Obesity Is Really Widespread

Let's talk about obesity today, class. How many of you are overweight? Are you obese or just fat? Are you heavy, husky, big-boned, pleasantly plump, flabby, wishy-washy, huge, horizontally challenged, big, large, extra large?? EXTRA EXTRA EXTRA LARGE?!?!

Here's some stats for ya: 2/3 of the United States population is- WHO CARES!! We get that America is obese. It's a given. But it's not about how many other people are fat. The fact is, YOU are fat and you need to do something about it.

Slow Down.. Wait, can you slow down?

I don't think you can get any slower. You haven't been to the gym in weeks!..what's that?.. Months!?!

Alright, get out.

Don't blame it on genetics either. Excuses are like spoon fulls of cottage cheese: fat people have them (on their thighs and neck), while healthy people eat them for breakfast.

Maybe I've offended you. You came here looking for some help, a shoulder to lean on in this time of "I have NEVER weighed this much in my entire life". I know. But I'm not going to tell you everything is going to be okay. When people stop caring about their health, their weight, their hygiene, and their smell, people die.

Heart disease (AKA HartDZ), cancer, high blood pressure, kidney failure, herpies. Ever heard of them? Well if you don't get your act together and quit with the doughnuts, McGriddles, and Curly fries, you will not be able to escape the scary truth that your life is now a ticking time bomb.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst, for they are sticking to their diets.

Okay class, time to talk about portions.

Are you aware that when you go out to eat you order a plate that has more food on it than a child in Siberia eats in an entire year? You could feed 4 children, two teenagers, and 1 adult FOR A MONTH with that appetizer, entree, and dessert you and your accomplice enjoyed last weekend.

But seriously, you should eat less.

Let's get real for a second. Cutting back on your portions is important and it's not that difficult. Do it in baby steps. When you go out to eat with your spouse or a friend, instead of you both getting the xtra large combo, have one person get the combo, and you just get the sandwich and share the fries and the drink. Dine in and get unlimited refills for crying out loud! How hard is that? Now you won't be tempted to eat an entire bucket of fries yourself.

If you continually cut back on your portion sizes, soon you will have a tortilla for lunch and be stuffed. You won't rely on a triple burger and a chocolate shake to fill that enormous tummy of yours.

Diet and Exercise are like Cookies and Milk

Class, now that we've established the fact that your eating habits are cause for concern, it's time to talk about exercise. If you are dieting but not exercising, you can say goodbye to all of your hopes and dreams of being less fat.

I say that because a lot of you will turn to the HCG diet or Atkins diet or something stupid like that. You will rely on some secret formula to get rid of all your heavy problems.

Well, that ain't gonna cut it.

Only eating 300 calories a day will definitely cause you to lose weight. It will also cause you to go into some nasty weight cycles and your stomach will begin eating itself. You don't want that.

The trick is not to starve yourself, but to only eat healthy foods and to do so as you exercise frequently.

HCG Homeopathic Drops - The Way Forward For The Overweight?

As we approach the end of the year, many women and indeed men start to think about their waistlines. Not just the rapidly expanding girth but methods to try and get rid of it. This New Year, they promise, they will lose those extra pounds. It is no coincidence that the fitness industry is gearing up for the new year with all the usual blandishments and discounts.

Unfortunately many or probably most people do not stick with the fitness regime they promised themselves and by the spring, the gyms are emptying themselves of those spirited folks who started going three or four times a week in January and have now given up the ghost. They are nowhere to be seen.

Why is this? Is it just stamina or boredom or a combination? Many people it is true seem to expect overnight results and in these days of instant gratification they just do not seem to appreciate that it can be boring and it can take a long time to shift the weight. They are just not prepared for the long haul and before you know it, they are eating and drinking as before and any inroads they may have made into the waistline are forgotten until the end of the year when the whole cycle starts again.

There are so many diets and exercise regimes, Dukan, grapefruit, cabbage, aerobics, yoga, zumba, you name it someone somewhere is embarking on it as I write. But will they keep at it? A percentage will, but it's probably a low percentage.

Many people do expect miracles and are easily disappointed. The fact that the simplest way to lose weight is to eat less and exercise more seems to pass them by. The fact is that it is not easy to eat less, assailed as we are by product advertising, fast food outlets and "quality" ready meals from the supermarkets. In the recessionary times we live in, restaurant takings are in fact going down and many restaurateurs are struggling, but the ready meal market is booming, particularly at the quality end. We are not eating less, we are just eating it indoors and spending less.

