Apathy in America

30%, 1 in 3 American adults are overweight. An additional 30% of American adults are obese.

Now here's the kicker.

62% of Americans blame themselves for their overweight. That's a great start because it shows

that we're accepting responsibility for our own decisions.

60% want to lose weight. Fantastic!

30% are trying.

So 2 out of 3 people in this country are overweight and most of them know they need to make a change. Only half are actually trying?

In a global economy where we can't even keep our banks afloat, this apathy and lack of action is forcing us to spend $147 billion annually on medical treatment of obesity and conditions directly related to it. We only spent $98 billion to treat ALL cancers last year. We're spending 1.5 times the money on obesity than cancer just because we can't put down the damn Chili's Big Mouth Burger!

On average we're consuming 300 more calories each day than we did in 1980. It's little wonder why more and more children's clothing lines are expanding their plus size selections.

I think NBCs medical corespondent, Dr. Nancy Snyderman made a terrific point a couple of months back in a segment looking at our obesity rate. She asked how can we as a nation expect to regain a position of world leadership in the world if we can't even keep ourselves out of the hospital?