There is an overweight epidemic because there are people out there who just don’t care. People who just want to sit on their butts until someone, or something, comes up and slaps them in the face to get up and get out of the house and do something. People are too busy watching the five hundred plus stations on television that they can not see that they are, pretty much, killing themselves and there is just nothing that can be done that can save them, unless they want to save themselves by getting up and, basically, doing what is expected of them and lose some weight. Also, another way we can look at why there is an epidemic here in the United States is the fact that we, as a nation, are always on the go. There is, hardly, any time set aside to relax and have a healthy meal. All they do is drive up through a McDonalds, or Wendy’s, or Burger King, or any other fast food restaurant and eat on the go. Fast food is, probably, even worse then sitting on your butt all day because there are a TON of calories in that burger that you are stuffing down your face. There are a TON of calories that you take when you eat a few fries, let alone the whole container. Plus, there are plenty of calories to go around when you take a gulp of an entire Super, Biggie, or King Sized drink. America needs to stop being so lazy and start taking action for themselves, on this part. I mean, instead of having a greasy burger that’s burnt and soggy and all of that…make your own lunch. Pack an apple or something and chew on that for a while. Don’t settle for stuffing your face and getting even more overweight, if not morbidly obese. Settle for healthy snacks, in between times of hard work. Replenish, the healthy way, your hard work with a quick energy bar or something like that. Don’t think you have time to sit there for a healthy meal if you can get in your car, get stuck in traffic, go through a Drive Thru window, get caught in more traffic, all before getting told that you are late for work. Time management is key, as well. People are always rushed and that is why they go towards fast foods, that are less healthy then an uncleaned rock after it was submerged in some unsafe and contaminated waters mixed in with toxic chemicals. But, yet, we are too busy to stop and eat somewhere enjoyable and a lot more healthy then stuffing a Big Mac down our throats instead of a good lunch to eat. Also, the time management section can be in tuned with people having a hectic work schedule that there are times when some people do not hit the gym or fitness center which, actually, many companies are starting to place in their office buildings. Even though they are placing them there, people see that it is in the office building but, when the time hits for them to leave, they hit the road and do not come back until they start the new day to do the exact same thing that they always wind up doing. Go to work, break, eat, work, home. They “do not have time” to work out or do any of that stuff. They don’t have time to get better or get healthy. That’s their schedule Monday thru Friday, if not more days. If there were openings in a typical work day, they would wind up spending it on the internet or reading a book or something. I don’t think people would want to get all hot and sweaty before they have to start back up from work. I don’t think people, who come see the guys that work there, don’t want that sweaty smell come off on them and, maybe, break a deal that they had going on for a while. Also, another major factor is the fact that people are just stressed out about stuff, in general. They have a report due, they have classes, or a job interview, or a promotion opportunity, or other things that they have to worry about that they can not be detoured by the fact that if you work out and burn off calories, you are also burning off that unwanted stress. All you are doing, without exercise, is sit there and worry and worry and worry until something in your mind just goes off and it feels like the whole world crashes directly on your back and the force of something is too heavy that you have to spend days, maybe weeks, maybe even months to sit there and try to figure out how to get this stuff off of your back. Until you are finished with that one thing, there is nothing else you need to care about. Stress management, as well, is key in the role of the obesity epidemic because studies do show that if you have poor stress management, you are more likely to become obese or more obese. As an Athletic Trainer, I would be working with young students of the game and I would try to educated them in how to manage their time better in this time of need. How they can set aside time for themselves and study and work out their differences before they boil over into something massive that can not be contained. Have the students relax, maybe even meditate if there comes a point in time of that student’s life that he or she would need something like that (a death, test, bad grade, etc.) it would be extremely helpful to the students if they need time, to give them time, and when they need help, to give them help. Also, as an athletic trainer…when dealing with a hurt individual, an individual that is out for the season or even longer, you must maintain a semblance of muscle to the other parts of the body because that one part of the body that is injured will be very atrophic and in need of some more rehab work to get that body back into it’s playing shape. If there is no exercise, the athlete will become bored, lazy and everything else that the athlete does. If there is no exercise, the athlete’s body will lose more muscle mass and more of his body will succumb to atrophy. The player needs to realize that he needs to keep active, keep doing exercises, keep getting back into shape because, even though he is hurt, next year he will want his spot back. He will want the ball back or anything like that, back. He wants to carry, catch, or throw the ball again and it is my job for him to let him know that so he has motivation to work, so he has that drive, that spirit, that heart to go out there and give it his all. Also, athletic trainers need to train that body part that is injured so that the athlete doesn’t get that lazy idea. He needs to be icing or heating just to get that body part back into shape and get the athlete back on the field for the next game that he is cleared to play in. Finally, athletic trainers need to guide the athletes on perfect time management course. There is nothing more better then time and when it runs out, you are done for the day. You just need to make that time manageable and, since we are talking about kids, there are going to be some complications in training so the best spot to place them at was right after school, in the gym, hand them a piece of paper and show them the proper mechanics of moves and all of that. The only thing that I can say that can help is stop eating fatty foods and find time for yourself to go out and find time to exercise.