How to Fight Against Obesity?

Obesity is a serious medical problem that requires dedicated effort from the affected person. Consumption of nutrient rich foods without any control and lack of physical activity are the major factors that increase the possibility of obesity. Strict dieting habits and constant exercise is required to escape obesity. Exercise helps to burn extra calories deposited in the body and dieting prevents new deposits. Several medications and fat control diets are now available; but they can’t produce a long term impact on the subject.

Over eating is the predominant feature found in all people having obesity. The spread of fast-food culture has acted as a catalyst to accelerate obesity. Various campaigns were conducted in schools, colleges, and internet and food packages to emphasize the calamity of over eating. But still calorie consumption has been increasing at an alarming rate all over the world.

Obesity is caused by the deposit of large quantities of fat in your body. This results in severe health problems like high blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, cardiac diseases and stroke. Obesity is a major reason for coronary heart disease, which can lead to heart attack. HDL cholesterol level decreases in fat people making them more vulnerable to heart diseases. Obesity is also a major reason for gallstones and can adversely affect degenerative joint disease.

The only effective solution for obesity is dieting and exercising. Dieting helps to reduce body mass considerably. Exercise helps to reduce you body mass by burning away the excess calories in your body. But when these two are complemented on a regular and long-term basis, you can enjoy the results for your lifetime.

A balanced diet should contain nutritious food to avoid vitamin deficiencies or malnutrition.

Avoid foods with high calorie, fats or sugars. Try to use unsaturated vegetable oil based fats instead of saturated animal based fats. 

Inclusion of fiber rich foods in you diet will provide additional energy to do more physical activities. Include low energy dense foods that have less calories per unit weight in you diet. Vegetables, fruits, lean meat, fish, grains, and beans are low energy dense foods.

Energy dense foods have high calories in a small amount of food, and are rich in fats and sugars. Avoid energy dense foods like red meat, egg yolks, fried foods, fast foods with high fat or sugar, sweets, pastries, butter and fatty salad dressings. Alcohol, non-diet soft drinks and high calorie snack foods should be avoided because they add calories to the body but very little nutrition. Your diet should include complex carbohydrates like brown rice, whole-grain bread, fruits and vegetables rather than simple carbohydrates like table sugars, sweets, doughnuts, cakes, and muffins.

Physical activities require a large amount of energy in the form of calories from the body. Calorie is stored as fat in the body. These fat deposits are broken down to supply calories to the body when you are exercising. Walking, running, swimming and cycling are the most effective forms of exercise for reducing fat. 

The burning of calories depends on the weight and age of a person. It is difficult for an aged person to lose weight since the metabolic rate is slow. A person with more weight can burn more calories than a person with less weight doing same exercises. This happens because the person with higher weight has to carry his body mass also. Regular and intense exercise when combined with balanced dieting can be more effective to fight against obesity.

Work those Flabby ABS

The relationship between women and a set of taut abs goes back a long way. Any expert will tell you that the abdominals are among the hardest muscles to exercise. Add to that a combination of factors – poor diet and lack of exercise – and getting a healthy and flat set of abs becomes that much harder. So then how important is it for women to work out this section of muscles? Is it for purely cosmetic reasons? For hardcore health reasons or a combination of both?

For many looking good goes beyond the face. It means looking good all over, and that includes abdominals as well. And for others, looking sexy and feeling healthy goes along the profession as they have to stay in shape. Women can attain that lean look without fearing that if they do stomach crunches; their abs will look ‘un-feminine’. The idea is to keep the muscles firm.

For most women, the rigors and rhythms of daily life leaves them little time to exercise. But yet, strong abs can actually increase one’s productivity by making your lower back stronger and less prone to injury. That means you save on medical bills and visits to the doctor. A strong set of abdominal muscles helps maintain the posture as well. Stabilizing core abdominal muscles stabilize the spine, which is involved in every movement that you do. In fact, if your core abdominal muscles are weak, you can get a jerk even while you are driving.

