Cancer, heart disease, strokes. These are all tangible threats to our health. But obesity? That’s a bigger problem. You can’t pick up a cigarette without the pack slapping you with a skull and cross bones. But what about that sweet, innocent donut? Is there a killer warning label on the side of the box? No – just some happy, bubbly, pink and orange font. Seems harmless enough.

And it’s not all our fault that things have gotten out of hand. According to the experts, we’re being inundated with more and more unhealthy foods.

“It is harder and harder to eat well," says Margo Wootan, director of nutrition policy at the Center for Science in the Public Interest. "For Americans today, healthy eating is like swimming upstream. It's not that you can't do it, it's just it's so hard. Without changing the food environment, people don't stand a chance of following the advice in the dietary guidelines."

And now about two-thirds of us – and a third of children – are overweight or obese.

Wootan offers three tips for cutting calories:
1. cut portions
2. eat less when dining out
3. drink fewer sugary drinks.

How do you cut calories without cutting out all the fun?


*I swear I burn hundreds of extra calories just so I can watch the end of “Say Yes to the Dress” or “What Not to Wear.” Can you tell I don’t have cable at home?

Labels: cupcakes, health threat, obesity