An estimated 1 billion people worldwide are expected to be considered obese by 2025. Obesity has reached epidemic proportions globally, with at least 2.8 million people dying each year as a result of being overweight or obese. Once associated with high-income countries, obesity is now also prevalent in low- and middle-income countries.
Overweight and obesity are defined as “abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that may impair health”. Body mass index (BMI) – the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters (kg/m2) – is a commonly used index to classify overweight and obesity in adults. WHO defines overweight as a BMI equal to or more than 25, and obesity as a BMI equal to or more than 30.
Black Friday, the Friday following Thanksgiving Day in the United States has routinely been the busiest shopping day of the year in the United States since at least 2005 according to records.
However, for many this has been the day they threw healthy food choices into the waste basket in favor of cheap weight boosting and unhealthy food alternatives sold at giveaway prices. Unhealthy food choices leads to an increased risk of obesity and chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and some cancers.
Foods Deals to Avoid This Black Friday
When preparing for black Friday shopping, it’s easy to get confused about which foods are healthy and which aren’t. You generally want to avoid certain foods if you want to lose weight and prevent chronic illnesses.
In this article we have provided a list of unhealthy foods compiled by Harvard nutrition scientists. This are foods you should keep to a minimum. Research suggests that eating these foods regularly (and to the exclusion of healthier choices) can set the stage for life-threatening illnesses such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and even some cancers.
Added sugar. Whether it’s white granulated sugar, brown sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, corn sugar, or honey, sugar contains almost no nutrients and is pure carbohydrate. When you eat a lot of sugar you are filling up on empty calories, causing your blood sugar to rise and fall like a roller coaster, and can keep you from eating foods that with important nutrients and fiber.
Research cites soft drinks and other sugar-sweetened beverages as the primary source of added sugar in the American diet and a major contributor to weight gain. In fact, just one extra 12-ounce can of a typical sweetened beverage a day can add on 15 pounds in a year. That’s not only because the drinks themselves add calories, but also because those liquid calories aren’t as satisfying as solid food.
Baked sweets. Cookies, snack cakes, doughnuts, pastries, and many other treats are hard to pass up, but these commercially prepared versions are packed with processed carbohydrates, added sugar, unhealthy fats, and often salt.
White carbohydrates. Bread, pasta, potatoes, rice, cookies, cake, or pancakes — if you enjoy these foods, opt for whole-grain versions. Yes, you can find or make whole-grain pancake mix. Whole-wheat pastas and breads are luckily easy to find. And you can always make your own homemade cookies or bars using grains such as oatmeal, and less sugar and unhealthy fats.
Processed and high-fat meats. Shun the cold cuts and “pigs in a blanket.” Despite some conflicting reports, the balance of the evidence confirms that processed meats like bacon, ham, pepperoni, hot dogs, and many lunch meats are less healthy than protein from fish, skinless chicken, nuts, beans, soy, and whole grains.
Salt. Current dietary guidelines and the American Heart Association recommend reducing sodium to 1,500 mg per day and not exceeding 2,300 mg per day. But most of us get 1 ½ teaspoons (or 8,500 mg) of salt daily. That translates to about 3,400 mg of daily sodium. Your body needs a certain amount of sodium, but too much can increase blood pressure and the risk of heart disease and stroke.
