Chose to lose weight to a level that doesn't compromise your health nor quality of life.
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According to research 100,500 cases of cancer in America each year are due to overweight/obesity. Obesity also affects the recovery rate after cancer treatment.
One of the authors, Melinda Irwin, recommends exercise for cancer survivors. It would appear exercise assists to regulate hormones, with regular activity improving survival rates for both obese and healthy weight individuals.
To read the article click on the link: American Institute for Cancer Research article
source: http://www.aicr.org/site/News2/
regards, Keith
If you are obese lose weight to reduce the risk of damage to your heart.
Left atrial enlargement of the heart can lead to atrial fibrillation, stroke and death. The Journal of the American College of Cardiology reports obesity is the most important risk factor for left atrial enlargement. The authors conclude early intervention is important if young obese people are to avoid premature changes to their heart.
If you are obese it would appear important to lose weight, what ever your age, to avoid or minimise left atrial enlargement. A change in diet and possibly lifestyle could be life saving.
To access the article click: JACC article abstract
regards, Keith
A recent study reported participants on a low fat diet had an improved mood compared with those on a high fat – very low carbohydrate diet. While both diets had contributed to similar weight loss over a year the better mood may contribute to more successful long term weight loss for those on the low fat diet.
Click here to access the article: Archives of Internal Medicene, November 2009 article abstract
What I find amazing is that science is still spending so much resource investigating low fat and low carbohydrate diets in the first place. It is increasingly clear low fat/carbohydrate are only short term fixs. Until the mindset is firmly on adequate / balanced eating habits the results of diets will be short lived and disappointing.
Eat good fat, carbohydrate and protein in moderation…
The only low diet I recommend is a low glycemic diet and the main things that this diet is low in are the high sugar foods that are the major contributors to the health crises we face today – including obesity and metabolic syndrome.
regards, Keith
The need to lose weight is, or should be, a concern for many - where ever they live.
Obesity: the public health challenge of our time
While the report (extract below) is now several years old it remains relevant today. If two thirds of Americans are overweight or obese how is this wave of obesity to be addressed? If this is the American experience other developed countries are likely to have the same issue, making the article widely applicable.
While the authors look at the issue from both an individual and a public perspective each one of us can take responsibility for our own health and manage our weight, chosing to lose weight and maintain the weight loss if required.
The full article is available at:
M.T. Bassett & S. Perl, Vol 94, No. 9, American Journal of Public Health, September 2004.
Extract: “Obesity has become the public health issue of the day—and for good reason. The data outline a dismal picture and a more foreboding future. The prevalence of obesity has doubled in adults and children and tripled in adolescents over the past 2 decades. Two thirds of Americans are overweight or obese. Each year in the United States, 400 000 deaths and $117 billion in health-care and related costs are attributable to obesity.
There is little debate over how an individual person becomes obese: she eats more calories than she expends. Rather, debate rages over how entire populations have become obese so quickly. Sedentary lifestyles, calorie-dense foods, large portion sizes, and excessive television viewing are among the identified contributors.
Which side of the equation is most to blame? There is no doubt that physical activity levels have declined. The “eat more” influence of the food industry on nutrition and health also has been documented (see, e.g., Nestle M. Food Politics. Berkeley: University of California Press; 2002).
There is debate over whether increasing physical activity and improving nutrition are matters of individual behavioral change (eat better, exercise more) or environmental change (add bike paths, ensure the availability of fresh produce). While both are important, limited resources dictate that choices be made.
The sad truth is that when it comes to helping individuals lose weight, public health professionals, health care providers, and the diet industry have all been woefully unsuccessful. Long-term success stories are few. Stories of weight regained abound. “
A recent study found Latino adolescents who increased their fiber intake reduced the amount of fat around their waists.
reference: J.N. Davis et al, American Journal of Nutrition, November, 2009
While the authors were cautious about generalising from these results its worth considering how they might apply to the rest of us. How much fiber are you currently consuming? It is likely many people could improve their overall diet by increasing their fiber levels. One of the possible benefits might be a reduction in belt size!
For fiber look to fruit and veges as the best sources. If you eat an orange rather than have an orange drink you get the fiber as well as the vitamin C!
And, if you’re really interested in reducing your belt size consider getting my book Enjoy Losing Weight. I reduced my waist measurement by many inches (and enjoyed doing it). Whats more my waist has remained the same size since.
regards, Keith
We’re told to lose weight to stay trim and to keep active. However, will this really lead to better health, particularly as we age?
