Moderation. Moderation. Moderation.

The United States is the fattest nation on earth. It also has the most per capita gyms, health clubs, and fitness coaches. With fitness being so highly valued, why are we so plump? It's because we are obsessive. We work too much. Play too hard. Eat too much. We do everything to the extreme, but our eating obsession, by and large, outweighs our fitness obsession.

Travel to other countries and you may have trouble finding a gym. Outside of the U.S. people don't exercise as much. Rather than play racquetball, do in-line skating, practice jazzercize, or go to the park to throw a Frisbee, most of the rest of humanity just walks and rides bicycles more. They eat whatever they want, but they eat less of it. We Americans drive our cars to the club to do aerobics, then stop for a Whopper or Big Mac on the way home. Sure, we exercise a lot but we are also the world's greatest consumers of ice cream and meat, Ding Dongs and Cheese Doodles, and second per capita (behind Iceland) drinking Coca-Cola.

At the same time we're the only place in the world neurotic about trying to eat more health foods - buying only natural and organic labeled foods. I'll have a fat-free, cholesterol-free double cafe almond milk latte cappuccino to go, please! It's our schizophrenic diets that fatten us up and do us in. For half of our lives we abuse ourselves with Oreo cookies and Ben and Jerry's ice cream, then attempt to make amends by eating spinach salads, tofu and nut butter. Our problem is that we are an obsessive, extreme nation of people that lacks any common sense of moderation.

The energy equation is very simple: We need to move more and eat less. Eat one more banana than you need each day and you you will be twenty pounds heavier in a year. At least as many calories must be burned each day as one eats or the body saves them for lean times that may never come. It's simple math. The body is pretty resilient, so for the most part you can eat whatever you want and get away with it. Sure, it is important to make an effort to eat healthy... just eat less of it. And it really doesn't matter what type of exercise you do, as long as it makes you feel good. Just don't overdo... anything! Moderation. Moderation. Moderation... in all things.