Working for your lower body, be it for your butt, abs or thighs, also has great health benefits. For women tend to put weight around those areas as they grow older and their metabolism slows down. Extra weight around the stomach combined with weak abdominal muscles puts a strain on the back muscles, puts a strain on and leads to an irregular curvature of the spine.

Sugar-less sweets, sweetening life!

Sweeteners are the essential part of food and drinks. It is unimaginable to think of a sugar free world. Sweeteners not only increase the taste of food they are used as preservatives to keep the freshness of food and acts as base for the fermentation for breads. They are essential for making cakes, ice creams and carbonated beverages. But the caloric level of sweeteners is high and excessive use results in health related problems like weight gain and diabetes mellitus.

Artificial sweeteners are an alternative for such nutritive (caloric) sweeteners. Artificial sweeteners are free of calories and are many times sweeter than sugar. The problem with nutritive sweetener is that it contains 4 calories per gram. People using nutritive sugar in large quantities get these calories which are converted to fat deposits resulting in increased body weight. The nutritive sweeteners can come into your body from corn sweeteners, confectionery sugar, dextrose, invert sugar, natural sweetener or sugar, turbinado sugar, sucrose, glucose, fructose, lactose, maltose, mannitol, maple sugar, molasses, honey and sorbitol.

Artificial sweeteners can be made from chemicals or directly from sugar molecules. They can provide the sweetness of nutritive sugar without adding any extra calorie to the body. This helps to maintain the body weight without any need to avoid sweetness from your life. They will not raise the sugar level in the body and people with diabetes can use them without any fear. Aspartame, Saccharine, Cyclamates, Acesulfame K and Sucralose are low calorie sweeteners and most of them are many times sweeter than sugar.

All artificial sweeteners except aspartame are stable to heat and can be used for cooking and baking. There were certain concerns on artificial sweeteners that they are harmful to health and are carcinogenic. But latest studies prove that they don’t produce any harmful effects in the human body. Lead acetate was used as an artificial sugar in the past but it can cause lead poisoning and is no more used. Artificial sweeteners cannot be consumed like sugar; it can be used only as a food additive. Only very small quantity is required to substitute large quantities of sugar. Sometimes artificial sweeteners generate an unpleasant taste after eating.

Food and Drug Administration have set a limit called “acceptable daily intake” (ADI) for all artificial sweeteners to avoid its overuse. The maximum amount of artificial sweetener that is safe to consume everyday is:

1. Aspartame – 50 mg per kg of body weight

2. Saccharin – 5 mg per kg of body weight

3. Acesulfame K – 15 mg per kg of body weight

4. Sucralose – 5 mg per kg of body weight

5. Neotame – 18 mg per day

Eating Disorders – signs and symptoms

Eating Disorders are about attempting to control your life and emotions through food/lack of food. It is important to remember that most Eating Disorders, though their signs and symptoms may be different, share a great number of common causes and emotional aspects.

Warning Signs of Eating Disorders

Eating disorder is a medical problem and should be treated immediately. It is normal that some people especially teenagers tend to go for dieting. Do not misjudge this as an eating disorder. There are prominent symptoms to identify eating disorders.

The symptoms of anorexia include:

* Body weight loss of 15% below the normal weight.

* Constant dieting irrespective of being thin.

* Feeling fat even after gaining the required size.

* Fear of weight gain.

* Loosing menstrual periods.

* Eating in isolation.

* Compulsive exercising.

* Insomnia, brittle hair or nails.

* Mental depression and social withdrawal.

The warning signs of bulimia include:

* Constant eating and purging.

* Frequent use of the toilets after meals.

* Swollen cheeks or glands, reddened finger due to induced vomiting.

* Over conscious on body weight

* Mental depression.

* Irregular menstrual periods

* Dental problems, such as tooth decay.

