Eating Away at Ourselves

The American Dream may be blocking its own path.

I learned at an early age that the United States was the place where anyone could do anything: rags to riches, riches to more riches, more riches to Bill Gates. I heard it so many times that it remains embedded in my DNA.

We are taught to live the American Dream and everything that goes with it, but what about the bad decisions that come with a life of opportunity? Once we have the money, we dine out. The hour and a half we spend at a restaurant usually isn't cluttered with health-conscience reasoning, but it needs to be.

I love the idea of All-You-Can-Eat, but I'm always disappointed with myself when I feel I don't get my money's worth. Until I started this post, I never considered the prospect of being disappointed by choosing to gorge myself at CiCi's buffet. I never considered that a decision to glut meant a solid jab to my overall health, and that the ensuing disappointment contradicted my ingrained belief in a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Once upon a time, Americans could expect to outlive the folks across the pond, but things have changed. Poor eating habits are contributing to the world's view of Fat America, and, internally, the government is spending hundreds of billions to fight preventable chronic illnesses, such as Type-2 diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease.

We have to be embarrassed. The United States is one of the wealthiest nations on Earth, but we're killing ourselves. Forget the ado about federal health care reform. Eat right and reel in health care costs.