Weight Loss & Obesity Affects Life Expectancy

We hear it all the time…lose weight for your health. Few people however, realize the extent to which this is critical to their physical well-being and ultimately their life expectancy.
In January 2003, the Journal of the American Medical Association featured a study finding that obesity appears to lessen life expectancy, especially among young adults. The study showed an obese 20-year-old white male, (5'10")178cm and weighing (288 pounds) 130kg was estimated to lose 13 years of his life as a result of obesity.
It is now well research that a Western diet that leads to obesity may actually act to stimulate the growth of cancer cells. It is never too late to improve your health through healthful eating and adopting a more health-giving lifestyle. Here are simple steps to follow which can make an immediate improvement to your health and vitality.
1. Check to see if you are overweight or obese.
To find out your BMI you need to divide your weight (measured in kilos) by your height (measured in metres) squared. If the result is greater than 25, your health may be improved by losing weight.
2. Match your diet to your body’s requirements.
If you eat and drink more calories than your body requires you will put on weight. Learn to control calories and portion sizes, make recipes leaner, and eat infrequently from fast food restaurants. Also learn how to snack with healthful choices.
3. Colour your diet with a large variety of colorful, cancer-fighting fruit and vegetables.
There are seven different color ranges of both fruit and vegetables and by choosing between 5 to 9 daily serves from a wide range of fruit and vegetables, we are extending our consumption of cancer (and other disease) fighting nutrients.

Obesity And Fast Foods - The Lethal Link

Obesity and fast foods - there's little doubt about the link. Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the United states. And it's an epidemic that has grown side by side, step by step with the the fast food industry.
Eric Schlosser in his brilliant and shocking book, Fast Food Nation, describes the US as "an empire of fat," and he lays the blame for this clearly and convincingly at the door of the fast food industry.
Obesity Fast Food Data
Twice as many American adults are obese today as in the 1960s. More than half of all adults and a quarter of all children are now obese. Over this same period, fast food has become cheaper and easier to buy. Further evidence for the link between obesity and fast food can be found outside the US. Since the early 1980s, American-style fast food culture has spread like wildfire around the world... And obesity has followed, accompanied by its many unwelcome side effects: heart disease, diabetes, arthritis and other ills.
As people in countries like Japan and China have abandoned traditional healthy diets in favour of fast food, the rates of obesity and associated diseases have soared.
In countries which have resisted the spread of fast food culture, like France, Italy and Spain, obesity is far less of a problem. The good news is that there is now more awareness about the ill effects of fast food than ever before, thanks in part to books like Fast Food Nation and documentary movies like Morgan Spurlock's popular and punchy Super Size Me.

Obesity And Fast Foods - The Lethal Link

Obesity and fast foods - there's little doubt about the link. Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the United states. And it's an epidemic that has grown side by side, step by step with the the fast food industry.
Eric Schlosser in his brilliant and shocking book, Fast Food Nation, describes the US as "an empire of fat," and he lays the blame for this clearly and convincingly at the door of the fast food industry.
Obesity Fast Food Data
Twice as many American adults are obese today as in the 1960s. More than half of all adults and a quarter of all children are now obese. Over this same period, fast food has become cheaper and easier to buy. Further evidence for the link between obesity and fast food can be found outside the US. Since the early 1980s, American-style fast food culture has spread like wildfire around the world... And obesity has followed, accompanied by its many unwelcome side effects: heart disease, diabetes, arthritis and other ills.
As people in countries like Japan and China have abandoned traditional healthy diets in favour of fast food, the rates of obesity and associated diseases have soared.
In countries which have resisted the spread of fast food culture, like France, Italy and Spain, obesity is far less of a problem. The good news is that there is now more awareness about the ill effects of fast food than ever before, thanks in part to books like Fast Food Nation and documentary movies like Morgan Spurlock's popular and punchy Super Size Me.

