It’s now May and I hope everyone is enjoying the warmer weather. Summer is only around the corner and here some of us start to look at the insulation (aka weight) we put on during the winter and wonder what we do with them. Whether it is for health or appearance, it’s been a topic of conversation for a long time.
Keeping healthy weight is a serious matter. Our body is not designed to work properly when we are under or overweight. Believe it or not, whilst we’ve always understood the importance of our weight, we’re only now discovering the science of weight. Did you ever feel Body Mass Index (BMI, it’s a measure of your weight against height) was a bit unfair? Rugby players have high BMI, but we wouldn’t dare tell them to lose weight right? That’s because apart from them being a bit stronger than you or I, their muscle makes them heavy and they don’t have much fat. Latest research backs this up, it’s the fat that causes problem, not “the weight”. So, BMI doesn’t work!
Now we know it’s the fat that’s the baddie, let’s talk about what they do to us. We know these fats can increase the risk of illness like diabetes, heart attacks and high blood pressure. But did you know it can cause a lot of other problems? It makes you more likely to have some types of cancers (like bowel and breast cancers), gives you low mood and makes you anxious, not to mention gallstones and arthritis. Too much fat is so evil, people with excessive fat tissue are likely to die 6-14 years younger than others. Ouch! Many experts are now calling for excessive fat on the body to be treated as a disease in it’s own right.
So why do end up with too much fat on the body? Is that because we eat too much and don’t do enough exercise? Is it a simple job of eat less, do more? I only wish it was that simple, but we know that doesn’t help us lose our fat. Why? Let me explain - your brain is the main control centre in managing your body’s energy. But it also takes signals from other parts of the body such as hormones from the gut and other organs. When you go on a diet, you might lose some weight at the start. But very quickly your organs will start sending signals that makes you take back the weight you lost because your body thinks you are starving. It makes you more hungry, less full when you eat and even slow down how the body spends energy, Now we know why we get rebounds!
Is it all our body’s fault? Not exactly. Research has shown outside influence can affect all of us. Don’t believe people who says you need to be stronger and resist bad food – science says things like cheap high calorie food & drinks, marketing, working patterns and living in the city can make all of us fat!
My colleagues and I at Kleyn Healthcare want to explore this more with you – I’ll update you again in my next blog
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