Public health messages sometimes tend to have the opposite effect of what they are intended to do. Constantly being bombarded by the same broken record can make us switch off. Unfortunately, it's very seldom that the dangers of these warnings disappear in a similar way. Take for example the dangers of being obese, or even overweight. We can ignore all the warnings we want, but the fact remains that if you are carrying excess weight, you will at some stage suffer from the associated health problems.
In a recent National Geographic magazine the statistically most likely causes of death in the United States were listed. The top three are heart disease (1 in 5 chance), cancer (1 in 7 chance) and stroke (1 in 24 chance). All three are closely associated with, if not directly linked to being overweight (incidentally, the cause of death with the least chance of occurring was by fireworks discharge with a 1 in 340,733 chance). It's no coincidence that the Americans also happen to be the fattest people walking the earth at the moment; closely followed we should add, by the Australians.
If you think that you aren't at risk, grab a tape measure and measure your waist. Men have an increased risk of developing obesity related diseases if the measurement is more than 94cm, and a substantially higher risk if their waist is more than 102cm. For women these figures are 80cm and 88cm respectively.
Fat surrounding the abdomen, cutely referred to as a 'pot belly', regardless of the rest of your size, increases the chance of developing health conditions like; heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and certain cancers. Many of you will probably be surprised to find you fit into this higher risk category. The large number of people in our community who are morbidly obese tend to give the rest of us a false sense of security.
The health risks and body fat distribution is as follows:
Least risk - slim people with no pot belly
Moderate risk - overweight people with no pot belly
Moderate risk - overweight people with no pot belly
Highest risk - overweight people with a pot belly
Your risk of developing diseases increases with your weight. The more overweight you are the higher your chance of developing; heart disease, stroke, diabetes, certain types of cancer, gout (joint pain caused by excess uric acid) and gallbladder disease. Being overweight can also bring on the uncomfortable condition of sleep apnea and painful osteoarthritis.
Overweight people also are more likely to have high blood pressure, which is associated with a multitude of health problems. Excess kilos can also mean very high blood levels of cholesterol and triglycerides (blood fats), which can also lead to heart disease.
Being obese or overweight will almost certainly shorten your life, and certainly lessen the quality of your life. The ironic thing is that heart disease, many cancers and stroke are largely preventable through correct diet and exercise. These inflictions are not something that is out of out of our power, a symptom of modern life that we have to learn to accept.
The good news is a loss of just five to 10 kilos can dramatically improve your health. It's also a good idea to have your GP check your blood pressure and cholesterol. Left unchecked these symptoms can do incredible damage to your body.
Simple changes to your diet and lifestyle will have dramatic and positive effects on your health.
Do some exercise regularly, start off with just three or four half hour walks per week. Build up your exercise to half an hour every day, plus add some stretching, deep breathing, resistance training (light weights for 10 minutes three times a week), and some stamina training to get your heart rate up (20 minutes, three times a week).
Get some good quality sleep every night (7-8 hours), and try to go to bed and get up around the same time every day, even on weekends.
Get yourself a hobby besides eating. Eat only when you're hungry instead!
Avoid saturated fats, trans fats and white bread, white rice and white pasta.
Eat food that is as close to its natural state as possible; lean meats, fruits, vegetables, wholegrain breads, cereals, pasta and brown rice.
Drink eight glasses of water a day.
Take a quality multivitamin.
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