Say No To Obesity

Obesity still remains one of the commonest avoidable causes of several disease conditions. Most often than not, it is a result of the wrong habits or lifestyles.
Obesity is a case that cut across race, colour and gender. Obesity has several facets, it is closely associated with several ailments, the most alarming being hypertension, diabetes and most fatal is the psychological effects it could have on its victims. Teenagers commit suicide today because of obesity.
DIABETES AND HYPERTENSION
A close relationship exists between hypertension and obesity. In fact it is believed that most hypertensives are more than 10% overweight. Fat accumulation in the trunk or abdomen is not only related to hypertension but also to diabetes and hyperlipideamia (excess fat in the body). Obesity can contribute to hypertension in several ways. For one thing, obesity leads to a greater output of blood, because the heart has to pump more blood to supply the excess tissues. The increased cardiac output then can raise the blood pressure. For another thing, obese hypertensive individuals have a greater stiffness (resistance) in the peripheral arteries throughout the body. Finally, obesity may be associated with a tendency for the kidneys to retain salt in the body. Weight loss may help reverse problems related to obesity while also lowering blood pressure. It has been estimated that the blood pressure can be decreased 0.32mmHg for every 1kg (2.2pounds) of weight loss.

Preventing Overweight and Obesity - Are You Responsible Enough?

Obesity is now assuming epidemic proportions. Worldwide there are over 1 billion overweight people and out of that more than 300 million in the obese category. With the U.S. weight loss market alone grossing over $46 Billion, and projections of 1 trillion by 2010, obesity, diet control and weight control nutrition is assuming increasing concern among health planners especially the WHO.
The fully industrialized countries account for about 80 % of the overweight with rest falling in developing countries. U.S alone accounts for whopping 150 million people in the overweight category.
Obesity and overweight puts one under the risk of various disease and disorders such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, heart related problems, certain types of cancer such as breast cancer, cancer of the colon and kidney etc apart from numerous problems related to respiratory and muscular systems.
Apart from these diseases, the social and financial cost of overweight and obesity is very high, affecting social, mental and financial health of this huge proportion of the world population. Loss of productivity and the attendant cost to society, low self esteem, lower quality of life adds up to immense financial burden on the individual and the governments.
There is a tremendous amount of action by various governments worldwide, NGO’s and institutions like WHO in creating the right policy framework, dispense information to increase awareness and creating the right environments to combat this epidemic.
However the responsibility of fighting this menace rests with the individual as the governments can only do so much.

What Obesity Debate?

This is a perfect example of how on-line weight loss "experts" can confuse and harm the American consumer...The Obesity Debate?

During a dinner conversation with a friend, the topic of laziness was brought up. From there, we some how got around to the topic of obesity. He said to me, "A great example of how bad laziness can be is obesity."

"Excuse me," I coughed out (almost chocking on the last bite).

"You know, obese people don't do anything. They are fat because they are lazy," my friend said as if from a position of authority. This was going to be a long dinner I could tell.

It turns out, my friend read an article posted on the net that started with a statement similar to my friend's words that almost made me choke. Unfortunately, he didn't remember the author's name but the title was Fitness and Exercise -- I haven't found it...yet.

What blows my mind is how easily people believe what is written on a website by someone calling himself an expert! The real experts need to start making noise!

Laziness does not cause obesity. If that were so, obesity would be the norm and not considered a problem. I recently found a wonderful definition of obesity...it covers all the possibilities in one clear sentence:

The etiology of obesity is complex, determined by the interplay of genetic and environmental factors -Andrea Baessler, from her recent article in Diabetes, Jan, 2005.

There has never been a debate about what causes obesity. We have always known that obesity is multifactorial in etiology. The "real" debate topics are which environmental factors and which genes increase the risk or incidence of obesity. The rest of the article reviews recent work around two genetic links to obesity.

