Great American Eat Right Challenge

Similar to the Great American Smokeout, which encourages Americans to quit smoking, the American Cancer Society (ACS) is doing its part to fight obesity with the Great American Eat Right Challenge. ACS has created a Web site, www.cancer.org/eatright, which offers tools, tips and tracking programs to help Americans cut calories, control portions and increase activity.

According to Cox News Service, the challenge was designed in response to a national survey conducted by the society last spring that revealed the following:

- Eating right was identified by almost half of those surveyed as the hardest part of living a healthy lifestyle.

- More than 90 percent of adults say they did not know there is a relationship between being overweight and increased cancer risk, yet more than 80 percent linked being overweight to heart disease.
- Only 17 percent knew their body mass index.

I checked the Web site out yesterday and I was pretty impressed. There are videos of a dietitian, physical trainer and a health professional explain things like making healthier meals, strength training and the consequences of obesity.

My only gripe is that the site takes eons to load! I literally waited about ten minutes for just the homepage to load. I’m not a computer expert but I suppose it’s because the site has a lot of video clips on it, which make time more time.

All in all, I think it’s a cool Web site. However, I’m not sure people are actually going to heed the advice of ACS. The obesity epidemic has gotten so extreme that it’s almost the norm in our society.