From 1988-1994 the number of Americans who were over weight or obese was 56%. That number rose from 1999-2000 to 64% according to NAASO.org. Oregon is one of the highest with 23% of its population being obese. There are many reasons why people become obese or over weight. Many times it is genetic but that is something you can not change. What you can change is the way you eat, what you eat and how much you eat. If our society as a whole does not change the way we eat, we will be at high risk of diabetes, hypertension and heart attacks. In 2004 obesity related deaths ranked number two, smoking came in first. By 2005 obesity related deaths was expected to pass smoking as the number one cause of death, according to Medscape.com.

The idea of an American family and dinner time has changed. Americans lead busy lives, in a typical family home, both parents work a forty hour week, most arriving home late. Most of those families would rather relax than think about making a well balanced meal for everyone. Usually they will grab what it closest or easiest such as a microwave dinner, take out or order a pizza. We all want to spend time with our families and watch our favorite TV program. The last thing anyone wants to think about is cooking after a long day at the office.

Eating out was once thought to be expensive, now because of places like Jack in the Box and McDonalds, it is affordable. You can go to McDonalds and feed a family of four for less than twenty dollars. It is fast, easy, tasty and most of all cheap. To feed a family of four a balanced meal, for example chicken with rice and a vegetable, costs more in both time and money something we are all short on. Fred Meyer, a local grocery store chain in Oregon, usually has pretty good deals, but look at what it costs to feed a family of four. I went to Fred Meyer hoping to spend less than $20.00. Foster Farms offers three chicken breasts in a package for around $9.00, but you would have to buy two in order to feed a family of four. One package of Uncle Ben's instant wild rice only has two to three servings per container for $2.50 which means again you would have to buy two packages. As for a vegetable, a bag of organic baby carrots cost about $2.00. When it was all said and done, a healthy home cooked dinner for a family of four costs about $25.00. This is not including the time spent making the dinner and doing dishes afterwards.

Lack of health choice at restaurants makes eating right difficult. According to Foodfacts.info, in 2005 fast food chain, Wendy's, pulled their fruit salad option after only ten months on the menu, sighting low sales. Many fast food chains have started to offer healthier choices such as Subway which offers raisins and yogurt, and Wendy's offers mandarin orange fruit cups in place of fries. Some sit down restaurants have followed suit such as Red Robin which will allow you to order either a petite hamburger patty or a Boca Burger substitute for any of their burgers. Unfortunately other places do not offer alternatives or the alternatives are not well advertised by the prospective restaurant. Red Robin might offer a Boca patty substitution but it is in fine print which is barley visible at the very bottom of their menu.

Serving sizes are something you are not in control of when eating out. Most restaurants fill your plate with fries and a giant burger. When the food comes, the presentation is nice and the food smells good, and since we are all in such a hurry, we devour the whole plate before we know it consuming double the empty calories.

Gastric bypass surgery is the second only to breast augmentation, as the most common surgery among young adults. The time is now for us to start setting a good example for all people and start making smarter choices of food, make the effort to cook healthy meals, and rethink what a serving size is. Sure it might require more effort and more time and sacrifice but when you look at the health risks and concerns associated with obesity, it just makes sense to spend a few extra dollars, a little more time and make a few better choices in order to make a better future for you and your family.