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Thursday, March 19, 2009
Monday, December 1, 2008
Dikembe Project
This project is about a boy named Dikembe. He is the little boy in Africa who you could be supporting if you lowered your health care costs associated with being overweight and obese. As you lose weight, watch him gain. Think about it. You spend money on blood pressure medication, insulin sensitivity medication, pain meds for arthritis. If you lost weight and got off those meds, that money could be used to support a child in need.
This website shows you the prevalence of obesity in the United States contrasted with the poverty statistics worldwide.
This time you are being presented with a motive to lose weight that is completely unselfish: Your lifestyle change could change a life.
The Facts
According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), about 2/3 of adults in the United States are overweight (BMI >25), and almost 1/3 are classified as obese (BMI >30).
In the United States:
All adults: 133.6 million (66%) are overweight or obese
Women: 65 million (61%)
Men: 68.3 million (70.5%)
The US Department of Health also records that the national health care expenditures (excluding hospital and prescription spending) totaled $2 trillion in 2005. That's more than 10% of US Health Expenditures!
What is the cost of overweight and obesity?
Total Cost: $117 billion
Direct Cost: $61 billion
Indirect Cost: $56 billion
(Direct costs refer to preventative, diagnostic, and treatment services such as physician visits, medications, and hospital and nursing home care. Indirect costs are the value of wages lost by people unable to work because of illness or disability, as well as the value of future earnings lost by premature death).
Overweight and obesity are known risk factors for:
diabetes
coronary heart disease
high blood cholesterol
stroke
hypertension
gallbladder disease
osteoarthritis
sleep apnea and breathing problems
cancer
Studies show that individuals who are obese have a 10 - 50% increased risk of death from all causes compared with individuals of healthy weight. Most of the increased risk is due to cardiovascular causes. Obesity is associated with 112,000 excess deaths per year in the US population.
"This is your life, are you who you want to be?" - Switchfoot song
(information directly from www.win.niddk.nih.gov/statistics)
About Dikembe
According to UNICEF, 26,500 - 30,000 children die EACH DAY due to poverty. "And they die quietly in some of the poorest villages on earth, far removed from the scrutiny and the conscience of the world. Being meek and weak in life makes these dying multitudes even more invisible in death."
About 27-28% of all children in developing countries are estimated to be underweight or stunted. The two regions that account for the bulk of the deficit are South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
Infectious diseases continue to blight the lives of the poor across the world. An estimated 40 million people are living with HIV/AIDS, with 3 million deaths in 2004. Each year there are 350-500 million cases of malaria, with 1 million fatalities (90% of fatalities in Africa).
Water problems affect half of humanity. Some 1.1 billion people in developing countries have inadequate access to water, and 2.6 billion lack basic sanitation.
1.8 billion people who have access to a water source within 1 kilometer (but not in their house or yard), consume around 20 liters per day. In the United Kingdom, the average person uses more than 50 liters of water a day flushing toilets (where average daily water usage is about 150 liters a day).
The highest average water use in the world is in the United States, at 600 liters a day.
Millions of women spend several hours a day collecting water, and to these human costs can be added the massive economic waste associated with the water and sanitation deficit.
Sub-Saharan Africa loses about 5% of GDP (about 28.4 billion annually) through the cost associated with health spending, productivity losses and labor diversions.
Number of children in the world: 2.2 billion
Number of children in poverty: 1 billion
Convinced yet???
(information directly from www.globalissues.org)
The Tools
Losing weight isn't as complicated as you think. Just go back to the basics:
www.mypyramid.gov
www.mayoclinic/health/weightloss/ Explore this website for sound weight loss advice.
www.compassion.com This is the Christian organization Compassion International
www.worldvision.org
eat fresh food, not processed foods
exercise every day
include lots of fruits and vegetables
get enough sleep
drink plenty of water
Here are some links to help you develop your personal weight loss plan:
This will allow you to record and analyze your diet. It also shows you the food guide pyramid to help structure your diet.
And don't give up! Others depend on you.
Here are some links to become a child sponsor:
www.savethechildren.org
Sponsering a child is only a click away!
Testimonial
Hello, my name is Jessca Richarson. I am a 25 year old elementary school teacher in Palm Harbor, FL. When I came across this website I was not overweight, but I still was inspired by the message: 'your lifestyle change...could change a life.' It wasn't hard to choose my lifestyle change: my weakness is Starbucks. Every day, and sometimes twice a day, I order an Iced venti (extra caramel) carmel macchiato. The price of this drink is $4.68. When I did the math, I found that I spent $140 on that drink a month! That's $1,685 a year! I weaned myself off by ordering smaller sized drinks and then eventually none at all. I have plenty of money to support a child, so now I actually support two! They are sisters in Namibia and they are adorable. I also lost 7 pounds by cutting out these sugary drinks. Not to mention that I still have money left over that really helps. The coolest part is that I shared this with my 3rd grade class. They love the idea, and as a class we are now supporting a little boy from Sudan! We picked a boy who is the same age as them. Even their passion for learning has increased knowing that they are helping him get an education. Each month we have the goal to raise $30 and the kids give up sodas and candy bars without regret. This has been so fun =)
This picture was taken on my wedding day, the day I ended my Starbucks addiction. With the extra money in my pocket, and these 2 little girls displayed on my desk, I don't even miss it! And if my 3rd class can do it, so can you!
Testimonial
Hi, my name is Justin Boyd. I am 28 years old and I live in Tallahassee, FL. I am a music pastor at a church and I also lead a college ministry at Florida State University. After viewing this website, I decided to take the challenge. I got a gym membership, started eating less fast food and more healthy food, and cut out soda. I've lost 30 pounds in the last 5 months and it was enough to get me off my blood pressure medication! My blood pressure was 155/85 and now it's 130/70. My medicine costs $29.99 which is the exact amount that you need for monthly support of a child through Compassion International. It's really nice to know that I didn't just do this for me, I did it for Juan. He's my 7 year old boy from Guatemala who I've been supporting for 2 months now. He writes me thank you letters and tells me his progress. This has been totally worth it.
Email me if you'd like to post your own success story (attach a picture if you want it displayed).
wlg05c@fsu.edu
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