 diabetes, heart disease, dementia, cancer, Polycystic ovarian syndrome, hypertension, lipid problems, NAFLD (nonalcoholic fatty liver disease).

    The National Health Expenditure Accounts (NHEA) are the official estimates of total health care spending in the US. In 1960, the NHEA measures annual U.S. expenditures for health care goods and services, public health activities, government administration, the net cost of health insurance, and investment related to health care.
    U.S. health care spending in 2014 reached $3.0 trillion or $9,523 per person.
    The nation’s Gross Domestic Product accounted for 17.5% of health care costs.

    cms.gov/research-statistics-data-and-systems/statistics-trends-and-reports/nationalhealthexpenddata/nationalhealthaccountshistorical.html
    http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=189100
    http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/calls/
    http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2015/07/08/increasing-us-adult-weight.aspx
    http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=189100
    http://atlanta.cbslocal.com/2015/06/15/cdc-average-american-woman-now-weighs-as-much-as-1960s-us-man/
    http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2323411

    Organic Farmland Hits Record Highs – More Organic Food Available

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      organic food

      U.S. Organic Farmland Hits Record 4.1 Million Acres in 2016

      California still reigns supreme when it comes to organic farmland, but several other states are catching up.

      A new report has found that U.S. land for organic farming reached 4.1 million acres in 2016, a new record and an 11 percent increase compared to 2014.

      As of June 2016, the number of certified organic farms in the U.S. reached 14,979, a 6.2 percent increase of 1,000 farms compared to 2014 survey data.

      A recent report on organic acreage from Mercaris found that the top five states in organic cropland are California, Montana, Wisconsin, New York, and North Dakota. California leads the U.S. with 688,000 acres. However, Montana has seen a 30 percent increase in organic farmland, reaching 417,000 acres in 2016, an increase of 100,000 acres since 2014 and adding 50 new organic farms.

      The report also estimates that North Dakota, Colorado, and New York all increased their organic farming acres by more than 40,000 since 2014. North Dakota has surpassed Oregon as the fifth leading state in organic acreage. Oregon is sixth followed by Colorado and Texas.

      Scott Shander, an economist at Mercaris, attributes the increase in organic acres to farm economics and consumer demand for organic foods.

      “The organic industry is growing and with lower commodity grain prices, and farmers are looking to add value and meet consumer demands,” he says.

      According to Alex Heilman, a sales associate at Mercaris, the number of organic acres is likely to continue increasing, especially with larger companies such as General Mills and Ardent Mills launching programs to increase organic acres.

      “I think we will see more of an impact of those programs in the next few years as more farmers start the transition process (to organic),” he says.

      Organic alfalfa/hay was the leading organic crop grown with more than 800,000 acres in 2016. This was followed by organic wheat, corn, and soybeans with 482,000, 292,000, and 150,000 acres respectively. Organic oats reached a record level of 109,000 acres in 2016. Organic wheat showed the greatest increase with nearly 150,000 more acres since 2014 and a 44 percent increase since 2011. Plantings of organic corn increased by 58,000 acres since 2014.

      The percentage of acres planted to organic crops such as wheat, corn, soybeans, and oats remains small compared to conventional crops in the U.S. Organic corn accounts for only 0.31 percent of total corn acres; organic wheat was 0.9 percent of total wheat acres; organic soybeans were 0.2 percent of total soybean acres. Organic oats account for the highest percentage of an organic crop with 3.6 percent of total oat acres.

      Acreage of both organic corn and soybeans has seen small increases as a percentage of total acres for both crops in the past few years, according to the report. This may be due to the fact that the U.S. is importing large amounts of organic corn and soybeans, which is depressing the U.S. market and prices for both crops. According Shander, 25 percent of organic corn and 75 percent of organic soybeans used in the U.S. are imported.

      “It’s a global market that is dictating U.S. prices,” he says. “Demand for organic corn and soybeans is still growing strongly, but production in the U.S. is not growing as fast so more of the production will be international.”

       

      This article is courtesy of http://civileats.com/2016/11/09/u-s-organic-farmland-hits-record-4-1-million-acres-in-2016/

       

      More Organic Food Information