Cause and Solution to Obesity

By Soline Dibez

Obesity

Today, 64.5 percent of adult Americans (about
127 million) are categorized as being overweight
or obese. Each year, obesity causes at least
300,000 excess deaths in the U.S., and healthcare
costs of American adults with obesity amount to
approximately $100 billion. Apart from the obvious
physical symptoms of being very large in size and
unable to partake in normal activities such as
sport, obesity increases one's risk of developing
conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes
(type 2), heart disease, stroke, gallbladder
disease and cancer of the breast, prostate and
colon.

Child obesity is also becoming is large problem
facing America. The amount of overweight children
has risen significantly in the past ten years,
and is expected to grow at an even greater rate
in the future.

Not only does our society frown upon obesity on
those who have it, but more importantly, it serves
as a major health risk to those who have it. Thus,
we should be concerned about teaching our children
to eat well and stay active. Child obesity is not
only a problem because they may get teased at
school, it's a problem that could carry into
adulthood where several health risks will coincide.

Not only are children eating more junk food than
they ever have before, but they are considerably
less active as well. Children have always loved
watching TV and playing video games, but it seems
to have gotten out of control. With the
introduction of a variety of games consoles and
now the internet, children spend more time
staring at electronic screens than playing outside. 
It is this sedentary lifestyle that is hurting our
young. So, it is important to encourage your child
to get involved in out door activities. Organized
sports are great for this.  Riding bikes, hiking,
or building tree houses and forts are typical
things that children love and should be encouraged
to consider instead of playing video games.

Soline Dibez is the owner of
  Alt Obesity
which is a premier resource for Obesity information.
for more information, go to http://www.altobesity.com

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Cause-and-Solution-to-Obesity&id=59257] Cause and Solution to Obesity

Treatments For Obesity

By Petra Peach

I'm often asked about the best treatments for obesity and my response is always the same:

Change your dietary habits

The primary reason for weight gain is eating too many calories combined with a lack of physical activity. The simple solution is to eat less and be more active to balance your energy intake against the energy you use.

Whether you are obese or simply carry a few extra pounds, this is the only healthy option and is a three-step process.

1. Eat less.

Cut down the volume of your daily meals and stop "snacking" to immediately reduce your calorie intake. Do this and at the very least you will reduce your weight gain.

2. Eat better.

Let's make it perfectly clear; there is no such thing as a "fat calorie", but there is an abundance of calorie-laden foods readily available and attractively packaged, just waiting for you to eat them.

The secret to weight control is to find the hidden calories in the food you buy. Fast foods are notable for the high levels of saturated fats and transfats they contain.

Don't be fooled by low fat labels either, as it's not uncommon for sugar levels to be increased to improve taste.

Unless you are in a manual job that requires high levels of physical activity, I recommend limiting your daily calorie intake to 2000 for women and 2500 for men. If you can reduce that by 500 calories a day, you will lose weight.

Your target should be to lose around 2lbs a week. It may not sound a lot, but it soon adds up and at this rate its fat you will lose and not muscle mass.

I do not recommend any form of rapid diets, as they are unhealthy, unnatural and unsustainable. In fact I never advocate dieting, only dietary change. We are not looking for a temporary solution, rather a lifetime change that will lead to a healthier, happier and more fulfilled life.

Increasing your fiber intake is also a vital step in your new dietary regime. Fiber serves two purposes in your daily diet, improving you bowel function and satisfying your hunger quicker, for a lower calorie intake.

The average person consumes 8g of fiber per day and this should be increased to around 25g by eating more fiber rich foods. Dietary fiber is readily available from fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, pulses and whole grains.

The final step is to increase your water intake; try to drink 4 pints daily, as this will flush toxins from your body and help suppress hunger pangs.

3. Increase exercise.

Your body was built to do work, but in today's automated world, machines and technology have reduced the need for human muscle power, so it's important to find other forms of exercise to keep us mobile and maintain a high metabolism.

