Overweight
Overweight is more than a cosmetic concern. Being seriously overweight puts you at greater risk of developing high blood pressure and many other serious health risks. Ultimately, Overweight can even be life-threatening. Annually in the United States, more than 300,000 deaths are linked to Overweight.
The good news is that even a modest weight loss can bring health improvements. In many cases, you can accomplish this by eating healthier, exercising and changing behaviors. For people who don't respond to lifestyle changes, prescription medications and surgical techniques are available to enhance the weight-loss process.
Causes
Overweight involves having an abnormally high proportion of body fat. Doctors define Overweight as having a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher and overweight as having a BMI of 25 or higher.
Weight is largely determined by how you balance your intake of calories from food with the energy you use in everyday activities. If you consume more calories than you use, you gain weight. Your body stores calories that you don't need for energy as fat.
Fat is important for storing energy and insulating your body, among other functions. The human body can handle carrying some extra fat, but beyond a certain point, body fat can begin to interfere with your health.
Eating too many calories and not getting enough physical activity are the main causes of Overweight, especially in combination. But many factors can contribute to Overweight.
Risk factors
Factors that increase your risk of being obese include:
- Diet. Regular consumption of high-calorie foods, such as fast foods, contributes to weight gain. High-fat foods are dense in calories. Loading up on soft drinks, candy and desserts also promotes weight gain. Foods and beverages like these are high in sugar and calories.
- Inactivity. Sedentary people are more likely to gain weight because they don't burn calories through physical activities.
- Psychological factors. Some people overeat to cope with problems or deal with emotions, such as stress or boredom.
- Genetics. If one or both of your parents are obese, your chances of being overweight are greater. Your genes may affect the amount of body fat you store and where that fat is distributed. But, your genetic makeup doesn't guarantee that you'll be obese.
- Age. As you get older, you tend to be less active. In addition, the amount of muscle in your body tends to decrease with age. This lower muscle mass leads to a decrease in metabolism. These changes also reduce calorie needs. If you don't decrease your caloric intake as you age, you'll likely gain weight.
- Cigarette smoking. Smokers tend to gain weight after quitting. This weight gain may be partially due to nicotine's ability to raise the rate at which your body burns calories (metabolic rate). When smokers stop, they burn fewer calories. Smoking also affects taste; quitting smoking makes food taste and smell better. Former smokers often gain weight because they eat more after they quit. However, cigarette smoking is still considered a greater threat to your health than is extra weight.
- Pregnancy. During pregnancy a woman's weight necessarily increases. Some women find this weight difficult to lose after the baby is born. This weight gain may contribute to the development of Overweight in women.
- Medications. Corticosteroids and tricyclic antidepressants, in particular, can lead to weight gain. So can some high blood pressure and antipsychotic medications.
- Medical problems. Uncommonly, Overweight can be traced to a medical cause, such as low thyroid function, excess production of hormones by the adrenal glands (Cushing's syndrome) or other hormonal imbalances, such as polycystic ovary syndrome. A low metabolic rate is rarely a cause of Overweight. A medical problem, such as arthritis, can also lead to decreased activity, which can result in weight gain.
- Alcohol. Drinking alcohol adds calories to your diet — just one regular beer is about 150 calories. If you don't cut back somewhere else, adding just one beer daily could cause a weight gain of more than one pound a month. Additionally, excessive drinking can stimulate your appetite and make you less likely to control portion sizes.
Treatment
The good news is that losing even modest amounts of weight can lower your blood pressure, reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke, improve glucose control in diabetes, improve signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis and sleep apnea, and lower your risk of cancer.
The amount of weight you need to lose to improve your health may be much less than what you feel you need to lose. The first goal in dealing with obesity is to achieve and maintain a healthier weight.
That usually requires reducing your weight by approximately 5 percent to 10 percent. That means that if you weigh 200 pounds and are obese by BMI standards, you would need to lose at least 10 to 20 pounds. That doesn't mean you should stop there. But it's a place to start. Slow and steady weight loss of 1 or 2 pounds a week is considered the safest way to lose weight and the best way to keep it off.
In many cases, losing weight can be accomplished by committing to eating a healthier diet, exercising and changing behaviors. Other treatments for obesity include prescription medications and surgery.
Dietary changes
Consuming fewer calories is an important factor for successful weight loss.
The number of calories you need to maintain weight each day depends on several factors, including your age and activity level. Ask your doctor to help you determine your calorie goals to lose weight. He or she may recommend that you also work with a dietitian or a reputable weight-loss program.
Crash diets to reduce calories aren't recommended because they can cut so many calories and nutrients that they lead to other health problems, such as vitamin deficiencies. Fasting isn't the answer, either. Most of the weight you initially lose is from water, and it's not good for your body to go without food for extended periods.
Very low calorie liquid diets are sometimes prescribed as an intervention for seriously obese people. These mainly liquid diets, such as Medifast or Optifast, provide about 800 calories a day — most adults consume roughly 2,000 to 2,500 calories a day. While people are usually able to lose weight on these very low calorie diets, most people regain the weight just as quickly when they stop following these diets.
Over-the-counter liquid meal replacements, such as Slim-Fast, also cut calories. These plans suggest that you replace one or two meals with their product — a low-calorie shake — then eat snacks of vegetables and fruits and a healthy, balanced third meal that is low in fat and calories. This can be as effective as a traditional calorie-controlled diet.
To lose weight and keep it off, eat moderate amounts of nutrient-rich, low-fat, low-calorie foods.Follow these fundamentals of healthy eating:
- Choose healthy foods. Healthy foods include vegetables, fruits, grains and lean sources of protein, including beans, fish, low-fat dairy products and lean meats. These foods optimize nutrition and taste and promote a healthy weight. Eat a variety of healthy foods in lieu of junk foods.
- Choose the right carbohydrates. Nutrition experts generally agree that 45 percent to 65 percent of your total daily calories should come from carbohydrates. But be choosy about those you eat. Steer away from simple carbohydrates, such as table sugar and other sweeteners, and limit fruit juice, which is a type of carbohydrate concentrated in calories. Instead, try to eat plenty of complex, high-fiber carbohydrates, such as whole-grain bread and pasta, brown rice, and other grains, such as oatmeal.
- Reduce fat. Because fat has more than twice the calories of carbohydrate and protein ounce for ounce, reducing the fat content of your diet is an important way to cut calories. Foods high in fat include most fast foods, pastries, red meats, full-fat dairy products, oils, margarine, butter, salad dressings and mayonnaise. Current dietary guidelines recommend that healthy Americans get between 20 percent and 35 percent of total calories from fat, with less than 10 percent of your total calories coming from saturated fat sources.
Another way to lose weight is to increase physical activity.
Adding physical activity to your life doesn't mean you have to wear a sweat suit every day. A few minutes of walking or stair climbing can be as good for you as structured exercise. Here are some other simple ways to add more activity to your day:
- Take the stairs — not the elevator.
- Park in the farthest spot in the parking lot.
- Walk or bike to work or to the store.
- Walk during your lunch hour.
- Play with your children instead of watching them play.
- Walk with your family after dinner.
- Do weekend chores the physical way — use a push mower to mow the lawn or wash your car manually.
- Buy an exercise bike and pedal during TV shows or while talking on the phone.
- Use a pedometer and try to increase the number of steps you walk each day.
Informations obtained from National Institute of Health.