WEIGHT LOSS

In the past we’ve associated poverty and economic depression with ill health. When I was young we often equated ‘poor’ with thin, starving. "Thin rich man’ was an oxymoron. Today, ‘poor’ and ‘fat’ have become synonymous. The tables have turned: ‘rich fat man’ has become an oxymoron!

Today, the lower the income, the more we see obesity. Obesity is a symptom of poor nutrition. Typically someone who is obese is also vitamin-deficient, suffers from fatigue and arthritis or other ailments that all stem from poor nutrition.

Since 1980, we have more than doubled the percentage of overweight and obese people in the US. Recent studies have revealed that 60% of Australia’s population is overweight or obese, as opposed to 61% in the US. However, the rate is growing faster in Australia.

Today the food industry represents about one trillion dollars annually; the ‘sickness (medical) business’ is another trillion. These two industries feed one another in a fairly insidious way because such a huge part of sickness today is caused by the poor nutrition supplied by the food industry. These two industries work together to support that horrifying 61 percent overweight number.

Looking at these numbers, you might think that one day soon, everyone will be overweight or obese. That’s actually not the case though. The 39% of the population who are not overweight comprise 10 to 15 million Americans who are aging; as they age, they are getting more healthy, more fit, more strong – actually younger, by any standard medical definition.

These people represent a new economic sector. They are primarily wealthy people; the first thing they do as they start to have money is to figure out how they can be healthier – and they’re doing it outside the medical establishment.

Hear more about how the wellness revolution will impact on the weight loss industry at The Paul Zane Pilzer Seminar, touring Australia and New Zealand in September 2003.

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