THE DANGERS OF OBESITY

Most people who decide they need to lose wight are aiming to improve their appearance, but the health benefits of good nutrition and a sound exercise program are ultimately far more valuable.

Study after study has demonstrated that obesity is a significant threat to longevity and good health, but many people are not even aware that they are medically obese – the generally accepted definition of obesity is over 25% body fat for men, and over 32% body fat for women. An estimated 20% of American adults fit this profile.

The problem only gets worse with time: The average American adult puts on about a pound a year after the age of 25, meaning that by middle-age many people have put on 25 pounds or more. To make matters worse, your metabolism naturally slows down as you age, while at the same time, sedentary adults tend to lose one pound of lean muscle mass every year from inactivity, depressing metabolism even more.

The dangers of excess body fat range from insulin resistance and diabetes to heart disease and cancer, and the cause-and-effect relationship is not difficult to understand: If you are overweight, your heart has to work that much harder to supply fresh blood to the body, making everything from moving around to simple breathing more of an effort. Over time, this extra effort takes its toll, resulting in damage to the heart muscle.

Obesity also comes with a greater risk of high cholesterol, which can increase the chances of developing arteriosclerosis, in which the blood flow in the arteries is slowly choked off by plaque deposits, depriving internal organs of adequate blood supply and forcing the heart to pump harder, raising blood pressure. A full 25% of heart problems today can be traced directly to obesity.

While many people may be aware that obesity can damage the heart, few are aware that it can also result in a higher risk for cancer – in men, being overweight comes with a higher risk of prostate and colon cancer, while in women the risk of uterine and breast cancer is significantly higher. It is believed that excess body fat serves as storage for carcinogenic toxins in the body, and these toxins can leach from fat packed around the internal organs.

The good news is that by losing weight you can undo much of the damage caused by excess body fat and reduce your risk factors for cancer and heart disease – in fact, studies have shown that losing just 10-15% of your body weight can improve your overall heart health and cholesterol levels even more than prescription drugs in many cases.

Those who lose weight and exercise regularly have proven to be eight times less likely to die of cancer and heart disease, and 53% less likely to die of other diseases. Even if it takes you several years to implement a healthier way of life, the results over the long term will be more than worth the effort.

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Healthy weight loss tips, Just go for a Walk!

Walking is the number one healthy weight loss tip, conferring benefits that range from reduced stress to reduced risk of heart disease and other health problems. However, many habitual walkers eventually see diminishing returns from their efforts and hit a plateau.

Here are some walking healthy weight loss tips:

•Go faster: Whether you walk a mile or run a mile, you burn roughly the same number of calories, but picking up your pace on your daily walk can allow you to cover more distance in the same time, resulting in a higher number of calories burned and greater weight-loss results over time. You don’t need to “speed walk,” but walking at a brisk pace is likely to pay much greater weight-loss dividends than a mere casual stroll. If you are in good shape, you might also want to consider running for intervals and then stopping to walk – the start-and-stop effect mimics the kind of “interval training” that elite athletes use to increase their conditioning.

•Walk first thing in the morning before breakfast: Exercise before breakfast can allow your body to burn as many as 30% more calories with the same amount of exertion. Just make sure you don’t use the extra burned calories as an excuse to eat proportionally more food, or you are unlikely to see much benefit. Do not eat beforehand, but you should drink a tall glass of water in order to avoid becoming dehydrated.

•Take the high road: Walking uphill gives your calorie-burning an additional boost, and it also works different muscles than walking on a flat surface. You don’t have to find a mountain to climb – even low-grade hills can be enough to kick your walking routine up a couple of gears.

•Swing your arms: Without looking silly, swinging your arms while walking at a vigorous pace can add an extra 10% or more to the total number of calories you burn, which can add up to quite a few extra lost pounds over time.

•Breathe deeply: In order to burn oxygen your body needs to draw on its deposits of fat for energy, and the more oxygen you introduce into your system through deep breathing while you walk, the greater the potential increase in weight loss. Deep breathing can also help relieve stress and increase your energy levels.

By following the five easy pointers above, you can significantly increase the amount of fat you burn just by walking around the neighborhood.

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