In a press release issued on October 22nd by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the organization announced that by it's projections, the number of Americans with diabetes will double or even triple by the year 2050 "if current trends continue."
Such a projection becomes even more alarming when one considers the report's clarification that three times the current number of Americans with diabetes is equivalent to a third of the total adult U.S. population.
Listed as both a risk factor for type 2 diabetes and part of the reason for the increase described by the report's projection is obesity.
Being an obese person, I couldn't read this report without feeling guilty. Dont get me wrong; I understand that many factors can play a role in a person's weight, and that those factors can differ drastically from person to person. In my case, however, the reasons for my obesity are few and simple. I eat poorly, and rarely excercise. For obese individuals such as myself, CDC reports such as the aforementioned serve as a reminder that unless I can change my habits, I will eventually suffer for them.
Having a number of family members who suffer from diabetes, I have seen first hand what it can result in. Thus, the thought of becoming a diabetic due to my own poor choices is not just shameful, it's trully scary. With that said, I should add that I've read such reports before, and the initial shock of realizing that I am a statistic quickly goes away before self-disgust can motivate me to do a single thing about my situation.
Unfortunately, this is a blog entry with no snappy twist or happy ending. Even as I write this, I feel certain that today will be a day of sedentary gluttony, just as yesterday and the day before was. Sometime this evening, I know that I will eat a large meal that is heavy in fat and carbohydrates, and on a full stomach I will go to sleep having given my body nothing that could actually be called excercise.
In summary, I am physically lazy and do not care about my health. I state this bluntly because candy-coating the truth would only make me a liar.
Sometimes we beat our vices, and sometimes our vices beat us.
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