Obesity is increasing rapidly and the sight of an overweight couple with their overweight children is no longer a rare sight, in fact it is now so common in some places, it is becoming the norm.

So what can be done? It is difficult to come to any firm conclusions and I am no expert. There are alternatives but they still demand effort. There are some homeopathic solutions that are very popular at the moment although whether you use them or not will depend on your thoughts on homeopathy. It is an alternative treatment that appears to have stood the test of time. HCG Homeopathic drops have been available now for a relatively short period of time but seem for many to be the answer to their obesity or weight problems. There have been some remarkable results recorded. Whether you are prepared to try them depends to some extent on your views on homeopathy.

Homeopathic HCG drops are taken daily for a short time although you can return to them after a break. They are supposed to work in a similar way to traditional HCG which is taken by way of injection so homeopathy is a gentler approach. Similar results appear to have been recorded using both types and for many the ease of use and cheaper prices of homeopathic HCG seem to be winning for many in the obesity stakes at the moment.

Obesity Is Not Only Killing America

People are getting fatter in all corners of the world. The World Health Organization predicts there will be 2.3 billion overweight adults and over 700 million obese adults in the world by the year 2015. This epidemic is a modern day disaster. Fifty years ago, statistical data wasn't kept about this deadly disease. Most everyone identifies the burgeoning world wide fast food industry as the number one culprit of this crisis. However true, sedentary professions, stressful jobs, lack of exercise and the convenience of motorized vehicles also contribute to the far reaching problem. Most disturbing are the recent trends and current statistics showing how obesity has rampantly spread to our children. Obesity experts are alarmed by studies suggesting obesity runs in families suggesting a possible genetic link between individuals and obesity.

Keep in mind; obesity in families may also be attributed to family members sharing common dietary and lifestyle habits as well as similar attitudes toward exercise and physical regimens. Parents have a strong influence over the children they raise. They directly affect the shopping habits of their kids as well as their personal hygiene and self esteem. Recent trends show that obese children and adolescents frequently grow up to be obese adults. This trait is one we should not pass on to the next generation.

Our environment can also affect the outrageous obesity rate. Would you believe me if I told you air conditioning can contribute to obesity? Second to lack of sleep, cooled air and a comfortable temperature encourages an individual to eat more food. Research has shown that persons placed in inclement environments tend to eat much less. Graphical data points between obesity rate and air conditioning usage illustrates the correlation between the spread of air conditioning across the world and the rise of obesity. Sleep doctors hypothesize, a lack of sleep severely jolts the body's metabolic system, expending greater amounts of instant energy.

University of Chicago researcher Esra Tasali notes that waistlines in modern societies started to expand as people started to sleep less. Nowadays, the 'sleep deficit' is two hours per night compared with 40 years ago. Over time society has become educated and made increasingly aware of the addictive dangers of smoking, taking drugs and drinking alcohol. Recent studies confirm individuals who give up any one of the aforementioned addictions will often gain weight immediately afterward. Legal and illicit drugs produce chemical stimulation to the body triggering an addictive effect. Such stimulation can also block unpleasant feelings and people suffering from addictive eating disorders use chemical stimulation to curb unbearable urges of hunger. The fastest way to defeat any disorder is to recognize the addiction and get the appropriate help.

Through a combination of proprietary products, mental and nutritional counseling my methodology is known to aid rapid fat loss, amplifies lean body mass, improves energy and increases overall metabolic rate. Whatever caused your weight gain, one thing is for sure. It is time to stop the spiraling obesity roller coaster ride you are on and reclaim your life. A shorter life span and not living your life to its fullest is not acceptable! You have the power within you, "Training of the body starts with the mind!" I have placed the facts on the table and only you hold the key to control your destiny. You can stop dieting and end your weight loss struggles forever.

Discover how to stop dieting and end your weight loss struggles forever with Gabi Rose's new free e-book--Eat to Live; Don't Live to Eat-- available for free at http://www.gabirose.com. Gabi Rose is considered an international obesity and weight loss expert. She is the co-host and executive co-producer of the upcoming TV show, Absolute Beauty on WEtv Women's Entertainment Television, reaching an estimated 77 million households nationally. Absolute Beauty seeks to bring a fresh new approach to exploring the many beauty, fashion, health & fitness, options available to the everyday consumer. Gabi is also the host and co-producer of The Get Fit Club, a one of a kind reality series on ABC in South Florida, local10.com.

