Faced with a national crisis with 23 percent of their schoolchildren overweight or obese, British schools are weighing students this September and then sending home letters to inform parents if their child is "overweight" or "very overweight." It is difficult to hear about this delicate subject, but we need to do so. This isn't a crisis for Great Britain alone, but literally for much of the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) has said obesity is "the biggest unrecognized health problem in the world" ("Obesity a World-Wide Hazard," BBC, Dec. 22, 2000). The U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality released a shocking study in August, declaring it's possible that "every American adult could be overweight 40 years from now" (Amy Norton, Reuter's Health, Aug. 6, 2008, emphasis added throughout). The same study, taken from the journal Obesity, said present trends show that 86 percent of American adults would be overweight by 2030, with 51 percent of the total being obese. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that more than one in every three American adults is obese right now, but the WHO puts the figures even higher (see chart below). Obviously, many of our Church members and their families could be affected by this crisis. In a world constantly concerned with war, this might hardly seem worth worrying about, unless you consider the costs. Even aside from the human costs, the financial impact in the United States alone of dealing with health issues caused by overweight and obesity is over $130 billion a year. The costs will only rise, greatly burdening the health-care system. "The sheer magnitude of the…problem is staggering," warned Catherine Le-Galès Camus, WHO assistant director of Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health in a UN News Service release (Sept. 22, 2005). The world is changing. Increasing wealth enables millions to choose good-tasting food that is high in fat and low in nutrients. At the same time, urbanization and technological advances result in increasingly sedentary types of work and lifestyles. Consequently, up to 1.6 billion people are overweight. And the WHO projects that 700 million of the world's population will be obese by 2015. Increasingly a problem of children One of the biggest problems faced by the overweight is type 2 diabetes, something that until recently mainly concerned only senior citizens, but not any longer. The WHO estimated in 2004 that one in 10 schoolchildren worldwide was overweight. In 2007, they said that at least 22 million children under the age of 5 were overweight. Type 2 diabetes was unheard of in children only 20 years ago, but now it is common and increasing rapidly. "Childhood obesity is like a massive tsunami headed toward the United States," warns David Ludwig, pediatric endocrinologist and director of the obesity program at Children's Hospital in Boston (Nanci Hellmich, "Obesity Threatens Life Expectancy," USA Today, March 16, 2005). Overweight and obesity could actually cause the life expectancy in the United States to head downward for the first time since the government began to keep statistics in 1900! According to the CDC, "Since 1980, the percentage of overweight children [in the United States ] ages 6 to 11 has doubled, and the percentage of overweight adolescents ages 12 to 19 has tripled." One of the biggest reasons for childhood obesity in United States is the fact that so many children eat out; the typical restaurant meal has twice as many calories as a meal prepared at home. Another problem is how aggressively weight-causing foods are being marketed directly to children. The Federal Trade Commission reported in early August that "food companies spent $1.6 billion in advertising their products to children in 2006. Producers of carbonated sodas led the way followed by fast-food restaurants and makers of breakfast cereals" ("Childhood Obesity," Watertown Daily Times, Aug. 6, 2008). Another factor is lack of sleep. A new study shows a profound connection between a lack of deep, restorative sleep (commonly called REM, for "rapid eye movement") and a tendency toward becoming overweight. "The children who slept 22 minutes less each night tended to be overweight. Children who slept one hour less were twice as likely to be overweight. [With]…one less hour of REM sleep…the children were three times more likely to be overweight" (Jane Akre, "Lack of Deep Sleep Linked to Adolescent Obesity," InjuryBoard.com, Aug. 6, 2008). Health risks to the overweight What problems occur when the blood has too much sugar in it? The body gains weight. Being overweight triggers a host of serious problems, including: • Type 2 diabetes. • Heart disease and stroke. • Cancer (esophagus, colon, kidney, uterus and breast). • Sleep apnea. • Osteoarthritis. • Gallbladder disease. • Fatty liver disease (including cirrhosis). The good news is that you can lower your health risk by losing as little as 10 to 20 pounds. Conversely, it takes only 20 to 30 extra pounds to cause a significant loss in the body's ability to use insulin properly. Doctors are warning people to take immediate action when their blood sugar count exceeds 100 to stave off these health problems and to extend their lives. How the body processes sugar Let's get into a little science about how the human body processes our modern high-carbohydrate diets. Our bodies break down carbohydrates into simple glucose, which the bloodstream carries to the muscle and fat cells to burn or to store for future energy needs. Insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas, accompanies the glucose and helps the cells process it. The insulin attaches to receptors in the cell wall, and its presence activates other receptors to absorb the glucose. In a healthy person, the pancreas releases the right amount of insulin needed to process whatever food he consumes. Without insulin, a person could literally starve, even though he is eating plenty of food, because his body wouldn't be able to put it to use. The type of food we eat makes a difference in insulin output too. "Fast foods" typically demand rapid production of more insulin, which is followed by a "crash" of blood glucose levels a few hours later, causing a sensation of weakness and hunger. Think of a fire fueled by handfuls of dry grass. The grass burns quickly, causing a sudden flash of energy output, but followed by a rapid reduction in light or heat. Contrast that with a chunk of wood that burns more slowly and puts out energy for a longer period. Continuing the analogy, the rapid-burning fuels include refined carbohydrates, such as bagels, white bread, white rice, regular pasta, sodas and sweets. Starchy vegetables, including potatoes, work in a similar way. Diets with much of these types of food are terribly unhealthy, stressing the body and encouraging overeating. Good eating is not a matter of simply cutting out these foods, but rather of consuming a balanced diet. The clear trend in the developed and developing world alike is toward diets loaded with these potentially harmful foods. Combined with jobs and lifestyles that are ever less active, we see the result in the alarming worldwide weight crisis. In overweight or inactive people, cells do not respond quickly or efficiently to insulin's presence. This results in the pancreas pumping out more insulin to compensate. Eventually, the pancreas is overworked and cannot supply enough insulin. When the cells aren't taking the glucose from the bloodstream, the effect is a rise in blood sugar. Glorify God in Your Body God instructs us on eating and exercise habits. We are to take responsibility for keeping our bodies as healthy as possible, respecting the fact that God actually holds us accountable for doing so. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's." That is, we are not free to do whatever we please with our health! Become attuned to your eating and your activity habits. When hunger strikes, is it because you need food or because your body isn't using food properly? Too often, it's the latter. Eating better obviously means eating at home more often and being more careful when eating out. Soft drinks are prime culprits, for they are much-desired by children, but high in sugar and empty of nutrients. Parents need to make their child's sleeping environment and the period leading up to bedtime as pleasant as possible to ensure quality sleep. They also need to see that that their children are physically active and not spending all of their leisure time with electronic entertainment. The best way is to set a good example for their children, as well as to do these things as a family! We need to feed our children the foods that their bodies will use, rather than "fast foods" that the body burns quickly. And we must keep our children active! Doing so will enrich and perhaps even save their lives. For every two hours a day in front of the TV, the risk of developing diabetes goes up 14 percent, writes Hallie Levine in Redbook ("Diabetes Crisis: Are You Next?" http://redbook.ivillage.com). Exercise provides obvious benefits of burning off the calories we take in, and it is especially important in an increasingly inactive lifestyle. A lesser-known benefit is that exercise increases the cells' sensitivity to insulin, triggering the consequent processing of blood sugar. We have some excellent material that can help you, including: • Our booklet Making Life Work. • An article from The Good News, "Follow a Healthy—and Biblical—Diet" (www.gnmagazine.org/issues/gn43/biblicaldiet.htm). • An article from Vertical Thought that is oriented toward youth, "Prepare for a Long, Healthy Life" (www.verticalthought.org/issues/ym04/healthylife.htm). UN