Overweight, obesity, and weight loss fact
What is Obesity?
Obesity is defined as an excessively high amount of body fat in relation to lean body mass. As a rule, women have more body fat than men.
- Men with more than 25 percent body fat women with more than 30 percent body fat are obese.
- About 15 percent of children and adolescents are now overweight.
What causes Obesity?
- In scientific term, obesity occurs when a person consumes more calories than he or she burns.
- Fat deposition takes place when there is imbalance between energy intake and energy consumed.
- Lifestyle is also a major culprit
- Genetic, environmental, psychological, and other factors can affect weight gain or loss process.
However, losing weight isn't just about looking good, it is about feeling good; it's about being healthy and living a productive and comfortable life. Above all, it is about avoiding the terrible health consequences of carrying around excessive weight.
Having a lot of extra fat on your body causes a vast number of health problems. In fact, it's more than reasonable to say that being obese (fat) causes most of the health problems we know about today, and many others we're not even aware of yet. Obesity is an epidemic that grows for both children and adults each and every day. This epidemic keeps leading us further and further down the road to serious health problems.
Obesity is such a problem in today's society, in fact, that it's now common place to see weight loss reality shows on TV. The sad thing is, kids and adults alike will sit and watch those shows instead of getting up and doing something about their own weight problems.
There are though, many ways to lose body fat. All of the approaches work well, but they all take time, effort, commitment, and sacrifice. And that's where some of the major obesity problems of today come from unfortunately...
Frequency of eating the relationship between frequency of eating (how often you eat) and weight is somewhat controversial. There are many reports of overweight people eating less often than people with normal weight. Scientists have observed that people who eat small meals four or five times daily,
Everyone wants instant gratification. So they eat microwave meals or buy a burger and fries at a fast food stop. They wolf down readymade cakes and pies that come in little cellophane wrappers while watching TV, or they munch on candy and drink sodas like there is no tomorrow.
Consequences of Obesity
You may be showing signs of malnutrition if you...
· Feel tired and weak.
· Feel like you never have the energy to clean your home, make meals or even do the dishes.
· Have difficulty losing or gaining weight.
· Can't easily get to sleep.
· Feel stressed and/or nervous.
· Feel drowsy during the day.
· Sometimes can't concentrate, you're mind feels numb, or you get confused easily.
· Have problems with your digestion.
· Sometimes get cracks and sores in the corners of your mouth.
· Notice that your nails have become thin and/or brittle.
· Are losing your hair.
· Have water retention.
· Have uncontrollable temper outbursts.
· Have constipation and/or hard dry stools.
· Have mood swings, or get easily upset.
· Don't have patience for anything.
· Sometimes feel depressed.
· May have nausea and/or abdominal pain.
· Have muscle cramps and/or low back pain.
The Health Risks of Overweight and Obesity
- High blood pressure
- Heart Disease and Stroke
- Diabetes
- obesity is also linked to higher rates of certain type of Cancer
- Sleep Apnea
- Osteoarthritis
- Gout
- Kidney, Liver and Gallbladder Disease
- Lowering Your Health Risks
- The fat around the trunk obstruct respiratory movements thus developing dyspnoea or breathlessness
Some tips for losing weight are:
Whether you are trying to lose weight or maintain your weight, you should take a look at your eating habits and try to improve them. Try to eat a variety of foods, especially pasta, rice, bread, and other whole-grain foods. You should also eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. These foods will fill you up and are lower in calories than foods full of oils or fats.
Dietary recommendations
- **Pay attention while you eat. Many times, we snack while doing other things such as watching TV. Without even knowing it, we have consumed a few hundred extra calories. That may not seem like much, but it adds up.
- **Take a walk each and every day! You can start with 15 min and then
building to 45min and then an hour and a half! You will be amazed just
how quickly you will see results-not just in your weight loss, but your overall sense of well-being.
Regular exercise limits stress and anxiety and there is also the bonus that you could walk in some really beautiful places. Exercise should be done under medical supervision for those with health risks.
- **Avoid late night snacks as they can prevent you from losing weight. As said earlier, your body is less active at night, meaning that you have a greater chance of turning that slice of pizza into pure fat than burning it as a source of energy.
- **Eat your vegetables. Vegetables, especially raw ones, burn more
calories than those packed in the vegetables themselves. Also, the fiber
in vegetables gives a sense of fullness.
Research shows that, more than the total amount of fat in your diet, it's the Red meat it's good to avoid red meat. White-meat like or chicken, turkey and fish (you don't like fish, you can still get your omega-3) are Okay.
- **Drink at least 8-10 glasses of water per day. Water is not just a thirst quencher―it actually speeds the body's metabolism. No calories are ingested when drinking water, instead calories are used. Try drinking a glass before meals and snacks and before consuming sweetened drinks or juices.
- ** Cut down on sweets, fried food, ghee, cheese and high fat food
- **And finally, stand up for your goals. Check your BMI healthy weight calculator
