Your chances of becoming overweight or obese
Some recent research by Boston University suggests that even if you are a normal weight for your size now, you have a 15-30% chance of becoming overweight or obese in the next 4 years and a 50% chance over the next 30 years.
This confirms many people's experiences in growing older - we have a tendency to put on weight as the years go by.
Currently 66% of American adults are overweight and the trend is increasing. The greatest increase is in the obese group (the most overweight group) who currenty comprise 33% of adults.
Becoming overweight results not just in going up in clothes sizes or looking less trim and attractive, but also becoming more succeptible to a range of health problems such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, gall bladder disease, and osteoarthritis.
Preventing weight gain or taking weight off
Once the weight is on, it's hard to get it off. Only in about 20 per cent of cases do people manage to lose weight they put on.
The secrets to taking weight off AND keeping it off are the same.
How do people keep weight off long term? That's the question the US researchers hoped to answer when they looked at a group of about 4000 people on a database called the National Weight Control Registry, operated by doctors at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, USA.
- Exercise. Most did an hour of moderate intensity exercise per day. Three-quarters did brisk walking; the rest did cycling, aerobics or weightlifting.
- They ate a low fat, low calorie diet. On average, they consumed about 7,500 kilojoules (1800 calories) a day. (Compare this to the average Australian daily intake of 13,800 kilojoules or 3,300 calories). They achieved this by limiting the volume of food and drink they consumed overall, by counting kilojoules and by restricting their intake of high-calorie foods. On average, 24 per cent of their energy intake was from fats. And they avoided fast food - eating less than one such meal a week.
- Most ate breakfast daily (usually fruit and cereal). Why was this important? The researchers think it stopped them binge eating later in the day.
- They weighed themselves regularly – 44 per cent weighed themselves daily and 31 per cent weekly. This allowed them to detect small gains and take action early when success was more likely.
- They maintained a consistent eating pattern – varying it little, even on weekends or holidays. Those who were less strict about their eating on weekends and holidays tended to put weight back on.
So the message is, if you're not overweight, and you want to stay that way, or if you are overweight and want to lose weight and keept it off - you need to be proactive about it. And the older you are - the more proactive you need to be! We suggest you:
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Work out your healthy ideal weight
• Develop a healthy diet and exercise program that works for you
• Work to maintain your ideal weight for life
Step-by-Step Healthy Weight Loss
The Step-by-Step Healthy Weight Loss Program provides you with the information and tools to work out your ideal weight and develop a healthy diet and exercise program that will work for you for life. If you want to know more click on this link that tells you more about this easy-to-follow program in an ebook.
Healthy Weight Loss Information
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