People come in all sizes: short,
tall, skinny, and fat; but have you noticed
that there are more fat than lean people in the
world? However, we don't
call them 'fat' anymore. We call them 'obese,' a
term that is perhaps
more socially acceptable though it smacks with a
measure of political
correctness. After all, who likes to be fat? No
matter what you call it
or how you look at it (literally), fatness is
still considered to be a social
ill, being indicative of an errant lifestyle, a
sign of over indulgence,
sloppiness, and carelessness.
It is obvious that the widespread
incidence of obesity in America is
overwhelming. With statistics 'off-the-charts,'
health enthusiasts and
medical professionals classify obesity as an
epidemic that is tantamount
to being a medical emergency, for being
overweight is shown to cause
numerous health problems, many of which can be
life-threatening.
Thus for the sake of wellness if not survival,
the issue of obesity is
being addressed more openly and directly as many
sufferers of this
malady are facing the facts about their fat and
doing something about it.
OBESITY: What is it?
The body was designed to be perfectly
balanced so that all systems
can function properly. If one part of the body is
imbalanced, however,
the body's ability to perform well is
compromised. One example of
imbalance is excess weight, i.e. having a weight
that the body was
not designed to structurally support. In medical
terms being overweight
is called obesity and is defined as
having excess body fat, a condition
that is potentially unhealthy and therefore
should be corrected.
The body's ratio or mass of
fat can be measured by ultilizing what is
called the Body Mass Index (BMI). This Index
equates a person's
weight in kilograms (kg) divided by their height
in meters (m) squared.
The BMI is used by medical professionals to help
determine whether
a person's weight is healthy or unhealthy.
Someone with a high reading
on the Body Mass Index is considered to be obese
while a low BMI
reading can indicate a risk of anemia,
osteoporosis, and/or malnutrition.
Generally speaking, an adult who has
a BMI of 25-29.9 is overweight,
and an adult who has a BMI over 30 is obese. A
person with a BMI of
18.5-24.9 has a normal weight. A person is
morbidly obese (extreme
obesity) if his or her BMI is over 40.
OBESITY: The facts
The growing incidence of obesity has spawned
numerous studies
which serve to raise awareness of the problem by
educating the
the public. Combined research shows:
Worldwide obesity
has nearly doubled since 1980.
An increase of 100%
In 2008, more than
1.4 billion adults, 20 and older,
were overweight. Of these over 200
million men and
nearly 300 million women have obesity.
35% of adults aged
20 and over were overweight in 2008,
and 11% were living with obesity.
65% of the
world’s population live in countries
where
overweight and obesity kills more people
than underweight.
Overweight and
obesity are the fifth leading risk for
global
deaths. At least 2.8 million adults die
each year as a result
of being overweight or obese.
44% of the diabetes
burden, 23% of the ischaemic heart
disease burden and between 7% and 41% of
certain cancer
burdens are attributable to overweight
and obesity.
More than 40
million children under the age of five
were
overweight in 2011.
According to data from the National
Health and Nutrition Examination
Survey ( 2013–2014):
More than 1 in 3
adults were considered to be overweight.
More than 2 in 3
adults were considered to be overweight
or have obesity.
More than 1 in 3
adults were considered to have obesity.
About 1 in 13
adults were considered to have extreme
obesity.
About 1 in 6
children and adolescents ages 2 to 19
were considered to have obesity.
OBESITY: The health risks
Contrary to popular belief, obesity is
more than cosmetic. It is
considered to be a serious medical condition
because it can
lead to chronic illnesses such as
Obesity can also cause emotional
problems and can, in extreme cases,
compromise the body's ability to move. Reports
exist of people weighing
upwards of 1,000 pounds who have been forced to
live (and die) in bed.
OBESITY: The cause
The underlying cause of weight problems
is not a mystery. Research
and personal experience prove that being over
weight or obese is due
to
Poor Diet-
cooked, processed, animal-based foods
that
lack fiber; eating too many bad
carbohydrates like refined
food products: baked goods, sugary
snacks, desserts,
pasta, pasteries, etc.
Lack of
exercise- primarily a sedentary
lifestyle
Hormonal
imbalance- under-performing
endocrine
system resulting in low
adrenal/thryoid/pancreas=
lack of sufficient hormones to maintain
proper
metabolism, digestion, etc.
