(CBS News) It’s no secret the United States has an obesity problem. More than 93 million Americans are obese and millions more are overweight, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But a recent study from the Cleveland Clinic shows few people are actually doing anything about it.
Researchers found that three-quarters of those they surveyed are concerned about their weight and 65 percent are worried about getting heart disease due to extra pounds. Yet, less than half actually tried to make any dietary changes to lose weight.
The findings also revealed that many Americans don’t fully understand the relationship between extra weight and their overall health. Nearly 1 in 5 of those surveyed said they believe their diet has nothing to do with their heart health and more than half didn’t know that obesity is linked to high “bad” cholesterol levels. Two-thirds said they didn’t know being obese could lead to a stroke.
“Most Americans understand abstractly that being overweight or obese is not good for your health, but it seems we are not grasping that the leading causes of death and disability — stroke, cancer, coronary artery disease — are all adversely affected by increased weight,” Steven Nissen, M.D., chairman of Cardiovascular Medicine at Cleveland Clinic, said in a statement. “We need to do a better job of educating patients and the public about the major consequences of carrying excess weight and the benefits of losing weight.
He notes that a person only needs to lose 5 percent body weight to start seeing important health benefits.
So what’s the best way to shed those extra pounds?
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