The Dangers of Excess Body Fat.
By Chad Tackett
Most people's primary motivation for weight management is to improve their appearance. Equally important, however, are the many other benefits of proper nutrition and regular exercise.
Weight management through reduction of excess body fat plays a vital role in maintaining good health and fighting disease. In fact, medical evidence shows that obesity poses a major threat to health and longevity. (The most common definition of obesity is more than 25 percent body fat for men and more than 32 percent for women.) An estimated one in three Americans has some excess body fat; an estimated 20 percent are obese.
Excess body fat is linked to major physical threats like heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. (Three out of four Americans die of either heart disease or cancer each year; according to the National Health and Nutrition Examination survey, approximately 80 percent of those deaths are associated with life-style factors, including inactivity.)
For example, if you're obese, it takes more energy for you to breathe because your heart has to work harder to pump blood to the lungs and to the excess fat throughout the body. This increased work load can cause your heart to become enlarged and can result in high blood pressure and life-threatening erratic heartbeats.
Obese people also tend to have high cholesterol levels, making them more prone to arteriosclerosis, a narrowing of the arteries by deposits of plaque. This becomes life-threatening when blood vessels become so narrow or blocked that vital organs like the brain, heart or kidneys are deprived of blood. Additionally, the narrowing of the blood vessels forces the heart to pump harder, and blood pressure rises. High blood pressure itself poses several health risks, including heart attack, kidney failure, and stroke. About 25 percent of all heart and blood vessel problems are associated with obesity.
Clinical studies have found a relationship between excess body fat and the incidence of cancer. By itself, body fat is thought to be a storage place for carcinogens (cancer-causing chemicals) in both men and women. In women, excess body fat has been linked to a higher rate of breast and uterine cancer; in men, the threat comes from colon and prostate cancer.
There is also a delicate balance between blood sugar, body fat, and the hormone insulin. Excess blood sugar is stored in the liver and other vital organs; when the organs are "full," the excess blood sugar is converted to fat. As fat cells themselves become full, they tend to take in less blood sugar. In some obese people, the pancreas produces more and more insulin, which the body can't use, to regulate blood sugar levels, and the whole system becomes overwhelmed. This poor regulation of blood sugar and insulin results in diabetes, a disease with long-term consequences, including heart disease, kidney failure, blindness, amputation, and death. Excess body fat is also linked to gall bladder disease, gastro-intestinal disease, sexual dysfunction, osteoarthritiis, and stroke.
Reducing Body Fat Reduces Disease Risk
The good news is that reducing body fat reduces the risk of disease. At the University of Pittsburgh, researchers studied 159 people as they followed a weight management program. The subjects were under age 45 and 30-70 pounds overweight. Those subjects who were able to shed just 10-15 percent of their weight and keep it off during the 18-month study showed significant improvement in HDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels, waist-to-hip ratio, and blood pressure. In fact, according to the New England Journal of Medicine, body fat reduction is a more powerful modulator of cardiac structure than drug therapy.
For people with a family history of heart disease, an active lifestyle can slow or stop the process for all but those with serious genetic disorders. Studies by Dean Ornish, MD, have shown that a comprehensive intervention program that includes regular physical activity, a low-fat diet and a stress reduction program can even reverse the heart disease process.
Evidence also shows that an active lifestyle and its help in reducing body fat is associated with a reduced risk for some types of cancers: prostate for men, breast and uterine cancers for women. (Frisch, et al 1985)
In addition, regular physical activity and a low-fat diet are successful in treating non-insulin dependent diabetes (NIDDM); for some patients, it has reduced or eliminated the need for insulin substitutes. In general, regularly active adults have 42 percent lower risk of developing NIDDM.
Gaining Weight Happens to Most of Us
The average American gains at least one pound a year after age 25. Think about it. If you're like most Americans, by the time you're 50, you're likely to gain 25 pounds of fat, or more. In addition, your metabolism is also slowing down, causing your body to work less efficiently at burning the fat it has. At the same time, if you don't exercise regularly, you lose a pound of muscle each year. Consequently, people are not only increasing their body fat stores, increasing their risk of disease, but they're also losing muscle, increasing the risk of injury, decreasing activity performance, and further slowing down metabolism.
Very few Americans exercise in any significant way. The President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports estimates that only one in five Americans exercises for the healthy minimum of 20 minutes, three or more days a week. In fact, the average American gets less than 50 minutes of exercise per week. Even worse, two out of five Americans are completely sedentary.
The Answer: Healthy Eating and Physical Fitness
But there is hope. Moderate weight loss--of fat, not muscle--and a healthy and active lifestyle--not dieting--have been found to lower health risks and medical problems in 90 percent of overweight patients, improving their heart function, blood pressure, glucose tolerance, sleep disorders, and cholesterol levels, as well as lowering their requirements for medication, lowering the incidence and duration of hospitalization, and reducing post-operative complications eight times less likely to die from cancer than the unfit, and 53 percent less likely to die from other diseases. Fit people are also eight times less likely to die from heart disease.
