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The proven fact is that we’ll become healthy by losing weight and maintaining a healthy weight. Some studies have suggested that obesity poses major health risk such as hypertension, cancer, diabetes and heart disease. In most circles, obesity is defined by being more than
twenty five pounds overweight while others disagree,
putting their own numbers out there.
Some time ago I saw a survey from the National Health and Nutrition Examination survey that stated 3 out of 4 of us will die due to some form of heart disease or cancer. The stats I saw at that time stated that approximately
eighty percent of these deaths are due to lifestyle
issues, including inactivity. That’s staggering!
Those of us who are overweight tend to have higher cholesterol levels than the average person, making us
likely to develop clogging of the arteries. Being overweight to begin with, our bodies have to work harder to perform the same task. No add to this smaller arteries which will raise blood pressure and stress the heart, restricts oxygen to the brain and other organs, and you start to see how losing just a little bit of weight will help our bodies exponentially.
I have also read articles that suggest there is evidence linking
excesive body fat with cancer. The theory is that body fat
stores up carcinogens (carcinogens are known cancer
causing substances) in both women and men. Some studies claim excess body fat in women has been linked to a
high rate of breast cancer and colon cancer in adult
males. Nasty stuff.
Need more? Our body tries to keep our blood sugar, body fat and insulin in balance. It’s like walking a tight rope as far as the body is concerned. When this balance gets out of whack, more bad things can happen to us such as poor circulation, which can lead to diabetes. Diabetes has long-term
side effects such as heart disease, kidney failure, blindness, amputation, and death. (don’t stop reading yet, it gets better) Excess body fat is also linked to sexual dysfunction and
strokes just to name a few more diseases.
Weight Loss Reduces These Risk
The good news is that losing weight reduces the risk of disease. Study after Study after taxpayer funded studies have show that even a small increase in activity and weight loss can greatly reduce the risk associated with these conditions.
According to the good folks at the New England Journal of Medicine, weight loss is a
powerful equalizer for cardiovascular health. More so
than drugs!
Evidence also shows that living a lifestyle of being
active can reduce
the risk for some types of cancers such as colon and prostate
cancer in adult males and uterine cancer in adult
females.
Evidence indicates that regular physical activity combined with a healthy low-fat is successful in treating
some forms of diabetes and reducing cancer risk. What else can increase our chances of reducing these risk if not diet and exercise?
Gaining Weight Happens! It’s how we deal with it that counts!
The average person in America gains one pound of fat a year after age 25. (I’m quickly seeing that I’m not average
=) ) People with inactive lifestyle also lose an average
of a pound of muscle every year. So you see, we are not only increasing our body fat stores, increasing our risk of diseases such as diabetes and cancer, but we're also losing muscle.
This is not a good thing. Being obese sucks! (as if we didn’t already know that)
It’s not like the solution is complex either. All it takes is an activity like walking for 30 minutes, three or more days a week. You can even break those 30 minutes down into 2-15 minute sessions or 3-10 minute sections. The important thing is that you START!
It’s important to combine any cardiovascular activity such as walking with a weight training routine also. No, I’m not talking about bulking up like Arnold. Simple free weights are all you need. Remember, we’re losing a pound of muscle so we need to make sure we don’t increase our muscle
loss when we start our cardiovascular program. We want to lose the
fat and keep the muscle!
So, are you willing to be patient and make gradual changes in your life that will lead to a healthier, happier and thinner you? The hardest part is actually making the decision to be healthy and
starting to become more active. The work is not that hard and is quite easy when broken down into segments. It can also be lots of fun if you have a partner or support group like Weight Watchers ®.
Increasing you activity will also increase you energy levels. It won’t be long until you start seeing a difference. For me, the difference was huge. I could not get over how working out 30 minutes a day, three days a week, made my energy levels skyrocket! It can help you also!
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