Obesity: The Triumph of the Sextraverts

Overweight is not simply a matter of what you eat, and how much exercise you take, it's also closely linked with your personality. Some people are extraverts, which means that by nature they're lively souls programmed to spend their days in a constant hunt for excitement and pleasure in their immediate physical and social environment. At the opposite end of the behavioural spectrum are the introverts, who tend to shy away from social contacts and allow themselves to be preoccupied with their own private thoughts. These emotional differences play a major role in weight control. This was revealed in a study carried out at the Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago, which compared the sex lives of matched groups of fat and slim married women. The results showed that 'in terms of erotic readiness and general sexual excitability' the fat women were nearly twice as sensuous as their slim counterparts. 'These women obviously weren't overeating instead of having sex,' the researchers concluded, 'their craving for both food and sex exists almost simultaneously.'

It's good to have a lust for life and be the life and soul of the party. One small snag is that extroversion trends to be linked with substance abuse and addictive behaviour. This means that if you're an outgoing type, you'll probably find it easier to be hooked on food and drink. That drawback can be overcome by taking firm control of your social and physical environment. Make sure that when you look around to find some way of tickling the pleasure centres of your brain you'll see a skipping rope rather than a tempting plate of chocolate biscuits. If you want to stop for a jovial chat with your colleagues at work, make a point of meeting them on the stairs rather than in the lift. And when you select your chums and lifetime partners, do your best to choose subjects who are slim rather than overweight. In that way you'll be more likely to take your evening entertainment in a bowling alley rather than a pizza parlour.

And keep taking the erotic medicine. Sexual intercourse is an energetic occupation, whether it's a vigorous romp in the hay or a few minutes refined coupling in the marital bed. Metabolic studies show that on average it uses up about 200 calories, which makes it as energetic as half an hour's jogging. So don't let your passions die when you settle down in a long term relationship. A poll carried out by researchers at Loughborough University found that married couples were far less likely to take the recommended daily level of physical activity than those living on their own. As a result married couples are twice as likely to be obese as their single counterparts. This fact has been put to practical use by dairy farmers, who have restricted the sexual activity of their heifers by fitting them with 'Wei-Gro' vaginal inserts. The insertion of these plastic chastity belts has led to an an acceleration of up to a quarter in the rate at which they gained weight.

Ursula Andress, the Swiss bombshell whose dramatic emergence from the Caribbean sea in Dr No, wearing only a skimpy white bikini with a sheath knife tied around her waist, was voted number one in the 'World's Sexy Moments'. Some years later, when she was asked how she maintained her sylph like figure, the still svelte star replied 'Loving keeps me slim.' That surely must be a more enjoyable was of keeping slim than pumping iron or running marathons.

Obesity Risks Increase Over Time

Here's a worrying finding for those of us carrying too much weight. When it comes to weight gain, calculation of obesity risks to your health has focused on the severity of the weight gain on its own, but paid no attention to how long that weight had been hanging around.

Some compelling new research finds that every added decade you are obese doubles your death risk. Just like pack years for a smoker, recent research calls for the "obese year" to become part of any assessment of health for a patient. Researchers believe that the health toll of all those extra pounds is far higher than we know because estimates haven't factored in the duration of a person's obesity. Today the obesity epidemic has gotten tremendous press. Sadly, there are all too many of us who fall on the high side of the BMI scale... over 25.0.

In the U.S., a full third of adults belong to the obese category. In the U.K. the number is a quarter of adults - still significant to be sure and predicted to rise. What's worse, if the current trends continue, obesity will become a prominent health problem for more and more of us the world over. Work by the researchers found that the duration of obesity has a direct impact on death risk. And this is not related to other risk factors such as age or just how heavy a person is. The team examined the health of over 5,000 patients who lived in the U.S. who were enrolled in a study that monitored their health on a two yearly basis over many decades.

Among the subjects, death risk rose by 7% for each added two years of obesity. Being at this weight for 15 to 25 years doubled the death risk, compared to those study participants who had never been obese. Death risk tripled for those classed as obese for longer than 25 years. Now you see why researchers are so concerned... the risk of death for those currently obese might be so much higher than any other time in history. What's more, people are falling into the obese categories at younger ages, which means that kids today might actually expect a shorter lifespan than past generations. Obesity often starts up to 10 years earlier compared to past records. The team of researchers suggests that the number of years you've been obese needs to be considered when doing an assessment of overall health.

If your doctor can tell you the consequences of your extra weight, in terms of how shortened your life will be, this might be enough to get some people on the road to weight loss. But scare tactics don't work for everyone. If they did, losing weight wouldn't be such a struggle for so many. The truth is, losing weight isn't quick... or easy... but it can be done by making small, manageable changes and sticking with them over the long haul. It's also important to understand that losing weight, at any age, will do wonders to help reverse obesity risks, extend your lifespan and leave you with less risk of dangerous, life altering disease.