So, are you willing to be patient and make gradual changes in your life that will lead to a healthier, happier you? Once you have made the decision to go forward and accept change, the hard part is over. Sure, there is plenty of work to be done, but it really doesn't matter how long this new process takes. If you allow changes to take place over several years, your body will adjust comfortably, and you will be more likely to maintain the healthy lifestyle permanently.
When you begin achieving improvements in energy and physical and psychological performance, the fun and excitement you experience will make the change well worth the effort. Action creates motivation! Good luck: I hope you enjoy all the wonderful benefits of a safe and effective weight management program.
* Be sure to check with your health care professional before making any changes in your activity or eating habits.
Chad Tackett, the President of Global Health and Fitness (GHF), has degrees in Exercise and Heath Science and Nutrition, is a Certified Personal Trainer, and is a regular guest lecturer to both professional and lay audiences on the principles of effective exercise and good nutrition. Visit GHF (http://www.global-fitness.com) and you'll find easy to follow fitness recommendations, hundreds of exercise instructions and video demonstrations, customized programs, healthy recipes and meal plans, a free nutrition analysis, health club and personal trainer directories, and much more!
http://www.freeweightloss.com/article18.html
12 Keys To Super-Charging Your Metabolism For Weight Loss!
12 Keys To Super-Charging Your Metabolism For Weight Loss!
You hear it all the time - "metabolism", but what is it? It's the process of converting food to energy (movement and heat). Metabolism happens in your muscles and organs and the result of it is what we commonly refer to as "burning calories". Metabolism is essentially the speed at which your body's motor is running.
"Basal metabolism" is the metabolic rate or caloric expenditure needed to maintain basal body functions such as your heart beating, breathing, muscle tone, etc. It's how fast your "motor" is running when you're still in a reclined position or sleeping. Basal metabolism accounts for about 75% of the calories you expend on a daily basis!
The good news is that there are 12 ways you can "boost" your metabolism! The more of these you're able to incorporate into your life, the more you'll boost your metabolism. That means you'll be expending ("burning") more calories 24 hours a day!
1. Always eat breakfast! Skipping breakfast sends the message to your body that you're starving because you haven't had food in 18+ hours. As a protective mechanism, your metabolism slows down. Food, especially complex carbohydrates, fuels your metabolism.
2. Eat earlier in the day! Research has demonstrated that you can lose weight simply by eating a substantial breakfast and lunch, and a light dinner. Dinner should be eaten as early as possible, preferably at least four hours before bedtime.
3. Never eat less than 1200 calories per day! Less than 1200 is usually not enough to support your basal metabolism and thus will slow your metabolism.
4. Snack frequently! Complex carbohydrates (fruits, vegetables, and grains) fuel your metabolism. Also, snacking prevents you from becoming too hungry. The hungrier you are, the less control you have over what and how much you eat.
5. Eat more carbohydrates (food from plants), and less fat (food from many animals and other food with added fat)! Carbohydrates boost your metabolism and have fewer calories per weight than fat.
6. Do some type of aerobic exercise (walking, jogging, swimming, stationary cycling, aerobic dancing, etc.) on a daily basis (preferably in the morning)! Forget this twice-a-week stuff. Our bodies were designed to be active on a daily basis! When we are, our metabolism soars!
7. In addition to your regular aerobic exercise, take a brisk 10 to 15 minute walk at lunch or in the evening. This serves to boost your metabolism even more!
8. Tone your muscles with weight training three days per week. Toned muscles send your metabolism through the roof. Do it!
9. Look for situations to be active. Park as far from the store as you can rather than looking for the closest parking spot. Use the stairs rather than the elevator, a broom rather than a blower, etc. Look for the "hard" way to do things!
10. Avoid alcohol! Alcohol depresses your metabolism and stimulates your appetite.
11. Drink 60+ ounces of water a day. Your metabolism needs plenty water to function properly. Carry a bottle of water with you and drink frequently throughout the day.
12. Avoid the"3 P's".....pills, powders, and potions! There are NO quick fixes!
Get started today! You'll feel better and your metabolism will be in "great shape"!
Author and exercise Physiologist, Greg Landry, offers free weight loss success stories and articles, and unique weight loss programs at his site.. http://www.greglandryfitness.com
Thank You Greg Landry!
Source : http://www.freeweightloss.com/article15.html
You hear it all the time - "metabolism", but what is it? It's the process of converting food to energy (movement and heat). Metabolism happens in your muscles and organs and the result of it is what we commonly refer to as "burning calories". Metabolism is essentially the speed at which your body's motor is running.
