Obesity Facts - Be Aware to Get Over the Problem

Be aware of the obesity facts. Over weight and obesity are two of the major worries for most of us. We are all concerned of Weight Control.

Weight control involves one of the 3 processes-

• If you are under-weight, increase your weight.
• If you have a balanced body, maintain it.
• If you are over-weight or obese, reduce it.

As you can see, everybody is involved in weight control. But majority of the weight related issues are from over weight and obesity. More information on

weightloss and fitness

Obesity Facts

Why is it so important in your self improvement process?

Self Awareness, Self Esteem and Good Health are three major stepping stones for Self Improvement. Over weight and obese people suffer from health problems and low self esteem. Reasons for low self esteem can be many- disapproval from family and friends, limited job opportunities, discrimination at workplace, difficulty in doing simple tasks due to mobility problems etc..

People tend to attribute a person's obesity to his lack of self control or self discipline and have low opinion about him. It can make him withdraw from social interactions.

He feels bad about his appearance and feel bad about 'himself' as a human being. His self esteem gets a hit- since a major initial plus point for a person’s self-esteem is his physical appearance.

Over weight leads to many health problems. Since it negatively affects your self esteem and health, you need to deal with this problem on the way to your self improvement.

If you are not over weight or obese, you are very lucky. Even if you are, don't worry- you are going to overcome it very soon. I promise.

Obesity Facts

How do you define over weight and obesity?

Simply put, having more body fat than optimum is over weight. A healthy body needs some amount of fat for

• Proper function of all systems in the body.
• Generation of energy when required.
• Protection of sensitive organs.

Accumulation of too much fat causes inconvenience in movement and spoils your looks. But most importantly, it causes many health problems. Studies indicate that overweight results in reduced life expectancy.

There were times when people considered over weight and obesity as signs of wealth. But not any more. The present trend is looks, fitness and health- the reason for the bloom of fitness centres.

However, we will not go to fitness centres. As I promised, I have a method to control weight without exercise and sweat. It does not mean that you can ignore exercises completely.

Obesity Facts

But first let us find out- to what extent you are obese or over weight. How do you know you are overweight or not?

Conclusions based on simple weight measurement will be very misleading. Body Mass Index(BMI) is the right method- almost.

BMI= Weight /[Height x Height]

Weight in kilograms and Height in metres.

Even though the units of BMI is Kg/m2, we use it as just a number.

If your BMI is between 18.5 & 25, you need not worry- you just have to maintain it. If it is between 25 & 30, you are over weight. But if your BMI is 30 or more, you are obese.

Obesity Facts :

What causes over weight?

Excess calorie intake. If you consumed 2500 cal and spent only 2000 cal in a day, excess 500 cal gets converted into fat. Such accumulation of fat, day after day, makes you over weight and obese over a period of time

Eating habits

• Over eating and poor dietary choice.
• Consumption of sweetened drinks. This accounts for almost 25 percent of daily calories in young adults in America. The exrtra calories come from increased carbohydrate consumption rather than increased fat consumption.

• Increasing number of people are opting for energy-dense fast-food meals
• Consumption of processed food- it is much cheaper compared to fruits and vegetables.
• Eating disorders (binge eating)

Find more information on the bad effects of eating disorders here.

Sedentary lifestyle

• Lack of physical exercise. At least 60% of the world's population does not get sufficient exercise. This again is attributed to lack of time. Very demanding workplace- tight schedules, competition and survival.
• Less physically demanding workplace
• Labour saving technologies at home.
• Spending hours in front of the TV. Childhood obesity is mainly due to TV.

Alcohol is rich in calories. Drinking stimulates eating, particularly in social gatherings. Alcohol can develop unhealthy eating habits and cause hunger prangs.

Stress

Stress increases cortisol level secreted from the adrenal gland resulting in increase of fat.

Insufficient or poor-quality sleep

Lack of good sleep leads to chemical imbalances and affects appetite-related hormone levels, resulting in weight gain.

Genetic factors

Even though members of a family have similar eating habits and lifestyle which may be contributing to obesity, scientific studies indicate that obesity can be hereditary.

Hormone imbalance

Medical and psychiatric illness

Certain medications for physical and mental illnesses can cause weight gain or changes in body composition.

Socio-economic

Smoking has significant effect on an individual's weight. Those who quit smoking gain weight since smoking reduces desire for food. Higher obesity rates are observed in people from high social classes of developing nations.

Obesity Facts :

How does overweight / obesity affect health?

Over weight/Obesity is associated with

• Certain cardiovascular diseases
• Diabetes mellitus type 2
• High blood pressure
• High blood cholesterol
• High triglyceride levels Obstructive sleep apnea
• Certain types of cancer
• Osteoarthritis.

Increased body fat alters the body's response to insulin, thus leading to insulin resistance. Increased fat also creates a pro-inflammatory state, increasing the risk of thrombosis.

Now, as per my promise, let me reveal the Weight Control Secret.

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