Tell Tale Signs And Symptoms Can Reveal You May Be A Carbohydrate Addict

Quote 'It is more important to eat some carbohydrates at breakfast, because the brain needs fuel right away, and carbohydrate is the best source.' By: Andrew Weil

Warning! Warning! Warning! If this article is going to hurt your brain, please shut off your computer! Don't say I didn't warn you! If you still want to continue reading the article, please sit tight, fasten your seat belt and let's together blast off! OK? Thanks!

This message shoots off with an unvarnished and direct truth! Please seriously think about it. If you are overweight or are constantly fighting the battle of the bulge. And is guilty of some of these symptoms below, you may be a carbohydrates addict.

Trust me, many of these symptoms have been cited in literary thousand s of interviews with people looking for weight loss program. In most cases, the symptoms can be attributed to carbohydrates addition.

Without wasting any more ink with long intro, let's start off with some piercing, down to earth questions! Aright?

For yours and my sake, just play along with me. All of these are focusing on only the main symptoms. Hence do you ever experience all or some of these symptoms?

Question number One. A frequent focus on eating?

Do you spend a great deal of time thinking about food, dieting or your weight? It's not as much as your body that triggers you to think about food. It's you total mental makeup that urge you to think about food most of the time. Our body is wired up to hunt for food when we are hungry! The trouble begins when body and mind is not highly tuned within themselves. You can bet your eye balls on this fact. Right?

The second question is just as important or even more vital. Truthfully answered, we may truly discover if we are indeed a hopeless carbohydrates addicts. Let's roll along!

Question number two. Lack of satisfaction or the desire to eat again a couple of hours after eating, not matter what you eat?

Read on and play along with me! Are you hungrier two hours after eating than if you hadn't eaten at all? This is yet another critical sign to discover whether we are addicted to consume simple carbohydrates food.

This could be a 'chicken or egg' situation! Because we love to ear simple delicious carbohydrates. And we are addicted to eat more of such food that gives us instant energy but do not have a 'bulk' effect on our stomach.

Of course complex carbohydrates in forms of beans, fruits and peas can add bulk to our food but seldom is it attractive to the taste buds.

Simple enough for you? If 'yes' let's move along to the third questions on carbohydrates additions.

Question number 3. A sense of fatigue or tiredness?

Let's pause here a moment! You may ask 'Why are there so many questions in this small article?" In truth, this observation has been asked so many times that I lost count of it. Believe me; these questions are yet so important. Important because it help us to get the roots of our overweight problem. Let's say, 'Hit the nail on the head' OK? Can we continue then?

Do you get a sensation of sluggishness, almost of drugged after eating? Do you feel like lying down, perhaps even drifting off for a nap? Do you put off work or planned activities because you just don't have the energy for them? Do you get hungry or tired in the middle of the afternoon? If your answer is 'positive' it's high time to see a medical specialist. 'A stitch in time saves nine' Agreed?

Next up!

Question Number 4. An unexplained feeling of anxiety or anger?

Question, question and more questions? Hope you do not think that this is a questions and answers session. Or the writer is a busy body! As said earlier, it's the end results that count. Hence, the saying still holds true 'Prevention is better Than Cure'.

Why wait? Let's continue with more questions. Do you have a certain unexplained nervousness or irritability? A desire to be alone? Do you find that you are angry of blaming yourself? If you answer again is a 'YES", then we suggest strongly to see a dietician who is also a medical specialist. It is not our place here to refer you to any particular medical specialist. Your friendly 'Google' will do a better job for you. Period!

The last question may be the final one, but rest assured it must be read word for word. This could be the 'magic' bullet that can solve your weight loss problems.

Here goes

Question Number No.5. A heightens emotionality?

Don't be surprised that the last question is really no big secrets, no great luck nor a grand slam home run. It's simply this! Do you find yourself feeling sad or weepy without reason? Do you ever experience a feeling of hopelessness, an intense feeling of loneliness; a generalized feeling of fear? Do you ever go to extreme with a feeling of euphoria or heightened happiness, only to feel inexplicable sad or hopeless? Lucky for you there is still hope if you a subjected to constant heighten emotionality! I speak with great truth because I have travelled this narrow and arduous path myself!

To reinforce what I have earlier said, let's recap! OK? The essential important discovery questions are firstly 'Do you frequently focus on eating? Secondly, 'Do you experience a lack of satisfaction or the desire to eat again a couple of hours after eating, not matter what you eat?' Thirdly, 'Are you subjected to some sense of fatigue or tiredness?' Fourthly, 'Exposed to frequently unexplained feeling of anxiety or anger?" And finally, 'Do you suffer from a frequent seasons of heightens emotionality. With this checklist, we do hope that you now fully grasped this article well.

