*A national Health survey was commissioned by global research-based healthcare company, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) the results carried the following title:

Fat South Africans in Denial!

  • South Africans are a nation of people in denial when it comes to perceptions on how overweight, unfit and unhealthy they are.
  • 74% of South Africans think their fellow citizens are overweight, while only 34% of people considered themselves as overweight or obese.
  • The survey found that 61%, or nearly two in every three South Africans are overweight, obese or morbidly obese.

Bathroom scaleThe GSK national health survey also further states in its findings that Lifestyle, Food, Poverty and Demographics play a pivotal role in the weight of the nation, the survey reveals:

  1. Capetonians are the worst affected with 72% of them overweight
  2. Followed by people living in Pretoria (68%)
  3. Johannesburg (59%)
  4. Durban (52%)

At least 60% of South Africans (three people every hour) die from heart attacks and strokes every day, according to the MRC.

Statistics further confirm that overweight and obesity pose a major risk for chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease (CVD), hypertension and stroke and certain forms of cancer.

  1. Obesity is a major factor of cardiovascular disease
  2. Excess weight puts pressure on the heart and increases blood pressure
  3. The heavier you become, the lower you drive your life expectancy

SA kids also obese

  • 17% of South Africa’s children aged one to nine years are obese
  • 23% of people don’t know what their children eat during the day

“Healthy foods, healthy eating habits and exercise should be promoted to children through special education and awareness campaigns in schools,” says registered dietician Celynn Erasmus.

*Source: GlaxoSmithKline, Health24, September 2010

It is against this backdrop that Green Outdoor Gyms are being launched in a National Campaign titled:

SA LETS LOSE IT!

  • LETS LOSE THE TITLE OF 2ND MOST OBESE COUNTRY IN THE WORLD
  • LETS LOSE THE WEIGHT by leading an active and healthy lifestyle
  • LETS LOSE THE BAD EATING HABITS
  • SOUTH AFRICA LETS LOSE IT!

Source: www.greenoutdoorgyms.co.za

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One Response

  1. Nadia

    11 6-21-12Re9parer dit: Obesity prevalence vaeris across states and regionsDuring the past 20 ans, there has been a dramatic increase in obesity in the United States and rates remain high.By state, obesity prevalence ranged from 21.0% in Colorado to 34.0% in Mississippi in 2010. No state had a prevalence of obesity less than 20%. Thirty-six states had a prevalence of 25% or more; 12 of these states (Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia) had a prevalence of 30% or more.The South has the highest prevalence of obesity (29.4%) followed by the Midwest (28.7%), Northeast (24.9%) and the West (24.1%). -5Cette re9ponse e9tait-elle utile?

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