When You Suspect an Eating Disorder

A person suffering from eating disorders should be subjected to medical examination as soon as possible. They may show resistance and violence when confronted for the first time. They cannot accept the logic behind treatment for a disease they don’t feel to have, according to them they are only dieting to reduce weight. A calm and affectionate approach is required to convince them. If the person resists further, contact a pediatrician or psychologist for other solutions.

Treating Eating Disorders

Treating eating disorder involves medical supervision, nutritional counseling and therapy. This helps the person to regain normal eating habits. Severely starved people may have to be hospitalized. The treatment makes the person aware of healthy food and exercises that can help to maintain his body scientifically.

Preventing Eating Disorders

The approach to food and nutrition is an important factor in the development of healthy eating habits. Always give importance to health, rather than controlling weight.

Parents are responsible for feeding children to make them reach a state of fatness. After that they will either become anxious or the child becomes self conscious and turns to unhealthily eating habits leading to eating disorders.

Stay healthy with fast food

The habit of depending on fast food is rapidly increasing. People are finding it difficult to avoid fast foods due to lack of time or the variety and taste offered. But the damage it is doing to your arteries and kidneys are terrible. People are forced to fast foods when they are away from home or lack of time. Choosing the right fat is necessary when eating at fast food. There should be a way to go around this to keep the safety of your health and life.

You can have a better nutritious diet from fast food if you can follow some simple rules.

• Avoiding non vegetarian fast food dishes can be a better solution.

• It is irresistible to have cheese with pizza or burger but you can choose less fatty cheese or single cheese burger rather than double cheese burger with more calories.

• Chicken or fish products are better to health than beef or pork.

• Satisfy yourself with plain salads instead of fries or onion rings for your side dishes.

• Avoid deserts altogether or keep a strict limit if tempted.

• Completely replace carbonated drinks such as cola with low fat milk, iced tea, or fruit juice. Actually some pure water is the best choice.

• Replacing coffee with green tea will be better.

• Blot all fried dishes on paper towels.

• Prefer fresh fruits over packages fruit juices as they contain lots of preservatives. Use fresh-frozen fruit without added sugar if fresh fruit is not available.

• Choose baked and grilled sandwiches instead of fried ones.

• Ordering foods early helps you to avoid choosing less nutritious and higher calorie fast foods.

• Eat food in a relaxed manner enjoying every bite. This digests food rapidly and gives more satisfaction.

• Buffets promote overeating, so avoid it otherwise you will be tempted.

• Fast food restaurants now offer a wider range of healthy choices and most will provide nutritional information, so choose you menu wisely. If nutrition information is available pay attention to the sodium, fat, saturated fat, and calorie content in food items.

Fatty acids are essential for the building of cell membranes and functioning of brain, eyes and lungs. Fats from raw foods like nuts, seeds avocados and olives are ideal for your health. Avoid using processed oil and always use pure oil for cooking. Partially hydrogenated oils and deep fried fast foods are harmful. Avoid using animal fat. Always try to include Omega 3 fats in your diet.

You can take care of unnecessary fat not only at the time of eating but also when cooking. Reducing the quantity of oil when you cook is the best method to keep fat away. Cooking sprays instead of oil will reduce fat to a large extent. Using broth instead of oil for cooking also reduces fat. Try to boil, broil or bake foods rather than frying. Removal of skin from meat eliminates fat. Marinades like red wine vinegar, soy sauce, crushed garlic, lime and ginger can be used to tenderize lean meat as it contains less fat.

What are probiotics?

Probiotics means ‘pro-life’. The digestive tract is home to over 400 species of microorganisms. Some are ‘good bugs’ and some are ‘bad bugs’ or unhealthy bacteria. Probiotics are the ‘good bugs’. Two of the most common strains are lactobacilli and bifid bacteria. It is believed that if a positive balance of good bacteria is maintained, the bad bacteria are less able to cause disease and irritation.

Here are some health benefits to taking probiotics:

• Inhibit growth of ‘bad bugs’, or bacteria that cause disease.

• Synthesize vitamins, primarily B vitamins.

• Increase availability of nutrients.

