In today’s high strung society, we see many things our parents or grand parents wouldn’t have dreamed of. From television to internet, the workforce to the playground, our lives are filled with much more variety than those of past generations. As such, stress is a by product of our day-to-day living. Stress to pay the bills, get kids to practice on time, help children with school work, travel for business, meet sales forecasts…the list goes on and on. As our days fill more and more with functions, business and leisure they replace aspects of our lives that were common place in the home just a few decades ago.

Growing up watching hit television shows that show the traditional family, one can see there is a vast contrast to today’s society. The June Cleavers, Alices (Brady Bunch), and Wilma Flintstones of the world are trading in their oven mitts for lap tops, blackberries and PDA’s as they enter the workforce. Where 1 paycheck was enough to amply provide for a family once, is no longer the case. While the times change and more households must rely on 2 incomes to provide the essentials of life, many lifestyle customs are simply being pushed out the door to make way for the new.

Cooking used to be a mainstay in traditional family settings. However, the days of the 5 o’clock home cooked meal have been replaced by the prepared meal that can be heated in a microwave in 5 minutes and served anytime. Whereas the art of preparing a meal from whole foods once took a couple hours to buy, prepare and cook, a meal can now be taken from the freezer, “zapped” and eaten in as little as 10 minutes. Now little Johnny can eat and make it to his baseball game on time and little Sally can simply pop in a dinner when she gets home from the mall late.

Fast food has also become a cult following so to speak. With the convenience of a McDonald’s, Arby’s and Burger King on every corner, it’s no wonder why American’s simply get larger and larger and the obesity related health issues soar out of the control. For many, the simple stress of today’s high-paced, technology lifestyle causes people to look for solutions by eating. With very few healthy alternatives available, junk food seems to be the answer for many.

As obesity reaches new heights, so to does the associated health concerns and healthcare costs. The health problems associated with obesity are numerous. Obesity is not just a cosmetic problem. It is a health hazard. Someone who is 40 per cent overweight is twice as likely to die prematurely as is an average-weight person. This is because obesity has been linked to several serious medical conditions, including:

• heart disease and stroke
• high blood pressure
• diabetes
• cancer
• gallbladder disease and gallstones
• osteoarthritis
• gout
• breathing problems, such as sleep apnoea (when a person stops breathing for a short time during sleep) and asthma

As more and more companies are pressured to cut down on fats and open the doors to a healthier lifestyle, more healthy options are available than in years past, but they are still heavily outweighed by their unhealthy counterparts. Fast food chains are now offering healthy alternatives, but looking at any menu, one can see they only make up a small percentage of a chain’s overall options.

The microwaveable market is also seeing a shift toward healthy living. Right alongside your Hungryman dinners, you can pick up Health Choice, or Smart Living dinners. But has it taken too long for these right-sized portion meals to become mainstream? In the Super Size me society we live in, can we go from eating a triple cheeseburger to a single portion salad? Can we put down the Oreo Blizzard and pick up a glass of water? Can we disregard the loaded fries for slices of apples?

Being overweight most of my life, the answer is a lot harder than many believe. Food, especially junk food, is almost an addiction. It comforts you when you’ve had a tough day. It’s there for you when no one else is around. However, with enough determination and dedication, it do those and be healthy at the same time through spending the time and energy it takes to properly prepare and cook whole meals…get back to the basics.