One out of every four adult has high blood pressure or hypertension. Most of the time the person who has it is unaware of it. When symptoms finally do finally begin to appear, often it's too late to do anything significant about it. Of the people that are aware that they have high blood pressure, only a third of them are actively taking steps to control it. The remainder are either receiving inadequate treatment or no treatment at all.
High blood pressure is mainly a lifestyle disease. Yes, in some cases, such as pregnancy or medication, you can develop it through external means. But in the great majority of cases, you have direct control over whether you will develop hypertension or not.
It's not like Americans are not aware of the dangers of hypertension. For at least a couple of decades there have been consistent headlines in newspapers, magazines, and TV shows about its dangers. And, for a while it seemed to be doing some good. We started exercising more, taking better care of our health, and even eating less fattening foods. So, what went wrong along the way?
Well, one major thing that went wrong is that parents begin spending less time with their kids. Not intentionally, but pushed by society and circumstances.
It used to be that a family could be supported with just one person bringing home a paycheck. Maybe the other partner would work a part time job to bring in a little extra income, but the necessities of life could generally be covered by one paycheck. Then inflation took hold and all of a sudden, one paycheck was not enough and both parents had to work. Almost simultaneously, it suddenly got easier to attain credit. So you could "afford" things beyond your means. This generally meant living beyond your means and having to work still more hours to support the family.
Both of these factors equate to less time at home for the parents. What does this mean for the kids. It means that, in most cases, they no longer have a parent preparing their meals and making sure that they're eating right. It means that instead of nourishing meals, most kids grow up eating convenience foods or fast foods and TV dinners. The result? A historic increase in the number of kids with diabetes and high blood pressure problems.
Unfortunately, the main characteristic of convenience food, aside from being convenient is that they're generally unhealthy. Until fairly recently, it was hard to find convenience foods without trans fat. Fast foods also tend to be loaded with salt and other saturated fats. Convenience snacks, in particular, tend to be heavy on fats, salt, preservatives, and everything except nutrients.
In fact, one recent study estimated that nutrient challenged "junk foods" accounted for more than 25% of the Consumed diet. Many of the problems that people have with high blood pressure and hypertension today can be traced back directly to the junk foods that they ate growing up and continue to eat today.
High blood pressure is mainly a lifestyle disease. Yes, in some cases, such as pregnancy or medication, you can develop it through external means. But in the great majority of cases, you have direct control over whether you will develop hypertension or not.
It's not like Americans are not aware of the dangers of hypertension. For at least a couple of decades there have been consistent headlines in newspapers, magazines, and TV shows about its dangers. And, for a while it seemed to be doing some good. We started exercising more, taking better care of our health, and even eating less fattening foods. So, what went wrong along the way?
Well, one major thing that went wrong is that parents begin spending less time with their kids. Not intentionally, but pushed by society and circumstances.
It used to be that a family could be supported with just one person bringing home a paycheck. Maybe the other partner would work a part time job to bring in a little extra income, but the necessities of life could generally be covered by one paycheck. Then inflation took hold and all of a sudden, one paycheck was not enough and both parents had to work. Almost simultaneously, it suddenly got easier to attain credit. So you could "afford" things beyond your means. This generally meant living beyond your means and having to work still more hours to support the family.
Both of these factors equate to less time at home for the parents. What does this mean for the kids. It means that, in most cases, they no longer have a parent preparing their meals and making sure that they're eating right. It means that instead of nourishing meals, most kids grow up eating convenience foods or fast foods and TV dinners. The result? A historic increase in the number of kids with diabetes and high blood pressure problems.
Unfortunately, the main characteristic of convenience food, aside from being convenient is that they're generally unhealthy. Until fairly recently, it was hard to find convenience foods without trans fat. Fast foods also tend to be loaded with salt and other saturated fats. Convenience snacks, in particular, tend to be heavy on fats, salt, preservatives, and everything except nutrients.
In fact, one recent study estimated that nutrient challenged "junk foods" accounted for more than 25% of the Consumed diet. Many of the problems that people have with high blood pressure and hypertension today can be traced back directly to the junk foods that they ate growing up and continue to eat today.
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