The Opposite of Immortality

You’ve probably already seen this, but the average adult American is 25 pounds heavier than was the case in 1960.

While some of this increased weight can be attributed to an overall size increase (adults are also, on average, one inch taller), the average Body Mass Index (BMI) of adults has increased from 25 to 28. 25 represents overweight; 30 represents obese.

It’s amazing that medical science has been able to increase the average life expectancy despite the chubbification of America. It’s also amazing that despite the rise of health food, low-carb, Weight Watchers, and everything else, Americans are worse off than in the meat-and-potatoes 50s and 60s.

If we’d just all eat less, we’d be healthier, live longer, have a lower impact on the environment, and probably spend less time watching or starring in reality television. Something to think about! As usual, I recommend “The Hacker’s Diet” for an engineering perspective on weight loss. It helped me lose 30 pounds in a year.