As with many medical conditions & risk factors, obesity seems to have a genetic basis.  Many individuals look at their family and say that since they come from a family that is “big-boned” or that have “more fat cells” being obese is “normal” for them.  While it may be their genetic tendency, it doesn’t make it any less of a problem from a health standpoint.  Family history is a risk factor for obesity, but it does not make obesity any less a risk factor for diabetes, high blood pressure or heart disease.   It is important to understand this point.  If you understand the additional risk and are willing to take that risk, by all means, live your life as you please at whatever weight you prefer.  Just don’t be deluded into thinking that with a family history of obesity, you have no additional health risk if you yourself are overweight or obese.

Also consider that if you want to maintain your size, there are other risk factors that you can lower to minimize your health risks.  For example, focus on your activity level to lower your heart disease risk.  Increase your activity to at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise most days of the week.  Not only that, those 30 minutes don’t have to be done all at once.  As long as you do at least 10 minutes at a session and those sessions total at least 30 minutes, you’ll get the same benefit as if you exercised 30 minutes all at once.  Of course, if you stay overweight or obese, you still have an added risk due to that, but you may be able to lower your overall risk a bit in other ways.  Talk with your doctor about it.  It’s your body & your decision.

What do you think?  Share your thoughts!

For Your Health – Dr. Bob

I just read an article by Madison Park updated on February 15, 2012 on www.CNN.com which is the third in a series on childhood obesity in the United States.  It stated that because of the increasing number of children who are overweight and obese, schools need to get larger desks to accommodate them.  This is done not only to enable them to fit in a desk, but also to try to lessen their embarrassment.  This just validates the findings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that a third of the children in the USA are overweight or obese and seventeen percent are obese.  It impacts the effectiveness of children’s car safety seats as well.  I urge you to read the article, “Obese children outgrowing kids’ clothing and furniture.”

What do you think?  Historically, has this always been a problem for some children and was just ignored until recently?  For those of you who were overweight during childhood, how were you treated by your classmates & how did you react?  Please share your comments and experiences.

For Your Health – Dr. Bob

There are a number of reasons why people choose to lose weight.  Beyond these, there are definite health benefits to lowering your BMI into the normal range.  So if you are on the fence about whether to lose weight, the following might help you make up your mind.

Being overweight or obese increases the risk of developing many diseases and conditions including high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, high cholesterol levels, high triglyceride levels, osteoarthritis and gallbladder disease. It even increases the risk for endometrial cancer, breast cancer and colon cancer.

During pregnancy, obesity increases the risk of death for both the baby and the mother and raises the maternal risk of high blood pressure by a factor of ten. The woman who is obese during pregnancy has an increased risk of gestational diabetes and problems with labor and delivery. The infants of these obese women have a higher birthweight which leads to a higher rate of cesarean section with its higher rate of complications. These infants often have low blood sugar which can lead to brain damage and seizures. In addition, these infants have a higher risk of birth defects.

The attainment of a normal weight can lower these risks. A report from the Surgeon General stated that an overweight individual can reduce their risk of heart disease even by just losing 5-15% of their body weight. So there is definitely hope to improve your health risk.

A Simple Formula

Being overweight or obese is due to an energy imbalance. More calories are eaten or consumed than are used in the activities of the body. To lose weight you must do the opposite:

Formula For Weight Loss: Calories Out (Activity) > Calories In (Food Eaten)

Body weight is the result of heredity, environmental factors and individual behaviors. While you can’t change your heredity, you can alter your environment and your individual behaviors. That is where your power lies. You’ll lose the most the fastest when you eat less and burn more. So, an exercise regimen is an important part of the formula. After being cleared by your doctor, you will need to build up your routine, but it will be worth it!  In addition to helping you lose weight, exercise provides other health benefits including improving your cardiovascular fitness.

For Your Health – Dr. Bob

Body Mass Index (BMI) is a measure calculated from a person’s weight and height. It provides a reliable indicator of body fatness for most people and is used to screen for weight categories that may lead to health problems. BMI is calculated by dividing your weight in kilograms by your height in meters squared. That number should be between 18.5 and 24.9. The National Institutes of Health has defined certain classifications of weight based upon the BMI:

According to a report released on July 7, 2011 by the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, two-thirds of all adults and about a third of all children and teenagers in the United States are overweight or obese.  In fact 16 states have obesity rates over 30%.  Colorado has the lowest rate at 19.8%.  Twenty years ago no state’s obesity rate exceeded 15%.  Indeed we have an epidemic!

You should discuss with your physician whether your goal should be to attain a normal BMI. For people with a lot of muscle mass, such as trained athletes, a healthy BMI may actually be somewhat higher than what the table would indicate. For most people, however, these categories are a useful guide.

Another body measurement that is related to health risk is the waist circumference. It seems that the location of fat makes a difference as far as health risk. Fat in the waist carries a greater health risk than fat in hips or thighs. Scientific studies have shown that people whose waists exceed the targets in the table below have a higher risk of health problems.

In my next post I’ll talk about the health risks from being overweight.

For Your Health – Dr. Bob