Genetic
predisposition- a hereditary
trait
Stress- often
leads to emotional eating/over eating
of unhealthy foods
While all the above causes are fact,
it can be rightfully said that
the primary cause of obesity is poor diet, the
Standard American
Diet being the leading culprit. The SAD is a
fiberless diet, consisting
of meat, bad carbohydrates, and mostly man-made
foods that contain
additives (Mono Sodium Glutamate -MSG, Apartame,
chemical-based
food colorings, etc.) which scramble the body's
hormone balance.
These additives, along with soy products,
adversely affect the body's
endocrine system. Low adrenal, thyroid, and
pancreas function slow the
body's metabolic rate which causes weight gain.
Weight gain usually
leads to less mobility which only exascerbates
the problem. Thus poor
diet along with lack of exercise are found to be
the leading cause of
chronic weight problems.
OBESITY: The solution
Obesity is not incurable. Two solutions
exist: a natural or a medical
approach. It is surprising but true that given
the right food, the body
will naturally find its ideal weight, so solving
weight problems the natural
way proves to be the best option.
Improve
your diet, start eating
fiber-rich, living foods: raw
fruit, vegetables, seeds, nuts, sprouted
grains. Eliminate
cooked, processed, and animal-based foods
(seafood,
dairy). Eliminate sugar. Eat healthier
snacks. Start a juicing.
Probiotic-
increase digestive function by eating
fermented
foods such as kimchi, sauerkraut, miso,
kombucha
Exercise-
start a moderate, daily exercise routine:
stretching,
walking, rebounding.
Get more
sleep- adjust your lifestyle to
experience 7-9 hours
sleep, preferrably at night
Reduce
stress- eliminate stress factors
in your life; learn to
relax, practice deep breathing.
Supplement-
Consider adding Vitamin D3, C and other
essential
body-building supplements like Iron, B12,
Bcomplex.
Practice
healthy dining- avoid
distractions such as TV,
computer, and reading materials. Eat at a
table, enjoy your meal,
stop eating when you begin to feel full.
Find
support- Enlist friends, family,
and possibly medical
professionals to help support your weight
loss program. Find
local support through weight-loss groups.
There are medical routes one can
take to solve obesity, the most
popular is Gastric By-Pass surgery which
enables food to bypass parts
of the digestive system, specifically the first
part of the mid-section of
the small intestine. It may also reduce the size
of the stomach. This surgery comes with risks as
it (a.) does not always solves obesity,
(b) it is irreversible, and (c) is known to cause
vitamin and mineral
deficiencies, since the body can no longer absorb
many nutrients.
Medical professionals recommend this surgery for
people who have
a BMI of 30 or higher. It is important to note
that many people suffering
obesity have opted to solve it with Gastric
By-Pass surgery only to be
disappointed that it did not solve their weight
problem but in fact caused
addtitional health problems.
Apart from surgery, there are
pharmaceutical drugs available that
aid but do not solve weight problems, especially
obesity. These drugs
are usually appetite suppressors. Before
submitting to any drug or
Gastric By-Pass surgery, individual research and
discretion is
recommended.
Conclusion
Obesity is a modern-day malady that is
widespread. It is a silent
killer that deserves attention from a healthy
standpoint. It is a proven
fact that obesity can be naturally solved and
prevented, but it requires
personal in put, taking daily responsibility to
'face the fat' and do
something about it.
While 'bigger is better' is a
popular catch-phrase, it is no excuse for
being obese nor should the widespread incidence
of obesity be taken
as a sign that it is fashionable to be fat.
Sadly, the growing population
of over-sized people has spawned many new
industries such as
super-large clothing lines, furniture, and
mega-big coffins to bury
the obese.
There are trucks that are built to
carry over-sized loads down the
highway, but the human body is not built to carry
extra weight. Many
have discovered this the hard way by suffering
serious health
problems that eventually caused their death.
Obesity is nothing to fool around
with. For awhile it may seem jolly
to laugh with a belly that shakes like a bowl
full of jelly, but excessive
weight can kill. It is a ticking time bomb that
can go off at any time.
Better it is to defuse the obesity time bomb
before it explodes. The
life that you save could be your own.
Eat your way to your
ideal weight the natural way!
_____________________________
Recommended resources:
Weight
Loss Testimonies from MyHDiet.com.
Sick,
Fat, and Nearly Dead- A
documentary by Joe Cross
LIVING
Letter #117 / Index
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