Obesity, What's The 'Big' Deal

Nowadays, so much of the public is obese (fat) that it is the “norm”. So much so, that we are starting to ignore this epidemic.
Thankfully, the Surgeon General has issued a warning about the plague of obesity that has been considered to be as significant or moreso than the warning issued about the hazards of cigarette smoke.
As long as you are carrying extra weight (beyond the acceptable upper limits of body fat), you increase your risks for a variety of health complaints. These complaints and risks include conditions such as diabetes, heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure, osteoarthritis, and more.
Definition of Obesity and Overweight
Obesity has been defined as an abnormal accumulation of body fat in proportion to body size. Overweight persons, although still technically obese, will have a body-fat proportion that is intermediate between normal and obese. (1)
Some Common Excuses for Being Obese
This section will probably ruffle the feathers of some people who read it. It is not meant to be demeaning or belittling. Rather it is meant to shed light on some of the “unhealthy” thought patterns that contribute to obesity, its consequences, and other conditions.

Obese Mothers make Obese kids!

A study published in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition claims that the doctors start giving attention to the children of overweight parents very early- by the age of 4 at the latest. "We found dramatic increase in body fat between ages three and six", said Dr Robert Berkowitz, who led the study. He was also quoted saying " We should be doing prevention and treatment programs at a much earlier age. Everyone knows how difficult it is to take weight off once you are overweight." As per the US researchers, children of overweight mothers are 15 times more likely to be obese by the age of 6 than the children of lean mothers.
His team is now working on the eating and exercise habits of the families they studied but said genes undoubtly play an important role as per other studies which cant be ignored and the biggest evidence is the dramatic spike in weight between ages 3 and 6." this suggests that some genes controlling body weight may become active during this period", added Berkowitz. According to his study, one-third of the children of over-weight women gained weight quickly after turning 3. Of the 37 children of healthy weight women, only one became overweight. Now, all those overweight women, you have one great reason to lose weight and be healthy!
Berkowitz said certain children must carry a combination of genes that make them much more vulnerable to what he calls the 'toxic' western environment, where it is difficult to exercise and food abounds. He doesn't blame diet to be the only factor for obesity. "It doesn't appear to be the factor entirely because we know there are plenty of lean people who eat hamburgers.", he said. " The lean group stays lean but this high risk group really takes off."

Battling Childhood Obesity through Smart Eating

Finally, a positive solution regarding America’s difficult and costly campaign to stem childhood obesity is emerging. For the thousands of children and their families who are currently battling with childhood obesity, this good news is long awaited.
Indeed, the risk factors for childhood obesity read like a checklist of ailments that only a generation ago would never have been linked to children and diet: heart disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and of course, social ridicule and alienation [i]. This latter consequence of childhood obesity -- ridicule and alienation -- has the dual effect of damaging a child both physically and emotionally far beyond childhood, and possibly for the rest of his or her natural life.
For years, medical experts have called for a multi-faceted strategy to address this epidemic. It has been clear that any long-term solution must be fought on four major fronts: physical activity, sedentary behavior, socioeconomic status, and eating habits [ii].
Yet there is room for another pillar; or, at the very least, the identification of another component that must be a part of any lasting solution. This fifth pillar, or undiscovered component, is smart nutritional supplements.
Many obese children have been told repeatedly by well-intentioned dieticians that eating smart is the key to overcoming this scarring condition. This is easier said than done; especially when emotional eating or an unobserved food addiction [1] may fuel adverse eating habits.
Yet being told to “eat smart” is oftentimes not enough. Children must be provided with foods that are nutritionally sound, and foods that they actually enjoy eating. It is this latter criterion that most well-intentioned experts and caregivers overlook. This is explained below.

