Obesity and overweight are defined as an accumulation of excess
body fat .
Obesity is a condition in which the natural energy reserve, stored
in the fatty tissue of humans .
Obesity Causes :
People gain weight
when the body takes in more calories than it burns off. Those extra
calories are stored as fat. The amount of weight gain that leads to
obesity doesn't happen in a few weeks or months.
One of the most important factors in weight gain is a sedentary
lifestyle. People are much less active today than they used to be,
with TVs, computers, and video games filling their spare time. Cars
dominate our lives, and fewer people walk or ride bikes to get
somewhere. As lives become busier, there is less time to cook
healthy meals, so more and more people eat at restaurants, grab
takeout food, or buy quick foods at the grocery store or food market
to heat up at home. All of these can contain lots more fat and
calories than meals prepared from fresh foods at home.
Precautions &
Suggestions :
The best way to avoid these health problems is to maintain a
healthy weight. And the keys to healthy weight are regular exercise
and good eating habits.
To stay active, try to exercise 30 to 60 minutes every day. Your
exercise doesn't have to be hardcore, either. Walking, swimming, and
stretching are all good ways to burn calories and help you stay fit.
Try these activities to get moving:
- Go outside for a walk.
- Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
- Walk or bike to places (such as class or the store) instead of
driving.
- If you have to drive somewhere, park farther away than you
need to and walk the extra distance.
- Tackle those household chores, such as vacuuming, washing the
car, or cleaning the bathroom — they all burn calories.
- Alternate activities so you don't get bored: Try running,
biking, skating — the possibilities are endless.
- Limit your time watching TV or playing video games; even
reading a book burns more energy.
- Go dancing — it can burn more than 300 calories an hour!
Eating well doesn't mean dieting over and over again to lose a
few pounds. Instead, try to make healthy choices every day:
- Soft drinks, fruit juices, and sports drinks are loaded with
sugar; drink fat-free or low-fat milk or water instead.
- Eat at least five servings of fruit and vegetables a day.
- Avoid fast-food restaurants. If you can't, try to pick
healthier choices like grilled chicken or salads, and stick to
regular servings — don't supersize!
- If you want a snack, try carrot sticks, a piece of fruit, or a
piece of whole-grain toast instead of processed foods like chips
and crackers, which can be loaded with fat and calories.
- Eat when you're hungry, not when you're bored or because you
can't think of anything else to do.
- Eat a healthy breakfast every day.
- Don't eat meals or snacks while watching TV because you'll
probably end up eating more than you intend to.
- Pay attention to the portion sizes of what you eat.
Health risks
associated with obesity?
Obesity is not just a cosmetic consideration; it is a dire health
dilemma directly harmful to one's health. In the United States, roughly
300,000 deaths per year are directly related to obesity, and more than 80%
of these deaths are in patients with a BMI over 30. Obesity also increases the risk
of developing a number of chronic diseases including:
Insulin
Resistance:
Insulin is necessary for the transport of blood glucose (sugar) into the
cells of muscle and fat (which is then used for energy). By transporting
glucose into cells, insulin keeps the blood glucose levels in the normal
range. Insulin resistance (IR) is the condition whereby the effectiveness
of insulin in transporting glucose (sugar) into cells is diminished. Fat
cells are more insulin resistant than muscle cells; therefore, one
important cause of IR is obesity. The pancreas initially responds to IR by
producing more insulin. As long as the pancreas can produce enough insulin
to overcome this resistance, blood glucose levels remain normal. This IR
state (characterized by normal blood glucose levels and high insulin
levels) can last years. Once the pancreas can no longer keep up with
producing high levels of insulin, blood glucose levels begin to rise,
resulting in type 2 diabetes, thus IR is a pre-diabetes condition. In fact
scientists now believe that the atherosclerosis (hardening of the
arteries) associated with diabetes likely develops during this IR period.
Type 2
(adult-onset) diabetes.
The risk of type 2
diabetes increases with the degree and duration of obesity. Type 2
diabetes is associated with central obesity; a person with central obesity
has excess fat around his/her waist, so that the body is shaped like an
apple.
High blood
pressure (hypertension):
Hypertension is common among obese adults. A Norwegian study showed that
weight gain tended to increase blood pressure in women more significantly
than in men. The risk of developing high blood pressure is also higher in
obese people who are apple shaped (central obesity) than in people who are
pear shaped (fat distribution mainly in hips and thighs).
High cholesterol
(hypercholesterolemia) Stroke (cerebrovascular accident or CVA)
Heart attack:
The Nurses Health
Study found that the risk of developing coronary artery disease increased
3 to 4 times in women who had a BMI greater than 29. A Finnish study
showed that for every one kilogram (2.2 pounds) increase in body weight,
the risk of death from coronary artery disease increased by one percent.
In patients who have already had a heart attack, obesity is associated
with an increased likelihood of a second heart attack.
Congestive heart
failure
Gallstones
Gout and gouty arthritis
Osteoarthritis (degenerative arthritis) of the knees,
hips, and the lower back
Treatment
Procedure :
Ayurveda
& Homeopathy offers
treatments for various aspects of obesity. Combination of these medicines can help
you lose weight by improving digestion, elimination, and metabolism. But
the medicines need to be individually prescribed, based on your own unique
pattern of symptoms.
In this way, without
going to gym, at home itself you can reduce your weight without any side
effects by controlling your diet & taking these medicines .
To get medicines at
home please click here
|