In conclusion, allow me to share my most inner thoughts with you. In the decade's years of weight loss, I have come to expect that a size small will fit. I don't have to be worried about getting stuck in chairs anymore. Physically exhaustion isn't the inevitable result of an active day. I move freely and unselfconsciously. For the first time in my life, I feel and look 'manly' Full stop! That's all I have to say at this juncture! Thanks!

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While all attempts have been made to verify information provided in this article, the writer assumes no responsibility for errors, omissions, or contrary interpretation of the subject matter herein. Any perceived slights of specific persons, peoples, or organizations are unintentional.

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Obesity Epidemic - The Startling Truth

I find it interesting that last year there were 435,000 deaths from cigarette smoking. Last year, there were also 400,000 deaths from obesity related illness. Obesity is second only to smoking as a cause of death. That is significant.

I have spent the last year reading and researching everything available on weight control. For the last 10 years of my clinical practice, two things have been elusive. First, almost two-thirds of the patient's in my practice are overweight or obese. That correlates with the current figures in the united states. However, most of these patients are very closely watching their diets and are exercising. However, the average patient is only able to loose 5-10 lbs and then the weight seems to return. Despite the depth and certainty of our faith that saturated fat is the nutritional bane of our lives and that sedentary behavior and over-indulgence or over-eating are the cause of our nations obesity, there is, and always has been, significant and plenteous evidence that the above assumptions are wrong... dead wrong.

I have patient after patient that comes to my office limiting their intake of fat and limiting their calories (sometimes to less than 1000 per day) and exercising more than most triathletes and they are still gaining weight.

Second, these same patients continue to have a climb in their cholesterol levels. It seems that I just continue to raise their doses of cholesterol lowering medicine to chase the numbers as they increase in adiposity.

To quote H.L Mencken, "There is always and easy solution to every human problem, neat, plausible, and wrong." After, a year of reviewing study after study and reading every legitimate source of research I can get my hands on I have come to the conclusion, as have many others, that fat doesn't make you fat.

Case in point, obesity rates remained fairly constant in the United States from 1960-1980 and then around the time the surgeon general released his "Report on Nutrition and Health" recommending that we all cut the fat out of our diets, our weight has increased to almost 33% being overweight in 2009.

This surge in obesity seems to correlate extremely closely with the constant message that obesity, diabetes and heart disease are caused by fat. We have been told for the last 30 years that we should eat less fat and eat more carbohydrates. Our society has been bombarded by this message and for the most part, we have believed it and followed suite. And the proof is in the statistics. We are getting fatter and fatter.

However, seeing what I have seen in the last 10 years of my practice, a large number of people have turned to the message of Dr. William Banting published in his "Letter on Corpulence" published in 1863 after he lost over 50 lbs. This message has been republished and repackaged in a number of ways, but the physiologic message is the same: Eat Fat and Grow Slim (1958), Calories Don't Count (1961), The Doctor's Quick Weight Loss Diet (1968), Dr. Atkin's Diet Revolution (1972), The Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet (1978), The Zone (1995), Protein Power (1996), Sugar Busters! (1998), and The South Beach Diet (2003). All of these advocate that it is the carbohydrates that are the problem and not the fat. It is fascinating to me that these have all been dismissed by the American Heart Association, The American Medical Association, and multiple nutritional authorities as misdirected fads. I, myself, told patients for years that these were just "fad diets." However, we were wrong.

Claude Bernard explained it this way, "In medicine, we are often confronted with poorly observed and indefinite facts which form actual obstacles to science, in that men always bring them up, saying: it is a fact, it must be accepted." (An Introduction to the Study of Experimental Medicine, 1865) The fact of the matter is that body weight is set by a complex interaction of hormones regulated by the body to maintain a homeostatic balance. The urge to simplify this complex situation so that physicians and apply it and patients can embrace it seems to have taken precedence over the obligation of science to present the evidence with relentless honesty. Unfortunately, this is an area of science where an enormous amount of data has been theorized and instead of rigorously proving those theories, there has become a dedicated practice of convincing the public that those theories have already been tested and the answers are already known. This is an area of medicine that, in the words of Gary Taubes, "purports itself to be science and yet function like a religion."

We have understood the actual science of fatty acid metabolism since the 1930's when Rudolf Schoenheimer & David Rittenberg identified the stages of cholesterol in the metabolism.