What Might Surprise You About Childhood Obesity

The formula is pretty straightforward: energy in/energy out. This is the term nutritionists use to describe the intended balance between calories consumed and calories burned. If the level of physical activity is not great enough to burn the amount of calories taken in, weight increases. If this imbalance continues, overweight and possibly obesity result.
Given our fondness for fast food (an ever-growing fondness, due to ever-busier lives) and our tendency to “supersize,” it’s easy to imagine that caloric intake is the crux of the obesity problem. And certainly it is part of the problem, especially considering the quality of the calories consumed. (Recent evidence indicates that children get a full quarter of their vegetable servings in the form of potato chips and French fries!) But the greater problem lies with the second half of the equation: energy out.
Studies both here and abroad have indicated this is true. The Framingham Children’s Study, for example, found that preschool children with low levels of physical activity gained significantly more subcutaneous (beneath the skin) fat than did more active children. In another study it was determined that inactive preschoolers were 3.8 times more likely than active preschoolers to have increased triceps skinfold thickness (the best measure of obesity in children) in follow-up assessments. It’s also been found that children who watch more than five hours of television a day are almost five times more likely to be overweight than children who watch two hours or less – with excessive TV viewing considered to contribute to 60 percent of the risk of obesity in children.

There Is No Reason For Children To Be Obese

Everywhere you go these days you see kids who are clinically obese and it’s horrific and worse, easily preventable. If parents allow their children to become obese then they are bad parents, it’s as simple as that. Regardless of whether the parents themselves are obese, children should never get to the stage where they are suffering from obesity. Children follow the example that their families set and the worst possible example parents can set is a bad attitude towards food. People who allow their children to become seriously overweight without taking steps to prevent it should be investigated for cruelty to children.
The eating habits of children are set when they are very young and the site of their parents stuffing their faces with anything edible gives them the idea that this is acceptable behaviour. This then saddles them with the perception that being obese and lazy is normal, because that’s what their parents are like. Children used to be encouraged to eat their vegetables and play around outside, but this has changed. Now the slob parents tell their kids to sit down and shut up and juts play whatever games won’t make them move around and make a noise.
These terrible parents stuff their kids with sweets and snacks to make them stay quite, in effect sedating them. This sets up a lazy pattern of life. In effect what they’re saying is don’t bother doing physical things when you can just sit on your fat behind and be lazy like your parents. Children’s formative years are now composed of junk food, television, computers and as little actual movement as humanly possible. Being obese is a terrible thing to be, but inflicting your life and eating choices on your children is far worse. You are setting them up for a life that is as awful and illness ridden as yours is instead of encouraging them to have a healthy enjoyable life.

Signs of Obesity in Children

obesity is now considered among the most problematic dietary concerns facing Americans today. This increasing problem is seen to be of particular concern among children. Specific symptoms in childhood can aid to identify the beginnings of a weight problem and can be explored for the purpose of intervention and prevention.
Obesity in children occurs when more calories are consumed than used on a regular basis and normally involves inactivity on the part of the children with sedentary lifestyles. Serious health problems can arise from being continually overweight, among both children and adults.
Parents are largely responsible for the fitness of their children and are encouraged to take steps to prevent and recognize the signs of obesity when they occur. There is a need to recognize and identify the indicators of obesity.
Parents should be aware of their child's weight and activity level. Measuring a child's height and weight can help you identify if your child is considered obese, based on their ideal weight for sex, height and age, using the Body Mass Index. If your child is significantly beyond their ideal weight, they may be obese, though this is not the only consideration involved.
A child's body frame type can also be factored into an ideal weight consideration. Frequent symptoms involved in determining obesity include the disproportionate appearance of facial features, increased fat, known as adipose tissue, in the chest area of boys, an unusually large belly, exceptionally small male genitals and the early onset of puberty.

