Today, more than ever, America has created more pills, powders, shakes and creams. More Contraptions, gizmos, gadgets and machines. More books, videos, cassettes and seminars on how to lose weight. But for some reason, as a nation we continue to get fatter and fatter with every passing year. The search to discover the primary cause of obesity has been an on going battle for decades now.

We know that it is a truly a multi faceted problem that involves both our life style and genetics. Virtually all weight loss experts agree that your lifestyle is the most dominant factor in rates of obesity. In other words, it is your fault if you are fat. All of the aforementioned creations all have one thing in common. They try to convince you that being overweight is not your fault. Take this pill to correct the problem or follow my video to learn how to correct the problem they all say. if it were only that easy.

In my line of work I come across people who come from all walks of life. Everyone has their own beef with the health and fitness industry, but more than any other, one complaint sticks out more than the rest. The number one complain over the years as been the cost of a healthy lifestyle. I will be the first to admit living a healthy lifestyle is not cheap. Something as simple as making the transition from canned vegetables to fresh will easily set you back a good amount. When you take into consideration that you are buying by the pound and you will end up throwing at least half of what you bought after cleaning and trimming them. But it isn't just good enough to eat fresh anymore, it should be organic. Buying organic produce may cost you up to another dollar per pound over just the fresh produce. Just take a look at the difference in prices of some comparable food items:

And the list could continue on for a quite a while, but you see the pattern. Ranging in excess of 3 to 5 times more that it 'less healthy' counter part, food can easily run the bank dry. Its not only in supermarkets. Recently the famous and long standing McDonalds line of restaurants have started an dollar menu where all the items are a dollar. Interestingly enough the items are actually rather large. Things like their fried chicken sandwich or 2 apple pies and their infamous fries. There isn't a health food store in this country that you can walk in with a dollar and walk out with cooked and/or prepared food.

At first glance one would think the higher prices are accounting for new equipment to manufacture the various products that are low carb or high protein, low fat or what ever the catch may be. However, everyday new products are hitting the shelves, there is obviously no shortage of know-how, equipment or man power to crank these products out. When it comes to natural products or specially farm raise animals, these practices have been place for years.

In the end it comes down to money. Health is a multi Trillion dollar industry when you factor in not only food and supplements but health care - medications, drugs, education materials, Gyms trainers and so on. By Law, only a drug can treat or cure a disease, not an herb or supplement. Only a drug. Isn't interesting that more and more conditions are being called diseases. Things like attention deficit, high blood pressure, acid reflux and now even obesity are being called diseases. More over, the ranges that have been considered as Normal/healthy for blood pressure and cholesterol have now been lowered placing people like myself in the at risk for heart disease category. If the doctors had their way I, along with hundreds of thousands of other people would be on blood pressure medicine and cholesterol medication. So why don't all of the makers of the supplements apply for a drug licence? The FDA charges, on average, $840,000,000 to have a drug approved. I'm not usually one to plant a conspiracy theory, but you can judge for yourself.

In any event, the problem is very real. If we are expected to life a healthier lifestyle one would think that it would be easier to obtain. A person could eat 3 times a day, every day at McDonalds and still spend less than shopping at a local health food store. So what can we do about it? Sadly, the truth of it is not a whole lot. Prices are dictated from a long chain of events. Manufacturers charge the distributors, the distributors charge the resellers and the resellers charge us. The only thing that we can do is make our voices heard. Speak up for what you feel is right. Get online and file complaints to as many people and organizations in power relevant to the topic. Here is a list to get you started:

• Dept. of Agriculture, Trade & Consumer Protection
• Attorney General in your state
• FDA
• Surgeon general

Starting with local government and working your way up, your voice will be heard. It may seem corny, but get others involved. If you know people who are struggling to live a healthy lifestyle because it is too expensive, tell them what they can do, Speak Up!