only 3 pounds...

A few years ago I heard something interesting;
the average American gains 3 pounds a year.

I think most of us, as we take stock after the holidays, don't have any problem believing that number.  Most people I know don't go on vacation, or pass through a holiday season, without adding three to five pounds of extra luggage.  But that is not what this national average is about, it is the progressive increase year after year.  Lots of people gain some pounds here and there, lose some here and there - but on average, Americans gain three more than we lose year after year.

It is no wonder the majority of people are overweight, and 1/3 have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of over 30 (I.e., obese) - because most Americans are over 40 years old.  If you start at a healthy BMI at age 25 and you stick with the national average, you will be obese somewhere by age 50 - it just takes 3 pounds a year.  (Curious?  Calculate BMI Here)

So why do I bring it up?  Two-fold:
1.  Fitness benefits marriages.  I don't have any statistics of whether physically fit people as a whole have better marriages, but I'm pretty confident fit people enjoy a good marriage more.  Whether it is from the type of things fitness adds (more energy, better outlook, physical attraction, better sex...) or removes (less sickness, less guilt, depression), moving in the direction of fitness helps marriages.

2.  It is a great illustration of drift.  It is only 3 pounds, it is only a few missed date nights, it is only a little emotional hurt, it is only...  If you want better than normal, you have to work at it.  There are things which surround us which make it the norm for people to gain 3 pounds a year, and there are things which surround us which pull people apart, even people who have promised, "to death do us part."  More on this in Drift - July 2012  Yes, we all have ups and downs, but for some reason the negatives naturally win over the positives.  If this happens, even by a small margin, the impact grows years after year.  But the opposite is true, if each year you take even a small step toward better health, in a decade you won't be the same person.  And all those little wins in a marriage can make it better than imagined a decade from now.

Fight those 3 pounds - work for a better marriage!