In 1965, we had a clear understanding of which hormones stimulate fat mobilization and which hormones promote fat accumulation. Forty years ago, there was no controversy to this. And the facts have not change, in fact we know more about hunger and the hormonal balance of fat mobilization and fat storage than we ever did before. And in 1976, Stephen Woods and Dan Porte described the evidence that insulin is the primary factor in the drive to store fat as "overwhelming."

So what is the bottom line? It is this. When your body sees carbohydrates or sugars of any type, it produces insulin. Insulin is the driving force to store fat. Whenever insulin is present, the body is told to store fat. When insulin is not present the body will use is previously stored fats for fuel. The key then to weight management is management of carbohydrates. The fewer carbohydrates you eat, the less insulin you make and the less fat you will store.

Some tips for losing weight are : Pay attentionwhile you eat. Many times, we snack while doing other things such aswatching TV. Without even knowing it, we have consumed a few hundredextra calories.That may not seem like much, but it adds up. Regulateyour meal times. Pick times throughout the day when you can sit downand actually enjoy your breakfast, lunch and dinner. Stick to thesethis to allow your body to pick up on the times and allow it to getused to processing food at these times.
Get in the habit of eating healthily on a daily basis. Eat loads offresh fruit and vegetables throughout the day. This is certainly goingto help with your cravings for junk food and just after a few days youwill be feeling much healthier and fitter. Start and finishyour eating for the day early. Eat breakfast as early as possible,andfinish your day off with an early dinner and a no-eat-after-8pm (forexample)policy. Your body is most active during the daytime, whichmeans that it will burn more calories then than at night. Avoidlate night snacks as they can prevent you from losing weight. As saidearlier,your body is less active at night, meaning that you have agreater chance of turning that slice of pizza into pure fat thanburning it as a source of energy. Eat your vegetables.Vegetables, especially raw ones, burn more calories than those packedin the vegetables themselves. Also, the fiber in vegetables gives asense of fullness. Be honest with yourself. If you know you have a weakness for chocolatechip cookies,buying a two-pound bag to keep in the house may give youmore temptation than you can handle; if you know you do not have a lotof energy in the morning, it can be self-defeating to plan on joggingevery morning before work.
Take a walk each and every day! You can start with 15 min and then building to 45min and then an hour an a half! You will be amazed just how quickly you will see results—not just in your weight loss, but your overall sense of well-being. Regular exercise limits stress and anxiety and there is also the bonus that you could walk in some really beautiful places. Watch no more than 2 h of TV a day. Studies have shown that adults who watch more than 2 h of TV per day take in 7% more calories and consume more sugary snacks than those who watch less than an hour a day. Take five (thousand) extra steps a day. A typical person takes about 5000 steps per day between going to work, running errands and doing chores around the house.Doubling that number can have significant health benefits: higher ‘good’ HDL cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, improved glucose control, of course, a lower number on the weighing scale. Walking more steps per day also leads to a lower percentage of body fat and slimmer waists and hips. Drink at least eight glasses of water per day. Water is not just a thirst quencher―it actually speeds the body's metabolism. No calories are ingested when drinking water,instead calories are used. Try drinking a glass before meals and snacks and before consuming sweetened drinks or juices. And finally, stand up for your goals.

Health Complications of Obesity

Obesity is usually considered to be a cosmetic problem, which is not true. It is actually a very severe and serious health condition, which is found to affect people of all ages. Even young children are found to have developed obesity over the years. Many of them acquire the obesity traits through genetic hereditary, which is considered to be a major factor responsible for causing obesity apart from the current lifestyle. People who are obese are often worried or feel conscious about their physical appearance. But it is more important to look on the graver side of obesity that is towards the health complications that obesity can bring about. Losing out on your weight, you not only boost your self-confidence but also reduce the risks of the severe health complications that you can suffer from. Below are a few health complications that obesity can lead to.

High cholesterol

Cholesterol is a fatty substance, which is produced in your liver from the fat that is absorbed from the food that you eat. Cholesterol is important for building cell membranes and production of sex and steroid hormones in your body. But cholesterol as such cannot travel around your body individually, and so it takes the help of lipoproteins for performing its functions. Cholesterol is distinguished into two types, based on the type of lipoproteins it is attached to. The cholesterol attached to the low density lipoproteins are known as the bad cholesterol and the ones attached to the high density lipoproteins are known as good cholesterol.

