It really doesn’t matter what sort of apocalypse threatens Earth – short of an asteroid large enough to vaporize the entire surface crust of the planet, whatever the emergency is, running will be near the top of the ‘essential survival skill-set’ list. I’m not happy about it – if only because it greatly lessens my own chances, since I’m carrying a few pounds I can live without. That, in itself, is the issue, however: if you are carrying some pounds you can live without, life will go on, if at all, without you. Sorry.
If you found that last paragraph upsetting, you are not alone: about one-third of Adult Americans are medically classed as ‘obese’, while at least another third are classed as ‘overweight’. Children are only slightly better off: one-third of children aged 6-19 are classed as ‘overweight’ or ‘obese’. All of these figures come from the US National Institute of Health, not ‘In Shape’ magazine, which has a vested interest in making people feel fat (and cripplingly envious of the awesome-looking cover model, who, the caption boasts, lost 47 pounds!) …
As always, there is good news and bad news. The good news is that, if you are among the not-quite one-third of American Adults whom the NIH considers ‘not overweight’, you have a significant advantage in the coming apocalypse, whatever its nature! Further, if you are a child, regardless of whether you’re overweight or not, you stand a far better chance of changing your habits and getting in shape than adults do – provided you recognize the need and take action at once. The bad news, of course, is that if neither of these categories describes you, you’re in serious danger as long as that remains the case! Heart disease, Type II Diabetes, Stroke, certain cancers – these all take a while to show up, and it’s easy to tell yourself “I’ve got time! I’ll start working on it tomorrow – today I’m having the Prime Rib!”
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