Hunter Health Crisis!
Don?t be a statistic!
I think every hunter would agree that being in the best possible physical condition gives us an advantage.? Being able to walk further, climb higher, move faster and hunt harder indisputably increases our chances for success.? We spend millions each year on new rifles, shotguns, bows and other gear, anything that might give us the edge, yet we often neglect our most valuable gear ? ourselves.
As a big game guide inAlaska, I can attest to the fact firsthand that our greatest challenge with clients is that they are overweight and out of shape.? There are some that have to be put in the back seat of a Supercub with a shoe horn and removed with a come-along.? In fact, just a few years ago I had a client that was so heavy, he broke every chair in camp that he attempted to sit in.? I?ve had hunters that once they were seated, needed help to get back on their feet.? ?I?ve also seen many hunters leave a hunt of a lifetime early because they couldn?t hack it physically, even though they paid ten to fourteen thousand dollars in pursuit of their hunting dreams.
You don?t have to watch too many programs on the Outdoor Channel to see that many of our most noted hunters are losing their ?battle with the bulge?.?? I can see why some of our adversaries are comfortable with using the term ?slob hunters?.? So what exactly can we do?? Well, it?s just common sense, eat less and exercise more, right?? WRONG!? It doesn?t work.? Diets don?t work.? In fact the first three letters in the word are ?DIE?.? If diets worked, why are 81% of people in our country overweight?? This $40 billion a year industry is failing us miserably while padding their bank accounts.? Why?? We live in a calorie rich and nutritionally deficient society.? Our soils have been depleted over the last several decades and even organic food only has a fraction of the nutritional building blocks that are essential for us to achieve our maximum genetic potential.? We invest in food plots to help the game we pursue achieve?their?maximum genetic potential, why don?t?we?do the same?
Here are the sad and shocking statistics in theUSalone (taken from the US Department of Vital Statistics and other sources):
- 110,000 hunters die annually from heart disease.
- 77,000 hunters die annually from cancer
- 70,000 hunters per year have a stroke
- 1.8 million hunters suffer from diabetes
- 1.7 million hunters suffer from asthma
- 4.4 million hunters suffer from arthritis
- Obesity contributes to over 30,000 hunter deaths annually
- 81% of hunters are overweight
- 7.5 million hunters go on a diet every year
- 5000 hunters start a weight loss program everyday
- Hunters are contributing 4 billion annually to the weight loss industry, nearly 11 million per day
- Hunters are getting sicker and more overweight
- 60 diseases are related to obesity
- Obesity has surpassed smoking as the #1 killer
It?s obvious that we are in serious trouble and it?s not just hunters.? The same percentages span the other 90% of our population.? It may sound hopeless, but there?s good news.