Why Are You Fat?

Unless you've been living under a rock for the last ten years, you've heard a lot of claims about a lot of different diets. By now, there are a few things that most adults should be familiar with. Reducing caloric intake directly relates to weight loss. Fats and proteins take longer to digest while carbohydrates are turned into energy quickly and then stored if not used. Too much fat is bad. Too much cholesterol is bad. Fiber is good and whole grains are better than processed grains. However, there is one component to the American diet that isn't mentioned often enough and that is sodium. What does the average American know about sodium? Are we getting enough? Too much? What are the consequences of too much sodium?

The amount of sodium recommended for an adult is 2,400 mg per day. The average American adult consumes around 4,000 mg a day. This over consumption has caused and will continue to cause serious health issues among adults and children. The most serious health consequences include hypertension, heart disease and heightened risk of stroke. However, what many people don't know about sodium is that it can be considered a major cause of obesity, a disease that has increased dramatically over the last three decades. One article from the University of Helsinki puts the numbers quite bluntly. The average salt intake of Americans increased 50% from the mid 1980's to the late 1990's. In turn, a study completed in 2002 found the prevalence of obesity was 120% higher among men and 99% higher among women than when the study began in 1976.