When bad cholesterol reaches the cells, it increases the level of cholesterol in your blood, and the good cholesterol reduces the cholesterol level in your body. If bad cholesterol level in your body increases, it can cause the condition known as high cholesterol. This condition can lead to several other health complications such as atherosclerosis, heart attack, stroke, angina, high blood pressure and peripheral arterial disease. If you are obese, you are at a higher risk of developing high cholesterol, which is why it is important to treat obesity on time. You can take the help of slimming pills that are available on the market for treating obesity.

Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis is a common joint problem, which is usually known to affect older people. In this condition, the cartilage gets worn away, because of which your bones rub with each other. This can cause severe joint pain and limited movement of your joints. If you are obese, more pressure is exerted on your joints and cartilage, which causes faster tattering of the cartilage. When a person is obese, the joints that can experience maximum pressure are knees, hips and lower back. On losing your weight, you can help decrease the pressure exerted on these joints, in turn reducing the risk of suffering from osteoarthritis. Xenical is one of the most popular prescription medications available, that can help you treat obesity. This slimming pill helps reduce weight by allowing only 30% of the total fat consumed with your food to be absorbed by your body. The rest of the fat contents are excreted out of your body.

Obesity : Definitions and Complications

It is common knowledge that there is an obesity epidemic in the United States. It is also common knowledge that multiple health problems, including diabetes, are direct results of obesity. Annual expenses in this country directly resulting from the rampant occurrence of obesity, including health care costs, decreased productivity, weight loss products, and disabilities related to obesity are estimated at 100 billion dollars per year.

Everyone knows the above information. What is less common knowledge is exactly how obesity is defined in medical terms, and how to tell the difference between someone who could merely "stand to lose a few pounds," and someone who is obese.

Simply put, obesity is characterized as having too much body fat. There is a difference between someone having too much fat and having too much overall weight. For example, muscle weighs more than fat, so professional bodybuilders will weigh more than a merely trim healthy individual of the same height. Conversely, members of a population such as the elderly, who have reduced musculature, may underestimate how much body fat they have because they have lost weight overall.

The BMI, or Body Mass Index, does not take into account this variation. However, for most people, it serves as a reasonable estimation to determine if they have an appropriate amount of body fat. Ask your health care provider to help you determine your BMI and see where you fit in. The BMI is calculated by taking one's weight in kilograms, dividing it by the square of one's height in meters. Excess fat in the area of the waist is associated with more morbidity than fat in the area of the hips. The risks for the conditions mentioned below are higher in men with a waist circumference greater than 40 inches, and for women greater than 30 inches.

Here is a brief informal list of BMIs and their relative labels:

• 20 or below: Underweight
• 22: Optimal-associated with the lowest mortality rate.
• 25-30: Overweight
• 30-40: Obese
• 40-50: Severely Obese
• 50-60: Morbidly Obese
• 60 and over: Super Obese.

Some of the problems associated with obesity are as follows:

1.) Cardiovascular problems, such as heart attacks, Atherosclerosis, high blood pressure and heart failure
2.) Pulmonary Disorders, such as Asthma and Sleep Apnea
3.) Gastroenterological Disorders, such as Gallbladder Disease, Fatty Liver, Gastroesophogeal Reflux
4.) Neurological Complications, such as Stroke
5.) Certain malignancies (cancers)
6.) Depression
7.) Degenerative Arthritis
8.) Reproductive issues such as Polycystic Ovary Disease and Stress Incontinence
9.) A higher surgical risk from wound infections, phlebitis, pulmonary embolisms, and pneumonia
10.) Dysmetabolic Syndrome, including Diabetes Type II, Hypertension, high triglycrides, and low HDL (low "good cholesterol")

There is some good news for people with diabetes who also suffer from obesity. As you treat your diabetes by utilizing diet and exercise to achieve your weight loss goals, you may lower your risk of many of the complications from obesity while increasing your control over diabetes. A weight loss of only 10-15 lbs. may make a significant difference. If you think you may have a weight problem, discuss it with your health care provider.

MEDICAL ADVICE DISCLAIMER: The information included on this site is for educational purposes only. It is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. The reader should always consult his or her health care provider to determine the appropriateness of the information for his or her own situation, or if her or she has any questions regarding a medical condition or treatment plan. Reading the information on this website does not create a physician-patient relationship.

Pressure Points for Weight Loss

Practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine believe in acupressure to help in weight loss and appetite control. This ancient tradition is said to restore the balance of the forces in your body. By pressing on some specific points, you restore these forces to balance, helping to control your appetite and reduce your craving for food.

