An obesity epidemic is sweeping across the Westernized world. More than ever, there is an acknowledgement that the regulation of body weight regulation is more complicated than ever imagined. The last decade has seen rapid progress in our understanding of how body weight is regulated; multiple organs are involved adding to the complexity.
Studies have shown that inactivity is not the cause of obesity; the real cause is poor diet and overeating. But, overeating is often the result of stress and lack of self esteem – emotional eating. Sports and exercise can help to improve self esteem as well as improving confidence and other social skills. Small changes, such as cutting 100 calories per day and adding 2,000 steps per day of physical activity, may help combat the obesity crisis.
The figures show that kids are consuming approximately 3 percent more calories than they did in the 1970s but getting a whopping average of 20 percent less exercise. And obese kids are 70 percent more likely to become obese adults.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 61 percent of obese young people have at least one additional risk factor for heart disease, such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure. Additionally, children who are obese are at greater risk for bone and joint problems, sleep apnea, and social and psychological problems. Obese young people are more likely than children of normal weight to become overweight or obese adults and are, therefore, more at risk for associated adult health problems, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, several types of cancer, and osteoarthritis.
Simple ways to keep weight gain at bay in 2011,
1. Turn off the TV: The American Journal of Public Health published a survey stating that 59 percent of children watched between 2 and 4 hours of television and an additional 22 percent watched 5 or more hours of TV per day. And this, apparently, didn’t account for time in front of a computer. Chances are that turning off your TV isn’t going to sit well with your kids, so here is some ammunition that will make it easier on both of you. Staying thin will increase your child’s confidence level. Researchers surveyed 1,520 children, ages 9 to 10, with a 4-year follow-up, and discovered a positive correlation between obesity and low self-esteem. They also discovered that decreased self-esteem led to 19 percent of obese children feeling sad, 48 percent of them feeling bored, and 21 percent of them feeling nervous. In comparison, 8 percent of normal-weight children felt sad, 42 percent of them felt bored, and 12 percent of them felt nervous.
2. Practice Being Deliriously Happy: A good laugh when you are stressed or sad can instantly improve your mood; there are a reason people who see pretty disturbing things on a daily basis, like cops, firefighters, and journalists, tend to have darkly hilarious senses of humor. Some studies have shown actual physical benefits to laughing as well.
3. Get more sleep: A recent study indicates that inadequate sleep has a negative impact on one's performance in life and on emotional and social welfare, and increases their risk of being overweight. A study represented longitudinal investigation on the correlation between sleep, body mass index, and being overweight in children between the ages of 3 and 18. The study found that an extra hour of sleep lowered the children’s risk of being overweight from 36 percent to 30 percent, while it lessened older children’s risk from 34 percent to 30 percent.
4. Stay Active: Not only will this help with the perennial lose-weight-and-exercise resolution, this might just turn you into the kind of person who thinks of yourself as an athlete. And once you find the activity that ignites your passion versus just mindlessly griding it out at the gym, finding time for those workouts is going to be lots easier. There are an endless number of outdoor activities you can choose from, but the simplest, hiking, is one of the best activities you can do. Not only does it force you to learn more about your world, it’s great exercise, especially if you live around hills or mountains. Add 10 min of exercise weekly to your daily routine, start looking for ways to do that in 2011.
5. Start planning your meals: Spending an hour plotting things out once per week can keep more money in your pocket, keep you from wasting food, and save you a ton of time and irritation. Knowing what's for dinner on any given day and having all its components in the house makes a huge difference to your ability to serve up a healthy, tasty family meal every night ... and even enjoy it. Our nutritional needs change during exercise, when we need a lot of sugar and salt. When we aren’t exercising, those nutrients in excess are dangerous.
6. Get a home fitness program: We even know where you can find some. Nothing beats home fitness in both cost and time efficiency. There are home fitness solutions that will fit your lifestyle like a glove. Most home fitness programs allow you to finish your exercise requirement in less time than it would take to drive to a gym. A proper program is researched to be time-efficient and will also come with dietary suggestions to match the program. No other option comes close to home fitness when you need to squeeze a lifestyle change into an already booked schedule.
7. Have a Nurture List: Make a list of all the ways you can nurture yourself besides eating. It might be taking a bubble bath or going shopping at your favorite boutique. Anything that you really enjoy. I call this my "backup list". All the things I can do besides eating that are ways I can practice major self-care. Put it up where you can see it. It's amazing what happens when you give yourself options!
8. Do not diet: Make a promise to yourself this year, say NO to diet. Fad diets rarely help for long periods of time and very strict diet plans may only make your disorder worse.
Share your concerns with friends and family. Never isolate yourself.
Last but most important, Love yourself for who you are, not what you look like.
Remember, Small changes can produce big results.
Remember, Small changes can produce big results.
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