A study looked at the relation between body mass index, exercise, overall health, and physical functioning in people in their fifties. Results indicate maintaining ideal body weight is important in preventing decline in overall health and physical functioning. However, regular exercise can reduce the risk of health decline even among individuals who cannot achieve ideal weight.
The findings reinforce the importance of eating well to maintain weight and losing weight if need be. I recall another study finding over 30% of middle aged people are overweight. This would indicate many of us are at risk of poor health and would benefit from losing weight. The value of exercise is also reinforced and indicates the importance of maintaining activity whatever our age.
So eat well and keep moving, Keith
reference: Xiaoxing Z. He, MD, MPH and David W. Baker, September 2004, Vol 94, No. 9, American Journal of Public Health
How important is it to lose weight and avoid obesity?
In wandering the web I came across the results of a study to determine the risk of death associated with being underweight or overweight as measured by body mass index (BMI). The authors used the following measures: underweight (body mass index [BMI] <18.5), overweight (BMI 25 to <30), and obesity (BMI >30).
They looked at deaths in the United States in 2000 and found 111,606 excess deaths from obesity and 33,746 associated with being underweight. They found being overweight (BMI 25 to <30) did not contribute to excess deaths compared with those of normal weight.
reference: K. M. Flegal, B. I. Graubard, D. F. Williamson & M. H. Gail, The Journal of the American Medical Association, April, 2005;293, No 15
The increased risk to health as people reach increasing levels of obesity is widely promoted. The need to lose weight and avoid obesity is supported by this study. Interesting that being over weight without being obese did not lead to increased risk of death. It is also interesting that being underweight increases the risk of death.
Food for thought! Keith
The benefits of exercise in assisting to lose weight are disputed. While public information programs promote exercise in contributing to weight loss others claim the assistance is less than what is claimed. If you are very overweight and unfit you wont be able to undertake much exercise to burn calories.
My own view is that there are seperate benefits from losing weight and exercising even if exercise does not contribute greatly to weight loss in a direct way.
Once you have managed to lose weight how do you keep to your goal weight?
According to research findings published by the American Physiological Society exercise may contribute to maintaining your goal weight by reducing appetite, preventing fat cells from accumulating and prompting the body to burn calories from fat before burning calories from carbohydrates.
One benefical effect of exercise may be the change in the bodies ‘defended weight’ – the weight the body seeks to maintain. Apparently this makes the lower weight easier to maintain.
The study challenges the belief that the number of fat cells can not be altered by diet or lifestyle.
However the importance of eating well remains if you need to lose weight and stay at this lower weight.
So, exercise (and eat well) to maintain weight loss. Regards, Keith
Watching what you are eating to lose weight? Eating a diet high in fruit and vegetables to lose weight safely may also protect you from getting depression.
A Mediterranean type diet has been found to reduce the risk of depression by 30%. Fruits, vegetables and olive oil were associated with even lower levels of risk. This was attributed to their effect on nerve cell growth and functioning and the availability and effectiveness of seratonin.
Source: M.A. Martinez-Gonzalez & D. Mischoulon, Archives of General Psychiatry, October, 2009
By selecting fruit and vegetables with a low glycemic index you can combine the benefits of a Mediterranean type diet and a low glycemic diet to lose weight effectively and permanently, and obtain other health benefits at the same time.
regards, Keith
A central cause of the current epidemic of obesity and type 2 diabetes relates directly to our eating habits. We eat too much of the wrong food. End of story. We then need to lose weight to restore our health.
A study of type 2 diabetics who were overweight/obese found 93 percent got too many calories from fat, 85 percent ate too much saturated fat and 92 percent ate too much salt. Fewer than half ate enough fruit, vegetables, diary and grains.
Reference: M.Z. Vitolins et al, Journal of the American Dietetic Association, August, 2009.
The challenge is to replace the high fat food we enjoy with other healthier food we enjoy as much or more. This will require effort to start with but over a short time you can train yourself onto tasty food that will support your weight loss efforts.
What is clear is that merely being aware you are overweight or finding out you have diabetes is often not enough to trigger a change in eating habits. I suspect this is because an attractive path to better health is not presented in a format that is compelling. The book Enjoy Losing Weight could be renamed Enjoy Eating Great Food That Will Help You To Lose Weight. Don’t see the need to lose weight condeming you to eating boring food. Improve your enjoyment of food and lose weight at the same time.
Happy and healthy eating, Keith
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Now is the BEST time to start losing weight!
Get the book, enjoy losing the weight
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