Pictures Of Fat Kids

OK everybody has a problem with photographs. Unless you are a photographers dream or the latest supermodel we all have a problem with our photographic image. We have our good days of course but poor lighting, poor complexion, red eye and a long list of problems may cause us concern when we see our image in all its glory It is said a picture tells a thousand words. If it is true pictures of fat kids still tells a thousand words, a thousand often-unpleasant words.
If the picture is one of you or your family how does it make you feel? People say lots of things when looking at a picture or photograph “isn’t that cute”, “what a great smile”, “don’t they look so happy” etc etc. however it matters little what they say out a loud most would agree that it is not right to see pictures of fat kids. Fat kids do not look healthy, they don’t look right to the eye. Cruel yes but the truth sometimes is.
When looking back through your family album you may come across these same photographs of you or your family and you say to yourself “boy was I a chubby kid”, “look at that puppy fat”. That’s great if you have since moved on and shed this image. Maybe it was just a short phase that you grew out of, a growth spurt maybe! The problem at the moment is that in the 21st century the chances of seeing a family picture without some fat or overweight people in the frame is getting ever more difficult to find. The statistics are coming ever more frequent and the trends are all going the same way. That way is up. The average weight is going up especially for our children. Not just up but substantially so, up to the point where it is common to hear words like obese, clinically obese and life threatening in the same sentence. Also equally alarming these statistics also show that kids that reach these proportions are more and more likely to remain so in their adult life and so attracting all the ailments and problems that come with it.

New Weapons to Fight the Obesity Epidemic in XXI Century - Will They Fulfill the Promise?

Today most nations reached a point where obesity has changed from an individual health problem to a major public health issue reaching epidemic proportions. In the United States, 65% of Americans are overweight and of these, 31% are obese. Obesity is a complex health condition associated with increased risk of numerous diseases, including type 2 diabetes, hypertension, stroke, cardiovascular disease, respiratory problems, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea and certain cancers (including endometrial, colon, gall bladder, prostate, kidney and postmenopausal breast cancer); obesity also has serious social and psychological consequences, such as low self-esteem and clinical depression, and affects all ages and socioeconomic groups [1]. There is no definite single contributing factor to this epidemic but some of them can be credited largely to the lifestyle changes with the promotion of a highly technological urban existence with the ability of successful functioning when eating more and moving less.
The research on fat metabolism has made large progress over the last decade and has challenged several established views. One of the most important findings in recent obesity research was revealing that fat is an endocrine tissue (gland that secrets hormones in the body). Also, very important was the discovery of a number of peptides (short protein chains) that function as central regulators of food intake and energy metabolism. Such findings revealed that the neural and hormonal body systems are involved in complex interactions where the central nervous system (brain and the spinal cord) and fat communicate through hormones and neurotransmitters, and affect other organs.
The anti-obesity effect might be achieved by any of three basic approaches: a reduction in energy intake, a decrease in energy storage or an increase in energy expenditure. Each of them can be addressed by various specific mechanisms. With such perspectives the drug market should be blooming. In reality, disregarding the advertising scams and marketing schemes, there is not much in the store today, and what is available is disappointingly far from perfect. In fact, all today available drugs and most of those in clinical development belong to the reduction in energy intake category acting either by appetite suppression or inhibition of intestinal absorption.

Weight Loss Medicine

Obesity is a problem that is growing at an alarming rate affecting many people and it is also a factor that leads to other serious conditions such as heart disease or diabetes. Treatments can include prescription weight loss medication, over the counter supplements, or both.
Weight loss medication when combined with regular exercise and a reduced calorie diet can help with weight loss. Different medications affect the body differently. Some reduce the appetite making a person feel full, while others speed up the metabolism and burn fat, or even all three combined.
Prescription weight loss medication should be used only by those that have an increased risk of another medical condition because of a weight problem and they should be used only under the direction of a physician. They should not be used for cosmetic weight loss such as losing 10 pounds. Prescription weight loss medicine has been approved for use on individuals with a BMI that is above 30 or for those that have a BMI of 27 combined with obesity related conditions. Side effects from prescription weight loss medications are generally mild however as with any medication there is the potential for serious side effects. You will need to discuss all of your options with your doctor.
For those that are not in need of medical intervention for weight loss but are looking for a cosmetic change in their weight, there are many over the counter products which will do the job. Choose wisely as some are more hype than effective. As with prescription medications many reduce the appetite while increasing metabolism and burns fat.
Some products contain ephedrine, ephedra, and caffeine and the safety of these drugs is still unknown. There have been reports that link these compounds to stroke, heart attack, and seizure that can result in death. Some countries have banned the use of ephedrine and ephedra. When using ephedrine or caffeine based products always make sure that you are over 18, do not have any heart problems such as high blood pressure and that you are not pregnant or lactating. It is important to always use caution when starting a new weight loss supplement and remember that even though it is over the counter it is still potent.

