What exactly do the terms overweight and obesity mean? Overweight is defined as an excess amount of body weight – muscle, bone, fat, and water. Obesity is an excess amount of fat. Both conditions put an individual at an increased risk for chronic diseases such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, and some forms of cancer such as colon, prostate, gallbladder, breast, uterine, cervix, and ovarian.
To measure overweight and obesity, dietitians, use the body mass index. This is a person’s weight in relationship to height.
BMI = kg OR lbs. x 703
divided by
M2 inches 2
A BMI between 18.5 – 24.9 is normal and healthy: 25.0 – 29.9 is overweight, and 30+ is obese. The higher the BMI, the higher your health risks. If you have a BMI of 25.0 or higher, you need to lose the excess weight.
There are no simple solutions or “quick fixes.” It’s all about balancing the amount you eat (input) with the amount of exercise (output) you do. Too much fat taxes and puts a burden on the body. Gradual changes in eating habits and regular physical activity are key to weight loss. A one to two pound a week weight loss is recommended.
While it is not a good idea to be a slave to your scale, keep track of your weight. Make sure you do not go past 5 pounds over your usual weight. It is much easier to lose five pounds compared to 10, 20 or 30 pounds.
What’s important is that you incorporate lifestyle changes that you’ll keep in the long run. Even losing 5 to 10 percent of your weight has been shown to decrease risk for chronic illnesses. Another added benefit of exercise is that you will build up lean muscle. Muscle burns calories. If you are overweight, weight loss is important, but even more important is weight maintenance.
Exercise regularly – jogging, biking, hiking, swimming, and racquetball are all wonderful, but simply walking briskly is enough if done on a regular basis. Walking is recommended three times a week for 30 minutes each time. Start off slow with 10 to 20 percent each week.
It’s very important that you choose an activity you enjoy so you will continue to do it, resulting in a lifestyle change. Exercise should not be a chore but something you like. Exercise helps to regulate appetite, as well as to reduce stress. Remember, the goal is a lifestyle change. If you like the activity, you’re likely to do it often.
Focus on behaviors that can sabotage your goal instead of weight loss. How do you eat? Do you eat once a day one large meal? If you do, your body will store fat for times of hunger. Do you sit in front of the television while you eat? This behavior makes you eat more than if you sit down at a table and eat a meal. Do you skip breakfast? You will wind up eating more at lunchtime since you are famished.
Sound familiar? If so, it’s time to start taking small steps to behavior modification, and thus, lifestyle changes.
The goal is to do 30 minutes of physical activity three times a week. Here are some tips:
park further out into the parking lot of work, shopping center, or school.
walk
- walk the extra distance instead of wasting gas going around finding a closer spot
- squeeze in walks at lunch hour or after evening meals
- walk your dog
- walk or bike instead of riding in your car when doing errands
- make a regular “walk” date with friends and neighbors
make family time an active time
If you have young kids, you can make exercise fun with hula hoops. Why not roller skate around the block as the kids ride their bicycles? With older kids, games of basketball or simply throwing a football are great physical activities.
mow the grass or rake the lawn
devote less time to sedentary activities such as watching television or sitting in front of the computer
use hobbies such as gardening to be active
sign up for aerobics; try doing water aerobics
take up dancing
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