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Addressing Obesity Recently news articles have proclaimed that obesity is an epidemic, and that it is contagious. However, both of these statements mischaracterize what is occurring. Obesity is a condition. It is not itself an illness. Therefore, it can be neither an epidemic nor contagious. I have talked with people about what can be done to address obesity. Very intelligent people state that it is a very complicated problem that is difficult to address. However, maintaining a healthy weight and lifestyle is not difficult. There are various factors which can lead people to believe that addressing obesity itself is too complicated. Some people may eat because they are bored. Others may eat because they are frustrated with different factors in their lives. Still others may eat because they feel peer pressure to eat what is served to them, and they do not get to choose their own portions. Others may eat because they are depressed. Some eat out of habit without paying attention to changes in life style and bodily processes as they age. These are just a few of the reasons why some may overeat. But, though there may be multiple underlying factors which can lead people to overeat, what to do is fairly simple. Often people look for a quick fix - an all too frequent way to address problems in our modern life. We can do so many things quickly, and problems which arise on television or in the movies are solved in 30 minutes or an hour or two. We also always try to find answers outside ourselves, efforts which are encouraged by modern medicine which often tries to find artificial ways to fix something. The idea of finding an easy answer outside ourselves is also encouraged by the legal profession and some studies which are undertaken. Witness lawsuits against Kellogg and McDonalds and the recent study which showed that children preferred food packaged by McDonalds even if the two choices were the same. Thus, why can we not have an easy or quick solution or one which is someone else's responsibility? The answer to that question is also easy. Doing so just does not work! If you read information about different methods for losing weight and keeping it off, almost all such information and applicable studies indicate that there is really only one sure means of doing so. Watch the amount you eat and exercise. It is best to have both aerobic exercise and strength exercise. Both are essential for good health and for maintaining metabolic function. They also both allow you to be able to do things you enjoy. I have seen people who have tried different types of diets, stomach surgery and other quick fixes. They have lost weight initially, but then have put it back on unless they also add portion control and exercise. Do not expect the effort to produce quick results. I have always challenged people who have quit exercising after two to four weeks to continue for a full year, stop for a month and then try to do the same thing they were doing before they stopped. Those to whom I have talked who have tried this sequence have realized that measurable results take awhile. One person I know who is working vigorously with an expert trainer has been told that it will take two years for him to get where he should be. Obesity is not an epidemic. It is a condition, but one which leads to serious health problems. Long term problems of carrying substantial amounts of excess weight include high blood pressure, bad joints, bad heart, type II diabetes and then all of the problems which go with that. Along with those pure health problems are two other side effects which are not pleasant - prematurely we get to where we cannot do those things we like to do, and we waste unnecessary amounts of money in buying clothes. Obesity is not contagious, though people who are obese are normally with other obese people. There is a simple logical answer to that - people who are that way tend to be in the same places doing the same thing, over eating. The benefits of portion control and exercise are better health, better self image, being able to do those things which we enjoy and more money to spend on things other than clothes, doctors, medicine and medical procedures. Exercise does not need to be boring or overly difficult and does need to cost a lot of money. Walking vigorously for 30 minutes once or twice in a day ever other day is sufficient aerobic exercise. Basic strength conditioning can be as simple as 10 to 15 minutes of a combination of squats, pushups and abdominal curls two to three times a week. Such a routine, when combined with portion control, will provide substantial benefits for a person who is not a dedicated athlete. Ultimately, being obese or not is a matter of personal will power, regardless of the reason one may over eat. |
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