This is simply a question of choosing an activity that suits you best. Walking, swimming, cycling, and most ball games are ideal forms of exercise, for increasing metabolic rate and calorie burning.

By applying these three straightforward steps you will be following the best   treatments for obesity
Petra Peach is a London based Nutritionist working hard to combat the rising tide of obesity both nationally, and globally through the power of the net. For more information check out http://petrapeach.com

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Treatments-For-Obesity&id=1339344] Treatments For Obesity

Help And A Solution For Obesity

By Jim Lange

In this article I will discuss the  primary factor that causes obesity. How the cycle of obesity starts, and what you can do to regain control of your health.
In order to understand obesity and what is probably the most important factor effecting obesity, you have to understand the mechanics of how the body functions when you put fuel into it .

You eat, Let's say, a chicken sandwich on wheat bread with mayonaisse and a 20 oz. soft drink . The protein from the chicken is broken down into amino acids, the fat from the mayonaisse into fatty acids and the carbohydrates from the bread into simple sugars (glucose). So far so good, as long as you are not consuming more calories than your body needs you will not gain weight, but here comes the soft drink. A 20 oz. drink with 45 grams of sugar.
Your blood sugar level spikes rapidly, this causes your pancreac to respond by releasing an equal spike of insulin. Insulin forces glucose into the cells at an alarming rate, this in turn causes the release of Free radicals from the cells. The Free Radicals cause the capillaries of your muscle tissue to become inflamed. Your muscle tissue utilizes 80-90% of the calories that you consume but because the tissue is inflamed by the spike in blood sugar, your muscle has just lost most of its' ability to process those calories.

Insulin also blocks fat from being released. Fat is nothing more than a " Reserve Energy Storage Facility" This energy reserve will only be released if it is needed. As long as there is plenty of available energy in the form of incoming calories, that fat is going to stay right where it is. Insulin is only released when food energy is being processed, when the body senses the release of Insulin it knows that the fat reserves are not needed and blocks the release of energy from those fat stores. Now that the tracks on your glucose train have been switched from your muscle cells to your fat cells, these calories are now Uber-calories. They are going right to your Storage Facility.

The calories are now stored as fat because your muscle tissue has lost it's ability to utilize them. After a short period of time, perhaps 30 minutes, your blood sugar level and Insulin level come crashing down as your body tries to balance things out. You are left with a feeling of not only being tired, but a feeling of being hungry again. This is that "carb craving", you just have to eat something, usually another high glucose meal and the cycle starts all over again .
 Most of what we think of as "emotional eating" is really just this vicious cycle.Normally when you want to lose weight you go on a diet, you restrict the amount of calories you take in, but the problem is that this cycle is never really broken. So you fight these cravings while trying to eat less food, it becomes a contest of Biology against Phsycology .The game then becomes, how long can you stand the torment before you eventually give up.
It takes 5 days of low glycemic meals to break this cycle. The first three days require some real determination to get through the withdrawal symptoms, by the fourth day youre' feeling much better and on the fifth day the cravings are gone, you feel great, and you can learn to eat properly without the daily torment.
There are certainly other factors that effect obesity that I will discuss in future articles. It is my sincere hope that this article has shed some light for you on this problem of obesity. You can beat this, you can be free to eat normally, you can change your whole life , just never give up until you get where you want to be. It really is worth it. YOU are worth it.

Before beginning any diet or weight loss program always consult your physician.

To find out how to RESET your metabolism in 5 days and end the cycle of obesity you can go to http://ourdreams.usana.com/mystory_en.cfm

Jim Lange is a health and fitness enthusiast. This year he lost 72 lbs in 9 months by resetting his blood sugar levels and adopting a consistent exercise program. You can check out his blog at http://resetyourweight.blogspot.com/ to get more information, motivation, and tips on weight loss and fitness.

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Help-And-A-Solution-For-Obesity&id=526598]