Obesity – How it Affects Your Health
1. Carrying around excess body fat will decrease your energy level. Having just 10 lbs. of excess body fat is like carrying around a 10-lb. bag of lard.
2. Your heart has to work overtime to support the extra weight. Obesity has a harmful effect on your entire cardiovascular system. Your cardiovascular system includes your heart, your lungs, and all of your arteries and veins.
3. You may develop breathing problems. For example, sleep apnea is a breathing problem that causes you to stop breathing for short instances during sleep. Sleep apnea can also cause snoring.
4. Extra weight will take a toll on your joints. Obesity has also been linked to gout, which is when uric acid that cannot be excreted collects in the joints of the toes.
5. Obesity can cause infertility.
6. Type 2 Diabetes has been linked to obesity.
7. Extra weight will put you at a higher risk for certain types of cancer. Obese men have a higher risk of developing colon, rectum, or prostate cancer. Obese women have a higher risk of developing gallbladder, breast, uterine, cervical, or ovarian cancer.
8. Being overweight and obesity are associated with increased risks of gall bladder disease, incontinence, increased surgical risk, and depression.
9. Obesity can affect the quality of life through limited mobility and decreased physical endurance as well as through social, academic, and job discrimination.
10. Being overweight may have an effect on your self-esteem that, in turn, will have a negative effect on your overall health.
The Sad Statistics about Obesity
If you are overweight or obese you are certainly not alone. Obesity is a serious degenerative disorder whose severity rate is as lethal as most plagues.
Obesity is just as deadly as smoking, AIDS or any other of the slow deaths that are caused by contemporary afflictions.
The value of examining statistics is that it can help you predict your own likelihood of developing obesity in your life time or how you may have developed it as a result of gender, age, race, geographical location or other predisposing factors.A look at the following statistics will show you. Not only is the world round, it is also fat!
The Prevalence of Obesity
39.8 million American adults or more than 57% of North American adults are overweight (American Medical Association).
More than 60 percent of Americans aged 20 years and older are overweight. One-quarter of American adults are also obese (American Medical Association).
Over 300 million adults are estimated to be overweight worldwide (WHO World Health Report, 2003).
11% of children are obese in the USA (World Heart Federation Fact-Sheet, 2002).
50% of women aged 20 to 74 are overweight or obese in the US (The National Women’s Health Information Center).
Statistics about Men24.1% of men aged 20-34 are obese in the US 1999-2000 (Health United States, 2003, NCHS)
25.2% of men aged 35-44 are obese in the US 1999-2000 (Health United States, 2003, NCHS)
30.1% of men aged 45-54 are obese in the US 1999-2000 (Health United States, 2003, NCHS)
32.9% of men aged 55-64 are obese in the US 1999-2000 (Health United States, 2003, NCHS)
33.4% of men aged 65-74 are obese in the US 1999-2000 (Health United States, 2003, NCHS)
20.4% of men aged over 75 are obese in the US 1999-2000 (Health United States, 2003, NCHS)
Statistics about Women
Obesity prevalence statistics by age group for women in the USA:
25.8% of women aged 20-34 are obese in the US 1999-2000 (Health United States, 2003, NCHS)
33.9% of women aged 35-44 are obese in the US 1999-2000 (Health United States, 2003, NCHS)
38.1% of women aged 45-54 are obese in the US 1999-2000 (Health United States, 2003, NCHS)
43.1% of women aged 55-64 are obese in the US 1999-2000 (Health United States, 2003, NCHS)
If you believe these figures are concerning and would like to consider a path of safe and easy weight loss then you should think and act carefully today. Remember, today is a gift…that’s why it’s called the present! What you do today will decided how successful you are with your health and weight loss decisions.
Publisher & author: Roy Barker. Roy has an indepth and long established background with the vitamins, minerals and health industry and has researched and experimented with many diets over a thirty year period. Roy is also the author of Safe and Easy Weightloss, a downloadable e-book based on the famous Mediterranean Diet and often used by those with heart conditions and those who seek an effective and safe way to shed weight and more importantly, keep it off. It can be viewed at safe-and-easy-weightloss.com. More articles and related sites can be viewed at weightloss-diet-health-vitamins.com
The information on this and any adjoining pages may be reprinted and used on other sites providing this information remains on the article and all pages and credits remain as they are found here in its current compilation with all links in tact.
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7 Weight Control Habits
Here are 7 simple habits that can help anyone enjoy a healthy diet and keep their weight under control without feeling hungry all the time.
1. Always drink a glass of water before eating a meal. This fills your tummy so you are not as hungry. It also helps to relieve any cravings. Some cravings are not for food but are actually cravings for water. Your body may be feeling dehydrated. Coffee and soft drinks actually cause more dehydration. Plain old water is what your body wants. If ice water gives you a tummy ache, just ask for water without any ice. Some Hollywood celebrities carry a supply of bottled water in their cars and they secretly drink a bottle before going into a restaurant to meet their friends.
2. Always start your meal with a salad. Salads fill you up and are low in calories. Skip the creamy and fatty dressings and get an olive oil and vinegar type instead. Olive oil is one of the fats that are good for you. Get in the habit of eating salads with lunch and dinner whenever possible. If you need a between-meals snack, try some veggies dipped in nonfat ranch dressing. Salads and raw vegetables are filling and satisfying.
3. Use a smaller plate when eating at home. Larger plates encourage you to eat larger portions. This fact is not lost on restaurant owners. It is no secret that restaurant plates have grown larger and larger over recent years. The reason is simply to make more money. Restaurants need to make as much money as they can from each table of customers. When you sit down to eat they want you to buy a larger more costly meal. They don’t care about your waistline, only about their own bottom line.
4. Split an entree when dining at a restaurant that serves large portions. When asking a dining companion to split an order, just say that you never finish it all and you don’t want to see it go to waste when there are children who go to bed hungry. Who can argue with that? Many people will be relieved to have someone to split an entree with. They never eat the whole meal either. Plus you will either both save some money or you can use the extra money to order something extra-fancy as to reward yourselves.
5. At breakfast time, get in the habit of having scrambled eggs or oatmeal. These two foods make low fat, healthy meals that fill you up and keep you going all morning. Professional athletes swear by these two breakfasts. One woman who won a "best body" contest said she ate scrambled eggs (Eggbeaters) every single day. You can have some ham with your eggs once in a while but just be sure to pass on the fatty fried bacon and sausage.
6. Eat more chicken at lunch and dinner. You can’t go wrong with grilled, skinless chicken breast. It is a low fat, high protein food that models and bodybuilders live on every day. Grilled chicken can be prepared in such a variety of ways that you can eat it five times per week and not have the same meal twice. Some choices are chicken fajitas, chicken Caesar salad, teriyaki chicken, barbecued chicken, chicken and pasta, you name it.
7. Skip dessert. You will have a lot of company. A recent restaurant industry study showed that sales of dessert are down and continue to go down. Many people get in the habit by practicing saying "Oh no thanks, I never eat dessert." After a while it becomes a habit. Some desserts pack on more fat and calories than the entire meal did. Skip dessert and if you crave chocolate bring some along. Those after dinner chocolates with mint are always nice to clear the palate and make you feel like you’ve had a small indulgence.
These 7 habits can make a real difference in any weight control and healthy diet plan. Try them and stick to them until they become second nature. Good luck with your health and fitness goals.
Monica Nelson writes articles about women’s health, including reviews of popular women’s diets, what are effective tummy flattner exercises, and which are the best online nursing schools.
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