Navigating Health

Archive for January 27th, 2010

A healthy weight is one where you are not too thin or too fat for your height. Being overweight or obese puts your health at risk, but so does being underweight. A healthy weight is one that you can maintain throughout life; fluctuating weight levels push up your risk of disease. Since the 1950’s, increasing affluence, poor eating habits and more sedentary lifestyles have meant that obesity has become much more common in developed countries. Obesity affects both men and women, and recently is increasingly apparent among children. Doctors also use waist size as another useful measurement of obesity and health risk. So whether you’re an apple or a pear shape affects your heart’s health.

Fat around the waist indicates an increased risk of heart problems. Exercise helps to use up calories and promote a higher level of health. If you are not used to exercising, simply taking a long, brisk walk two or three times a week will provide some benefit. But if you are able and motivated to exercise at a higher and more strenuous level, activities such as running, cycling and swimming are more effective at helping you to shed those unwanted pounds. Putting on weight as you get older is not inevitable.

Although your body’s metabolic rate slows down with age, the effect is modest. The best way to prevent weight gain is by physically active. Most people’s middle age spread is the result of becoming more sedentary but eating more or less as they did when they were active. This excess energy intake is stored in the body as fat. It is probably a good idea to start out by assessing your diet and identifying high fat and high sugar foods that you eat.