Super-sized Americans

Many Americans eat too much and don’t exercise enough. If you have a hard time believing that, look around. About 16% of kids ages 12 to 19 are obese and 30% are overweight. As for adults, 31% are considered obese and 65% are overweight.

Obesity can lead to serious health problems, such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and high blood pressure. Type 2 diabetes, once considered an adult disease, increasingly affects kids.

Health professionals put much of the blame for the super-sizing of the United States on junk food, enormous portion sizes and not enough exercise. The U.S. Department of Heath and Human Services reports that about half of all American kids aren’t active enough.

The next time you’re hungry for a snack, consider these facts:

A 2-ounce bag of chips has 310 calories and about 21 grams of fat

A medium-sized apple has about 70 calories and less than 1 gram of fat

A WHATCHAMACALLIT candy bar has 237 calories and about 11 grams of fat

20 baby carrots have about 70 calories and no fat.

A 12-ounce can of cola has 132 calories and 33 grams of sugar

Water has NO calories or sugar

Source:The American Obesity Association.