“Imprisoned in every fat man, a thin one is wildly signaling to be let out”. Dr.Anandam Gopinath is here to help that thin one to be out from you, with some tips of diet and habits to be followed in order to chuck out the bad effects of being simply gadget-junkies.

Obesity is the most common metabolic disorder today. It is certainly the most talked about and written on, not only in terms of looks but good health also. In the modern affluent society there is an increased incidence of obesity.

Are you obese?

You are considered obese if you weigh 20% more than your ideal body weight according to size and age.

In modern times obesity is defined in terms of BMI, Body Mass Index. It is a mathematical calculation to find out whether you are overweight or not. See, being obese and being overweight are two different things. If your BMI is 30 or more, you are considered as OBESE. If the BMI falls between 25 and 29.9 you are OVER WEIGHT. Dividing your body weight in Kilograms by your height in meters x 2 will give you your BMI.

Another method of determining obesity is to use the ‘pinch’ test. In adults about half the body fat is located directly under the skin. A fold of skin and fat can be pinched away from the underlying bone from the back of the upper arm under the shoulder blade or the side of the lower part of the torso. If this fold is more than one inch in thickness you can consider yourself obese.

Which type you are?

There are two types of obesity. The first one is life-long obesity. In this type there is a genetic influence in addition to bad eating habits. There is a sudden spurt of weight gain during puberty in otherwise heavy children and the women gain weight with each pregnancy. This particular type is difficult to control. They lose weight during each program that they follow but regain their initial weight once the program is stopped.

The second type is the ‘adult onset’ obesity or the ‘middle age spread’. This is because we maintain the eating patterns of our youth and exercise less. Most cases of obesity are due to simple over-eating and no exercise. We hardly walk to work and manual labour is also less because of the availability of machines.

Bad effects

Obesity leads to a number of common diseases. It affects almost every system in the body. As you all know fat people have an increased risk of high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, gall stones, arthritis and varicose veins. Due to the increased strain during respiration to move the ponderous thoracic wall, fat people have shallow breathing which leads to increased carbon-dioxide retention. This causes chronic fatigue and day time sleepiness. Remember ‘Fat Joe’ of the ‘Pickwick Papers’? Those moist, flabby, redundant skin folds are prone to fungal skin lesions. Fat women have irregular menstrual cycles and have difficult pregnancies and labour. Obese people are poor surgical risk patients.

Being overweight or obese may contribute to body dissatisfaction and low self-esteem that places individuals at risk for depression. Conversely, depression may increase weight over time through interference with the endocrine system or the adverse effects of antidepressant medication.

How to prevent

It is better to avoid obesity and easier not to put on those extra pounds than taking them off. Children should be taught goodeating habits and regular exercises.

Choose an active way of life. Make it a habit of climbing up the stairs instead of using the elevator and walk as much as possible. Weight reduction must be self-motivated the ultimate key to successful weight reduction being proper eating habits combined with enough physical activity. This means bringing about a change in your sedentary life style and once these changes are made a question of sticking to the pattern for a life time so as not to regain the weight lost.

Diet

‘Fad diets’ like water diet, reducing diets are of not much use. The same weight loss can be achieved by caloric restrictions. The aim is to achieve a negative caloric balance- an intake of 500 calories below the requirement will reduce half a kilogram. Crash dieting and total starvation are unwise although they might help to loss weight quickly. 1200 calories per day diet is recommended to start with. This could consist of:

For break fast – an orange, a half boiled egg, a slice of toast and coffee or tea with skimmed milk.

For Lunch – clear broth and fresh salad with a slice of bread and fruit.

For Dinner – lean roast beef, salad and a slice of bread.

Be Vegetarian

Apart from the above said diet for those who cannot live without eating a living being, doctors and researchers suggest the need of being a vegetarian. Going vegetarian is the single best thing you can do to avoid overweight. Well planned vegetarian diet provides you with all the nutrients that we need minus all the saturated fat, cholesterol and contaminants found in animal meat. Vegetarians tend to consume fewer calories than the meat eaters.

Yoga

Regular practice of yogasanas has an amazing effect on obesity and it s connected diseases. Regular exercises such as running and swimming, and practicing certain specific yogic postures like Paschimottasana, Bhujangasana, Sarvangasana, Halasana, Dhanurasana, Ardhamtsyendrasana and sun salutations et al are advisable.

Along with the asanas do prananyama. Keep fixed timings for lunch and dinner. Time difference between the meals must be four hours. Have a low fat meal with fiber rich vegetables and fruits. Don’t be hesitant to avoid sweets, milk, butter, cheese etc.

Related posts:

1. The ‘W’ – s of Depression