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Everywhere we look in the western world we are inundated with pictures, images, icons and inferences of the 'perfect' female shape! The truth is that many of these images are altered or enhanced in some way and do not depict the typical female form. The pressure to lose weight is immense when we are bombarded every day with media selling products based on slimness, sex appeal and fashion. The constant message is that slimness will make you desireable.

With the current demographic trends in western countries, and faced with a sea of high fat, high sugar combined with physical inactivity; it is time to pay attention to our weight but not for any reasons of desirability. The most important reason for wanting to be a healthy body weight is for health rather than for how your body looks.

Overweight and obesity are major public health problems in western countries. Since the 1980s both adult men and women have become heavier, with obesity rates more than doubling in the last 20 years! Children are also becoming heavier. There is a growing concern that we are inadvertently training our overweight children to become obese adults. It has been said, we are digging our graves with out teeth! So just why should we be concerned with achieving a healthy body weight?

Overweight linked with diabetes.

In January 2003, the Journal of the American Medical Association featured two studies that highlighted the topic of obesity and its impact on health. The first study focused on the relationship between obesity and diabetes, as well as the growing concern of diabetes in the U.S. between the years 2000 and 2001. The numbers don't look good, with an alarming 5.6% increase of obesity in both men and women-from all ethnic groups, age ranges and educational levels. The occurrence of diabetes also increased-up 8.2% from 2000.

Overweight linked with premature death.

The second study found that obesity appears to markedly lessen life expectancy, especially among young adults. The researchers compared Body-Mass Index (BMI) to longevity and found a correlation between premature death and higher BMIs. For example, a 20-year-old white male, 5'10" weighing 288 pounds with a BMI of greater than 40 was estimated to lose 13 years of his life as a result of obesity. Findings were similar for women with higher BMIs, who were estimated to lose an average of eight years. While these studies reference extreme levels of obesity, there are still millions of overweight people in developed countries with a life expectancy rate that is three to five years less than their healthy-weight counterparts. Overweight linked with heart disease.

Overweight people tend to have higher blood pressure and higher blood cholesterol, which are major risk factors for heart attack and other blood vessel disease. Being overweight can contribute to problems in the joints, and is also associated with other serious diseases such as diabetes.

How you tell if you are overweight

As we are all different shapes and sizes, there is not one recommended weight for your height. Instead there is a range of weights that are healthy for your height. One way to check your weight is to calculate your Body Mass Index or BMI.

Your BMI is a ratio or comparison of your height and weight expressed in a number. To find out your BMI you need to divide your weight (measured in kg) by your height (measured in m) squared. If you do not know your measurements in the metric system you can find any number of BMI calculators online that will do the conversion for you into empirical measures. One such calculator is at the website listed below.

The accepted definitions of weight categories by BMI are:

Underweight - BMI less than 18.5
Healthy weight - BMI between 18.5 and 24.9
Overweight - BMI equal to or greater than 25 and up to 29.9
Obese - BMI equal to or greater than 30

These BMI values only apply to adults aged 18 years and over and are based on studies of Caucasian populations. Therefore, they are not applicable to children and adolescents and they may not be appropriate for people of other cultural backgrounds.

Another way to check your weight is to measure your waist circumference, using a tape measure. This gives you an idea of whether you have a lot of fat stored around your middle. Waist circumferences associated with increased health risk are:

For men Waist circumference greater than 94cm
For women Waist circumference greater than 80cm

Being a healthy weight can help:

- improve blood cholesterol levels, blood pressure and blood glucose levels
- reduce your risk of other health related problems
- improve self confidence and self esteem
- make it easier to be physically active.

If you are obese or overweighttry not to gain additional weight. This will help you in years to come as people tend to increase weight with age. Better still look after your body and follow a healthy lifestyle incorporating a nutritious, delicious, health enhancing weight loss program. Just by losing 10 pounds you can significantly improve your overall health.

(c) Copyright Kim Beardsmore

Kim Beardsmore is a weight loss consultant whose business operates across 60 countries. Tons of recipes, articles, resources, free newsletter and more to help you lose weight and keep it off forever. Estimate your healthy body weight or receive a free weight loss consultation at http://www.weight-loss-health.com.au

posted by 33846  # 10:13 PM 0 comments

Obesity in the United States has significantly risen in the past 20 years. Over 60 million adults and 9 million children are obese! If you are overweight, this is extremely dangerous for your health. You need to get to a normal weight.

Obesity is caused by an energy imbalance which results from consuming too many calories and not getting enough exercise. Behavior and the environment are the biggest causes of people being overweight today. However, this can be prevented and changed.

Being overweight increases your risk for many health conditions and diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, stroke, osteoarthritis, gallbladder disease, sleep apnea, respiratory problems and even some cancers.

There are several ways that doctors use to decide if a patient is obese. The most common way is to use the BMI (body mass index). The BMI takes into account a patient's weight and height and comes up with their body mass. For most people, this is an accurate way to get the amount of body fat in your body. Other ways to estimate body fat include measuring skin fold thickness, waist circumference, ultrasounds, waist to hip circumference ratios, MRI and computed tomography.

Obesity in the United States just seems to be getting worse and worse. In 1991, only four states had obesity rates of 15 to 19% and no states had obesity rates above 20%. In 2004, this had dramatically changed. Seven states had obesity rates of 15 to 19%, 33 states had obesity rates of 20 to 24% and 9 states had obesity rates that were more than 25%.

There are many reasons why obesity is so prevalent today which include behavioral reasons, environmental reasons and genetic reasons. In the past 20 years, the environment and people's behavior has drastically changed, causing this jump in obesity. Fast food restaurants, soft drinks and pre-packaged foods are much more readily available than they were 20 years ago. Grocery stores also have more foods than before.

People are eating much more than they used to. Everyone is taking larger portions and eating more snacks. There are so many unhealthy snacks being sold and everyone buys them. This is very unhealthy because people are consuming so many calories and not burning them off.

Something everyone can do to prevent becoming obese or to lose weight if you are already obese is physical activities. You need to do activities that use energy so you can burn off calories. Some physical activities include washing floors, washing windows, gardening, yard work, farming, waiting tables, construction work, carpentry, walking, biking, swimming, skating, dancing, sports, aerobics and anything else that involves movement. Physical activity is good for your health; it not only controls your weight, buy it also decreases the risk of diabetes, high blood pressure and colon cancer.

Most Americans no longer do physical activities, which is a big problem. Technology has eliminated the need to do physical activities. Cars are used instead of walking or riding a bike. Elevators, dishwashers, computers and televisions also are causes for our inactivity. People need to get up and move around. Anything that involves movement will use energy and burn calories.

This rise in obesity is a big concern for us. We need to make sure that we are doing all we can to maintain a healthy weight. Everyone needs to try to eat healthier and do physical activities. If you do not get to a normal weight, it is an enormous health risk for you.

Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Obesity

posted by 33846  # 9:01 AM 0 comments