"Basal metabolism" is the metabolic rate or caloric expenditure needed to maintain basal body functions such as your heart beating, breathing, muscle tone, etc. It's how fast your "motor" is running when you're still in a reclined position or sleeping. Basal metabolism accounts for about 75% of the calories you expend on a daily basis!
The good news is that there are 12 ways you can "boost" your metabolism! The more of these you're able to incorporate into your life, the more you'll boost your metabolism. That means you'll be expending ("burning") more calories 24 hours a day!
1. Always eat breakfast! Skipping breakfast sends the message to your body that you're starving because you haven't had food in 18+ hours. As a protective mechanism, your metabolism slows down. Food, especially complex carbohydrates, fuels your metabolism.
2. Eat earlier in the day! Research has demonstrated that you can lose weight simply by eating a substantial breakfast and lunch, and a light dinner. Dinner should be eaten as early as possible, preferably at least four hours before bedtime.
3. Never eat less than 1200 calories per day! Less than 1200 is usually not enough to support your basal metabolism and thus will slow your metabolism.
4. Snack frequently! Complex carbohydrates (fruits, vegetables, and grains) fuel your metabolism. Also, snacking prevents you from becoming too hungry. The hungrier you are, the less control you have over what and how much you eat.
5. Eat more carbohydrates (food from plants), and less fat (food from many animals and other food with added fat)! Carbohydrates boost your metabolism and have fewer calories per weight than fat.
6. Do some type of aerobic exercise (walking, jogging, swimming, stationary cycling, aerobic dancing, etc.) on a daily basis (preferably in the morning)! Forget this twice-a-week stuff. Our bodies were designed to be active on a daily basis! When we are, our metabolism soars!
7. In addition to your regular aerobic exercise, take a brisk 10 to 15 minute walk at lunch or in the evening. This serves to boost your metabolism even more!
8. Tone your muscles with weight training three days per week. Toned muscles send your metabolism through the roof. Do it!
9. Look for situations to be active. Park as far from the store as you can rather than looking for the closest parking spot. Use the stairs rather than the elevator, a broom rather than a blower, etc. Look for the "hard" way to do things!
10. Avoid alcohol! Alcohol depresses your metabolism and stimulates your appetite.
11. Drink 60+ ounces of water a day. Your metabolism needs plenty water to function properly. Carry a bottle of water with you and drink frequently throughout the day.
12. Avoid the"3 P's".....pills, powders, and potions! There are NO quick fixes!
Get started today! You'll feel better and your metabolism will be in "great shape"!
Author and exercise Physiologist, Greg Landry, offers free weight loss success stories and articles, and unique weight loss programs at his site.. http://www.greglandryfitness.com
Thank You Greg Landry!
Source : http://www.freeweightloss.com/article15.html
Weight Loss Online – Using the Internet to Lose Weight
Weight Loss Online – Using the Internet to Lose Weight
Obesity has become a global epidemic; over 65% of the United States alone is overweight. Because of this dieters are seeking out new nontraditional means to lose weight. The internet is the biggest driving force behind these new means and methods. The internet is home to millions of pages of information devoted to helping people lose weight. There are weight loss articles, diet forums, weight loss blogs, online diet planners, diet pills, weight loss tools and calculators and much more.
Whether you need to lose 10 pounds or 100 you will find amazing weight loss support online. For example if you want some great weight loss tips to get you started on your diet, Weight Loss Center has many at a click of a mouse: Weight Loss
If you want to get one on one support and have experts answer your dieting questions, why waste your time at Jenny Craig or LA weight loss when you can just go to a weight loss forum and get answers within minutes without ever leaving your house? Weight Loss Forum You can even start your own blog and have people post helpful suggestions to it.
Indeed the evolution of weight loss is taking place right before our eyes on the internet. It is an exciting time for dieters because there are many more options available. These new options should help bring about a decrease in obesity in the near future.
Source : http://www.freeweightloss.com/article22.html
Obesity has become a global epidemic; over 65% of the United States alone is overweight. Because of this dieters are seeking out new nontraditional means to lose weight. The internet is the biggest driving force behind these new means and methods. The internet is home to millions of pages of information devoted to helping people lose weight. There are weight loss articles, diet forums, weight loss blogs, online diet planners, diet pills, weight loss tools and calculators and much more.
Whether you need to lose 10 pounds or 100 you will find amazing weight loss support online. For example if you want some great weight loss tips to get you started on your diet, Weight Loss Center has many at a click of a mouse: Weight Loss
If you want to get one on one support and have experts answer your dieting questions, why waste your time at Jenny Craig or LA weight loss when you can just go to a weight loss forum and get answers within minutes without ever leaving your house? Weight Loss Forum You can even start your own blog and have people post helpful suggestions to it.
Indeed the evolution of weight loss is taking place right before our eyes on the internet. It is an exciting time for dieters because there are many more options available. These new options should help bring about a decrease in obesity in the near future.
Source : http://www.freeweightloss.com/article22.html
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