Obesity Information and Tips

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Obesity "Don't Let Anyone Kid You . . . It Can Lead to Serious Health Problems" NEW Health Insurance Site with Audio Weighing too much may increase your risk for developing many health problems. If you are overweight or obese, you may be at risk for: Type 2 diabetes Heart disease and stroke Cancer Sleep apnea Osteoarthritis Gallbladder disease Fatty liver disease. You can lower your health risks by losing as little as 10 to 20 pounds. "Obesity" specifically refers to an excessive amount of body fat. "Overweight" refers to an excessive amount of body weight that includes muscle, bone, fat, and water. As a rule, women have more body fat than men. Most health care professionals agree that men with more than 25 percent body fat and women with more than 30 percent body fat are obese. Health care providers are concerned not only with how much fat a person has, but also where the fat is located on the body. Women typically collect fat in their hips and buttocks, giving them a "pear" shape. Men usually build up fat around their bellies, giving them more of an "apple" shape. Of course some men are pear-shaped and some women become apple-shaped, especially after menopause. Excess abdominal fat is an important, independent risk factor for disease. Research has shown that waist circumference is directly associated with abdominal fat and can be used in the assessment of the risks associated with obesity or overweight. If you carry fat mainly around your waist, you are more likely to develop obesity-related health problems. Women with a waist measurement of more than 35 inches and men with a waist measurement of more than 40 inches may have more health risks than people with lower waist measurements because of their body fat distribution. Genetics can play a role in obesity, among other things. But basically obesity occurs when a person consumes more calories from food than he or she burns. Our bodies need calories to sustain life and be physically active, but to maintain weight we need to balance the energy we eat with the energy we use. When a person eats more calories than he or she burns, the result is weight gain. Over a period of time, that leads to obesity. A regular exercise program is important; as is regular visits to your physician. He or she may be able to help you lose weight by giving you a sensible diet to follow. You can work on changing your eating habits, levels of physical activity, and other environmental factors. Try these ideas: Learn to choose sensible portions of nutritious meals that are lower in fat. Learn to recognize and control environmental cues (like inviting smells or a package of cookies on the counter) that make you want to eat when you are not hungry. Engage in at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity (like brisk walking) on most, preferably all, days of the week. Take a walk instead of watching television. Eat meals and snacks at a table, not in front of the TV. Keep records of your food intake and physical activity. Health care providers generally agree that people who have a BMI of 30 or greater can improve their health through weight loss. This is especially true for people with a BMI of 40 or greater, who are considered extremely obese. Preventing additional weight gain is recommended if you have a BMI between 25 and 29.9, unless you have other risk factors for obesity-related diseases. Obesity experts recommend you try to lose weight if you have two or more of the following: Family history of certain chronic diseases. If you have close relatives who have had heart disease or diabetes, you are more likely to develop these problems if you are obese. Preexisting medical conditions. High blood pressure, high LDL cholesterol levels, low HDL cholesterol levels, high triglycerides, and high blood glucose are all warning signs of some obesity-associated diseases. Large waist circumference. Men who have waist circumferences greater than 40 inches, and women who have waist circumferences greater than 35 inches, are at higher risk of diabetes, dyslipidemia (abnormal amounts of fat in the blood), high blood pressure, and heart disease. Fortunately, a weight loss of 5 to 10 percent of your initial body weight can do much to improve health by lowering blood pressure and other risk factors for obesity-related diseases. In addition, research shows that a 5- to 7-percent weight loss brought about by moderate diet and exercise can delay or possibly prevent type 2 diabetes in people at high risk for the disease. In a recent study, participants who were overweight and had pre-diabetes; a condition in which a person;s blood glucose level is higher than normal, but not high enough to be classified as diabetes; were able to delay or prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes by adopting a low-fat, low-calorie diet and exercising for 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. 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