Meridians and Channels

1. • As a traditional Chinese medicine, acupressure works on the theory of meridians and channels that run through the body. Acupressure practitioners believe that health problems come from an imbalance of the forces of meridian and channels, or an obstruction to their usual flow. Based on the flow of meridians and channels, acupressure aims to treat obesity by controlling the appetite and expelling unwanted heat and moisture from the body. No scientific research exists to back up these traditional beliefs, which were developed before the scientific process was conceived.
     
     

   Yin, Yang and Chi

   • Traditional Chinese medicine also relies on yin, yang and chi (spiritual energy). Again, if any of these forces are out of balance or have been obstructed in some way, you might put on excess weight or become ill. Acupressure (using the fingers, hands, acupressure balls or mats) will restore beneficial balance to your yin, yang and chi. As with meridians and channels, no scientific research exists to back up these beliefs.

   Massage Control Points

   • The point just below your ear contains one weight loss pressure point. Putting the right amount of pressure to this point will help control food cravings and reduce overeating. Position your hands by your ear with your fingers touching your jaw. Open your mouth until you feel a small bump between your jaw and ear. Apply constant pressure to this point.

     A stomach pressure point is located 3.5 inches below your kneecap and 1 inch toward the outside of your leg. Move your foot back and forth until you feel the leg muscle moving under your finger. This is the stomach 36 pressure point; apply pressure to this point for 60 seconds. You will boost your blood flow and your chi as well as your digestive system. Next, move your fingers to the other side of your shin bone on the inside of your leg. Slide your fingers toward your knee and try to find a slight hollow there. Apply a steady pressure to this area for one minute. This point affects water retention, and how water flows through the body.

     The spleen 6 is located about 3 inches above your ankle and next to your shin bone. Press on your calf in this area. This will help to control food cravings. Press for one minute using your thumb.

Thinking Thin

Staying trim and watching your weight are as much about how you eat and drink as it is about what you consume. In a nutshell, people who are overweight tend to eat differently from normal weight people and, as a consequence, tend not to heed the signals that tell others that "enough's enough".

Overweight people do, of course, eat too much. That's pretty obvious. If you consume more than you burn off, then the excess has to be channelled somewhere - and that's under your skin and around your organs. You could combat that with hours in the gym - but it takes a lot of rowing, cycling and treadmilling to burn off a second helping of chips, pudding or cake. And gyms cost a lot of money. Did you know that they all rely on people forgetting to cancel their monthly subscriptions once they've joined, gone along a couple of times - and then found it all a bit of a groan?

Easier, cheaper and, ultimately healthier (gyms are a very recent invention!) is to control the intake end of the whole process - and that's where good old "will-power" may just not be enough. Psychologists have observed and monitored the differences between "fat eating" and "thin eating" behaviours - and we can now teach the overweight sufferer how to "do it like a slim person" - eat, that is.

Starting with "cues" for eating, slim people eat when they're hungry much more than overweight people, who tend to eat "because it's there; because it's feeding time; because it's comforting". All of these non-hunger eating triggers are hazardous if they're the only triggers for eating. Of course, slim eaters will partake of a tasty restaurant meal if they're out for fun and they'll take their meals at regular intervals. But they will also be eating as a result of feeling hungry - mostly because they haven't been snacking between meals. Overweight people rarely experience hunger because they "top up". Instead, they eat because they eat. Important, then, for an overweight person to experience and "make friends with" healthy hunger.

Overweight people will eat more quickly and taste their food less than slim eaters. They will chew less and their food disappears from their plate rapidly - making room for seconds. They will clear up others' left-overs and rarely heed the internal messages that are saying "it's full in here: time to stop". If food's there, it's there to be eaten - "waste not, want not". A slim eater, however, will say "into the waste, not onto my waist".

Keeping food (decent food as well as convenience food) handy in quantity is also the downfall of many who are overweight. Open the fridge and take out a lump of cheese; cold cuts from yesterday (if any were left); butter for the toast; or a slab of chocolate - and that's another few calories that didn't need to be consumed. Slim eaters don't keep food "handy" - often shopping daily only for the day's meals (and, of course, benefiting from the exercise of walking to and round the shops every day as a bonus).

These and many other eating traits can be learned by overweight sufferers. Diets are actually pretty unnecessary and rarely last. Slim eating habits work simply because, well, they're how you're supposed to eat! Although it's not rocket science (pun not intended!), psychologists have compiled tips, hints and eating behaviour learning courses that will help overweight eaters to eat "slimly". And it doesn't have to mean that you're living on lettuce leaves for a week or two every few months! Thinking and eating slim is the lifestyle way to keep your body in shape.

Dr Robert Sharpe - Consultant Chartered Psychologist

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