Stop The Obesity

Not too long ago, obesity was viewed mainly as a cosmetic problem. The purpose of dieting was to maintain your appearance. Exercise was a way to tighten your stomach and thighs. As a last resort, there were always doctors, although they were seen as suspicious.
In just the last few years the medical view of excess body fat has undergone a major change. It is now known to be a public health problem of the same magnitude as smoking. Government statistics list overweight as the second-leading cause of preventable death in the United States, after smoking, increasing the risk for a variety of serious diseases like heart disease, stroke, gallbladder disease, and several forms of cancer — overweight and its more severe form, obesity, cause 280,000–325,000 deaths in this country each year. For many people, losing weight is a struggle for survival.
The dangers of being overweight have come to light at a time when the rates of overweight and obesity are skyrocketing. More than half of all adults in the United States are overweight, and 26% are obese — an increase of more than 50% in the last three decades. Obesity rates are dramatically rising among children, too, a bad sign for the future health of our population.
If there is one thing to be learned about obesity it’s that it can be controlled and it can be stopped. I think it’s important to know that there is no rocket science involved in it. With all the health, fitness, and diet books, and commercials on television about it and all the medical documents it can appear complicated, but it really isn’t. We need to go back to a simpler time, and take the time to be more active and learn the self discipline to eat healthier foods. It can feel satisfying emotionally and physically to eat unhealthy, but we have to train ourselves not to do this. If not for ourselves, for the sake of our children, and in the long run it feels much better to eat right.

Fast Easy Fat Loss

Speaking strictly for myself, I've found that any "Fast Easy Fat Loss" program to be a prerequisite for failure and just permeates more of what you're trying to get rid of.
At the risk of sounding like a "Dime Store Psycologist" There is nothing that is worth while that comes fast and easy. That includes just about everything there is.
The promise of fast easy money is nothing more than an unscrupulous business trying to bilk money from people, that are desperate enough to believe their bull.
The promise of the better job by employers that dangle the carrot to manipulate the employee into producing more.
Shall I go on or can I get down off my soap box? (:-)
We as Americans are the most obese country in the world and speaking from my own experience I've found that my own struggles with weight loss were emotional in nature and had nothing to do with food.
The weight was but a symptom of deeper issues. Low self esteem and self worth. A lousy self image combined with the constant bombardment of media that suggested we be perfect in every way. I'd put on the emotional feed bag and feel sorry for myself when I couldn't get my pants buttoned.
Then I'd diet and work out, take it off and upon doing so, something would come along and knock me down, then I didn't deserve what happened, feel sorry for myself and eat some more, put on some more fat, and so the merry go round continued. Phew, I'm worn out just typing this kind of insanity. Yes, Insanity! It's True! When you continue to do the same thing over and over, expecting the results to some how be different. That's Just Plain Crazy!

