|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Overweight: A New Disease?
National Epidemic
A dangerous epidemic in this country involves two thirds of all Americans! Excessive weight gain. The percent of Kentuckians dangerously overweight is a whopping 38%, which is similar to the rest of the country. This is not merely an esthetic concern! Being overweight has serious health consequences. Heart attacks, stroke, and diabetes are some of the serious health problems brought on by being overweight. Obesity is fast overtaking tobacco as the number one preventable cause of disease and death.
Doctors are just now coming to grips with "excessive weight" as a disease. In the past, people with severe weight problems were classified as "obese". This would be the 50-200+ lbs overweight category. But now we are finding that even 20 lbs over the standard weight for your height is a danger to your health. Now doctors are looking at the 20-50 lbs overweight group as a new risk factor, and treating these patients to lower their risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes.
Weighing just 20 lbs over average for your height is a danger to your health.
There are other more subtle dangers in being overweight, such as loss of fitness and risk of accidents. If you are 20 lbs overweight, your body will be slightly more difficult to maneuvre, have more momentum, and will respond more slowly to danger. Having an extra 20 lbs also lowers your tolerance to exercise, so that you exercise less, and lose the great benefits of exercise in keeping your body functioning well and your immune system working properly.
Then there are psychological and emotional aspects of being overweight, in a broad spectrum of problems from teasing during childhood, to bias against hiring overweight people in the adult workplace.
Excessive weight problems start in childhood, obviously! Children can start getting ahead of their normal weight as young as one year of age, leading to excess fat cell production and a lifelong problem with keeping the pounds off. Children also learn bad eating habits (or good ones!) at a very early age.
Overweight is not hereditary!
Overweight seems to run in families, so people used to think that it was hereditary. Certainly body shape and size are hereditary, but NOT the amount of fat within your body! That is determined by eating habits and exercise habits (which also tend to run in families, but can be changed!).
What can we do to avoid excess weight gain?
Adults can change their eating and exercise habits. And parents can change their eating habits, then teach good eating habits to their children. That is the basic strategy, but how do you do it?
What diet strategy should be used? Low carbs? High carbs? Low fat? High protein? We used to think that it was this simple: If the number of calories you eat is equal to what you use up, then you don't gain weight. Unfortunately it's not that simple. New research has shown that the hormone system in our bodies is poisoned by certain foods such as fructose, which makes it impossible to utilize much of the energy that we eat, and it goes straight to fat. In addition to avoiding super-high-fat foods, and super-high-sugar drinks, we need to also avoid eating fructose (mostly found in table sugar and high fructose corn syrup). For more detailed information about fructose, see "Fructose Found to Be a Major Culprit in Obesity" at Healthyweightkids.org.
Here is a comparison of calories in the different food types:
Carbohydrates (or carbs) are sugars and starches, used for energy. 4 calories per gram.
Protein is the building blocks for your body, like you get from meat, eggs, milk, and beans. 4 calories per gram.
Fat is concentrated energy, that is stored up by plants and animals. 9 calories per gram!!!
You can easily see that low fat diet is going to have the greatest effect on calories. But you could eat zero fat, and still gain weight by eating a ton of sugar. You will just have to use your head and eat the calories that you need. Eating a moderate amount of protein is important for the building blocks your body needs. Eating a moderate amount of carbs is important to get the energy your body needs to function. Fat is completely unnecessary to eat (unless you are under age 2 when you need it for brain growth), but we like to eat at least a little fat because it tastes so good.
What is the Atkins Diet?
The Atkins Diet stresses reduction of carbohydrates, yet still allows lots of protein, and fats to some extent. The protein is slowly broken down for energy, and satisfies hunger better than carbs, so you eat fewer calories. This diet can be "ketogenic" meaning your body produces acids called ketones as you break down the protein. Excess ketoacids can be harmful, so ketogenic diets are not recommended for children. A modified Atkins diet which allows some carbs can be OK for children, but discuss it with your doctor first.
Avoid Super-High-Fat Foods
Obvious examples would be foods that are greasy or have fat dripping off, like greasy hamburgers, french fries, chips, chocolate, mayonaise and butter (or margarine). These foods should be avoided except on rare occasions for a special treat.
Some super-high-fat foods might not be so obvious, so it is a good habit to check the labels. This is actually quite easy to do. Just look at the two top lines in the "Nutrition Facts" box which is on every packaged food that you buy. Top line is "calories per serving", followed by "calories from fat". The fat should be less than 25%, or one quarter, of the total calories per serving. If it is over that, it counts as a super-high-fat food!
Avoid Super-High-Sugar Drinks
There are many beverages in our diets that hide huge quantities of sugar, and we hardly even notice it before gulping them down!! Soft drinks immediately come to mind, but others include fruit juice, gatorade or other "sports drinks", sweet tea, sweet coffee, and even milk (which also has fat)! Many people are amazed to know that having a glass of juice is equivalent to drinking a coke!
So what is left to drink?? First of all, WATER is a very important part of our daily diet and we should drink at least one glass with each meal. It is also an excellent thirst quencher on hot days when we are working (or playing) and losing fluids through sweat. But water can be boring if it is the only thing we drink.
Other healthy beverages include a vast variety of diet soft drinks, unsweetened tea, sweet tea made with artificial sweetener, koolade made with artificial sweetener, or skim milk. All of these have zero calories except skim milk, so those can be used as much as you want. Skim milk two or three times a day is fine.
Many people fear artificial sweeteners because some rats got cancer after eating twice their weight in saccharin. This will happen if you eat twice your weight of many of the food substances in your diet. However, so far nobody has managed to eat even close to that amount of artificial sweetener, which explains why no human has ever got cancer from eating saccharin.
One word of caution about saccharin (the "pink stuff"). It comes as "calcium saccharin", so it gives you extra calcium, which is good, unless you have a problem with calcium kidney stones. In that case, you should stick to using the "blue stuff" (aspartame) which has no added calcium.
Don't forget to add exercise!
Daily exercise is another important aspect of maintaining a healthy weight. Sedentary activities like computer games, watching TV, and sitting indoors tend to lower your metabolism and allow your body to pack away more fat. Getting outside and walking, riding a bike, or just playing outdoors all count as healthy activities. Adults can encourage their children by actively participating in outdoor activities with them. Playing lifetime fitness sports together not only teaches children how to stay fit for life, but also brings families closer together emotionally.
Driving your kids to soccer or baseball practice sets a bad example for your children. First, these are not lifetime fitness sports. Secondly, you are teaching your children that fitness activities are not for adults! Additionally, you are setting up your family for the "Overbooked Family Syndrome" which adds far too much stress, and often leads to mental illness in the children and dysfunctional families. Overbooked families often eat on the run, and tend to eat more fast food and junk food.
Driving your kids to soccer but never exercising yourself, sets a bad example!
Try to eat a large variety of healthy foods in moderate amounts, get an hour of exercise every day, and avoid super-high-fat foods and super-high-sugar drinks. Take one (only one!) multi-vitamin pill each day. Drink lots of water. Doing this will give you the very best chance at controling your weight and enjoying the good health that you and your family deserve.
Important links: Healthy Weight Kids Coalition
BMI Calculator from Baylor College of Medicine
Fitness Sport of the 21st Century