• Decrease lactose intolerance.

• Decrease symptoms of GERD (gastro-esophageal reflux disease)

• Decrease prevalence of allergies.

• Boosts the immune response. Foods which are probiotic include some varieties of soft cheeses, curds, yoghurt and pickles.

Know more obesity - No more obesity

What is obesity?

Obesity can be defined differently depending on one’s perception about it. Obesity to me is when the shape of the body looks like the letter ‘O’. It is a critical condition due to excess amount of body fat. Now how do you measure the excess level of fats in your body? Body mass Index is the criteria to check if you are obese. The normal amount of body fat (expressed as percentage of body fat) is between 25-30% in women and 18-23% in men. Women with over 30% body fat and men with over 25% body fat are considered obese. More important is the increasing numbers in child obesity. Our eating habits as adults are, in part, determined by how we're fed as babies.

What causes obesity?

There are many causes to obesity but some of the common ones are overeating, physical inactivity, diet high in saturated fats and sugars, hereditary, side-effects of medication, anxiety, and menopause for women. This means that people tend to be obese when their calorie intake is much higher than what they burn with physical exercise in their daily life.

Why is obesity so over-hyped?

Overweight and Excess fats has led to adverse metabolic effects on blood pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides and insulin resistance. They invite risk for major chronic ailments such as heart attacks, stroke, diabetes, hyper-tension, emotional imbalance and even cancer. In the United States, roughly 300,000 deaths per year are directly related to obesity.

Why obese women are more than obese men?

The simple reason for more women being obese as compared to men is their metabolism rate. Women have more fats and less muscle than men. Other tissues including fats burn lesser calories than muscles. Thus, women have a slower metabolism than men which results in putting on more weight than men and it becomes tougher for weight loss. Also with age, our metabolism slows down due to muscle loss. That is the reason you find older people gaining weight unless they reduce their daily calorie intake.

The cholesterol myth - It’s all in your mind!

People all over the world are afraid of the word cholesterol thinking it is responsible for all cardiac problems. It is a truth that cardiac problems are a major reason for death all over the world. There are several myths associated with heart and cholesterol.

Myth 1: All cholesterol in my body is bad!

Cholesterols are of two types HDL, the good cholesterol and LDL, the bad cholesterol. Cholesterol is produced by liver in our body. Cholesterol is required in our body for the production of bile salts, hormones and vitamin D. When the LDL cholesterol level in our body increases it has the tendency to stick on the artery walls. This may obstruct the flow of blood leading to heart attack.

Excess of HDL production does not harm the body. The unutilized HDL in the body is transferred to liver and removed from the body through excretion. HDL also has the capability of removing some LDL deposits in the arteries. So an increase in the level of HDL in the blood can reduce the chance of heart problems.

LDL level in the blood can be reduced by monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats found in nuts and fishes. Soluble fiber found in fruits, oats, barley and legumes also have the ability to decrease LDL level. Since LDL cholesterol level can be fatal you should frequently check it. And if it cannot be controlled naturally you should immediately consult a doctor for advice. Because, increase in cholesterol level depends on many factors like family background, age, gender, eating habits, exercise, body weight, size and diabetes conditions.

Myth 2: Seafood is high in cholesterol, so stop eating seafood!

Most of the people consider that seafood may increase the cholesterol level in your body. Actually seafood like fish is a source of good cholesterol (HDL), and is capable of reducing the risk of heart problems. Saturated fats and trans-fatty acids are responsible for increasing cholesterol levels. These substances are found in prepackaged foods or snacks, deep fried foods and foods prepared from partially hydrogenated oil.

Myth 3: Avoid potatoes as they are fattening!

Potatoes are wrongly though of as being fattening. Actually, besides being high in fibre, potatoes are rich in many vitamins, minerals and complex carbohydrates. They should be baked or boiled to make a nutritious and filling meal. It is only when they are fried however (as in the case of French fries) that the calorie content goes up substantially upto as much as three times.