The Skinny on Having a Body Fat Scale

In this day and age, a lot of folks are worried about their weight. We all want to be thinner than our friends, and look like the celebrities we all see on television. However, weight is not the real issue because body fat is the real culprit. A high body fat rating increases the risk of heart disease. On the other hand, a body that has very low body fat also puts a lot of strain on the human heart. Millions of obese Americans and the many hundreds of thousands of underweight ones can all benefit from a body fat scale. This device can improve people’s health and perhaps save a lot of life.
An old-fashioned set of calipers can do an effective job but a lot of people still go for an electric body fat scale. You can do some simple measurements that can accurately measure your body fat. A healthy person usually has a body fat at that is around 5% of that person’s mass. Having a body fat that is below 3% can be unhealthy but a lot of athletes carry lower percentages. A rating that is lower than 3 percent on the body fat scale can be dangerous to a person’s health.
People usually get a rating that is higher than what they want when they use body fat percentage scales for the first time. This experience can sometimes cause the wrong reaction. Many folks can over react when they see their body fat scale measurement because they are in denial that they are overweight. They will immediately believe that they have to lose all the weight as soon as possible. As a result, many of them will take extreme measures towards dieting. They may also attempt to completely starve themselves to get a lower rating on the body fat scale.

Is A Thyroid Problem Making You Fat?

Are you gaining weight unexpectedly? Are you not losing weight when you're doing everything right? What if you have hypothyroidism and you don't know it? When your thyroid is working against you, looking and feeling better is like trying to exercise with no energy.
As many as 25 million Americans have hypothyroidism. About half of them have no idea that they do. Millions more suffer this condition around the world. Hypothyroidism is the medical name for when your thyroid gland doesn't produce enough hormones.
The thyroid gland controls your entire body's metabolism. That means that your weight, your hair, your skin, your sex drive, all sorts of things that go on in your body depend on your thyroid to work right. When your metabolism doesn't work right because you have hypothyroidism, you may find that there's no amount of dieting or exercise that takes the weight off. You may actually gain extra weight, even though you're doing just what you're supposed to.
Your doctor may not recognize that you have hypothyroidism, because it causes such an incredible variety of symptoms that aren't obviously connected. Even blood tests don't always show this condition. People may blame you for what's not your fault.
If you have hypothyroidism, you can start taking control yourself. Hypothyroidism doesn't just lead to weight problems. It can cause anything from depression, headaches, and lack of concentration and memory problems to rough, dry hair and even hair loss. As well as diarrhea and loss of appetite to infertility, irregular menstrual periods and loss of interest in sex. and that's not a complete list. Because there are so many kinds of symptoms, and because not all of them appear in everyone, doctors often don't diagnose hypothyroidism. They may treat you for a problem you don't have. They may even just send you home and tell you to take better care of yourself.
Prescription medications for hypothyroidism have caused many different side effects, including allergic reactions, vomiting, chest pains, headaches, diarrhea, insomnia, cramps and fevers.

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What Can You Do If Obesity Is Affecting You

This weight loss and health article is going to get straight to the point. It is not in your interest to 'beat around the bush' if you are suffering from obesity. Some people will have you believe that large is good or overweight is attractive. I would stress to you that no matter what anyone says to dress up obesity so that feelings are not hurt or whatever the reason, being obese is not good for your health, your longevity and the function of your body and it's crucial parts. In addition, most people are in a better frame of mind once they begin to lose excess weight. Read these points carefully -

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 can be 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).

These figures can be concerning and if you 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! It's what you do today that will decide how successful you are with your health and weight loss decisions.

Reasons Why So Many People Are Overweight

Obesity has become a huge problem for most people living in developed countries. Today, 30% of children between the ages of 10 and 17 are obese and 60% of all adults are either overweight or obese. There are many reasons for our overweight problem.
Obesity is responsible for increased rates of stroke, heart attack, type II diabetes, and even some forms of cancer. In fact it is responsible for as many premature deaths as smoking. Obesity has now become a threat to our longevity.
On the surface it would seem that the underlying reason is really quite simple. If a person takes in more calories than the person burns, weight gain is the final outcome. These factors certainly play a role in obesity but there are more factors which contribute to this problem.
Modern society has changed a great deal from just a couple of generations ago when agriculture and manual labor were common place. Today people spend a great deal of the day sitting at a desk in an office, driving the car, or relaxing on the sofa at home. All of which has affected the overall health of people living in developed countries.
By the time a person arrives home, the last thing most are thinking about is going for a walk or heading off to the gym. Combine that with the idea that as a nation we eat just as much food, if not more than our ancestors did without nearly as much physical exertion and suddenly the recipe for obesity becomes very clear.
But there is more to it. Statistics show that we have actually doubled our food intake. This is where the fast food industry is to blame. Everything has been super sized and not in a good way either with most of these foods being high in trans fatty acids (the bad fat) and sugar, it is easy to see that weight gain is inevitable.
But the fast food industry cannot take all the credit. Our schooling system has allowed vending machines to offer children fast food and soft drinks with provides no nutritional value and empty calories. School cafeterias that serve food are hardly a step above fast food. Add to that, most parents nowadays don’t have time to cook traditional wholesome foods due their hectic work schedule and as a result buy convenience foods which are also high in fat and sugar and low in nutrition.

