Surprisingly, Americans’ weight is becoming more and more
of an issue.

Quickly rising from just 15.1 percent of obese Americans in 1976
to 30.5 percent in 2000, obesity has been classified as one of the
most preventable life-threatening epidemics since smoking.

Just looking around the OU campus, it is evident that obesity
has struck here, too. So where does it start, who is to blame and
what can be done?

To its credit, OU has done a massive amount to ensure a healthy
student body by opening a state-of-the-art workout center and
offering nutrition and workout classes.

Yet, is OU addressing the main issue of obesity? How do we as a
nation and a campus lose the pounds?

A few simple things can be done to maintain a healthy
weight.

First, do not order pizza at 2 a.m. after a night of partying.
This is bad for a few reasons.

First, you may have already eaten dinner, and you are adding a
whole other meal to the day.

Second, on top of the pizza, you have consumed an average of 100
calories per drink.

Next, establishing a consistent workout schedule is key. OU
offers a variety of classes like aerobics and yoga. Not only will
this help to maintain weight, it has also been proven that exercise
makes you feel better physically and improves your mood.

Finally, establish good eating habits such as three healthy,
well proportioned meals per day. Don’t snack, and under no
circumstances should you keep junk food in your room.

I can offer all of these suggestions because they worked for me.
I went to college and gained weight in a short amount of time. I
can tell you the experience was not a good one. It lowers
self-confidence and makes food even more of a comfort. Going home
was horrible. Everyone I knew noticed the extra pounds. I only
recently have begun to lose the weight. It has taken me about a
year to get back down to my original weight. It was a personal
decision to lose weight based on my concern for how I looked but
also on the fear that I would gain even more weight just as
quickly. I want to live a long healthy life.

As far as gaining weight, do I blame college caterers for having
such great food or McDonald’s for their great fries? No. It
was a personal choice that I made to overindulge.

As with most of American culture, we overindulge in everything
from spending money we don’t have to eating food we
don’t need. I think before this epidemic can be controlled,
we must first address the real underlying issues of American
culture. Obesity is just a side effect of a generation raised under
the model of “The more consumption the better.”

So I would encourage you: If you’re overweight, set the
weight you want to be and consistently work toward it. Even if you
cheat one day, don’t let that be your excuse to give up. Keep
trying until you are successful.

—Jennifer Fischer is a business sophomore. Her column
appears every so often. She can be reached at
opinion@oudaily.com
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