What Causes Obesity

Obesity refers to a state of a person's bodyweight when it's 20% or more above normal bodyweight.
Obesity increases risks of developing high blood pressure, diabetes (type 2), heart disease, stroke, gallbladder disease and cancer of the breast, prostate and colon.
In the US, about 300,000 deaths per year are directly related to obesity........
It's not just a health hazard, it's a life threatening disease as well.
Understanding what causes obesity will help you battle it more effectively.
And surprise!Surprise! You'd think that "no exercise and overeating" are the culprits.......
These 2 of course are the main causes since we are bombarded daily with plenty of high calorie food, but because of our increasingly sedentary lifestyles, we don't exercise at all or don't do enough exercise, so we struggle real hard not to get fat.
But there's also other causes - other than the "big 2" - "no exercise and overeating", that contribute to obesity.
Ahem.......If you hate exercise and like to eat, you can now breathe easier knowing that "no exercise and overeating" are not the only culprits that cause obesity......
Right on. I bet you want to know what're these other factors that cause obesity.....Let's have a look at them and see whether they resonate with you.
Not Enough Sleep is What Causes Obesity
You're surprised?
You think it should be the exact opposite, right? That not enough sleep would cause you to lose weight (because it affects your body's health), not to gain weight!
However, several studies suggest that there's a relationship between how much you sleep and your weight gain.....
The first is the US Health & Nutrition Examination Survey which concludes that if you sleep less than 7 hours per night, you tend to have a higher body mass index (BMI) than a person who sleeps more hours.

Global Obesity-A Way Back

Virtually everywhere you look today, one can observe some of the results of our lifestyles. It is now being observed in our schools, beginning at the elementary level all the way up to graduation in their senior year. Our society has to come to grip with what is certainly now emerging into an epidemic. There are diet advertisers who certainly try to capitalise on the adult obesity issues and since great emphasis has been aired in the media, the problem at the adult level, we are told, has only become worse. The federal, state, local government and even individual schools and school districts have begun changing cafeteria meal formats, removing obvious junk food vending machine suppliers.
Our Denatured Grain
For many decades our food supplies have been modified, slowly and very gradually. In the beginning, here in the U.S., we have seen some changes in the processing of our grains, where the germ of the wheat was removed. Enriched Flour (wheat) is wheat flour (no bran or germ) that has been enriched with some B vitamins...thiamin, riboflavin and niacin and may include Vitamin D, iron and calcium that are lost during flour processing.
A Harvest of Depleted Nutrients
Besides the enrichment processes of our grains after harvesting, our farm fields are highly saturated with chemical fertilizers, which have caused depletion of many of the more critical minerals such as Selenium, Magnesium, etc.. At one time the consumer got most of the full daily requirement of nutrients when they purchased their grain, but now, the processing industry would have to "replace" the nutrients lost in the growing process...but no enrichment could ever fulfill the original plant requirements. As of late, a possible solution to this problem was introduced to the consumer. It had been around for a long time, but now had found its niche. Organic farming would become an avenue for the consumer to purchase their vegetables and fruits "aux naturales" from government certified farmers.