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Intestinal Weight Loss Surgery Today

Sat, 17 Jul 2010 08:44:00 +0000

In the past, weight loss surgery was always regarded as an extreme course of action for the morbidly obese. Weight loss surgery was mostly a risky proposition often involving slicing into the intestines and re-routing or stapling. Even nowadays, it is true that several types of weight loss surgery are invasive, difficult to reverse and can cause serious complications. But, as more technology becomes available to surgeons, weight loss surgery is now easier and less risky than ever and thus, more common. Attempting to lose weight for, many people, can be exceedingly frustrating. No matter how much dieting or exercise they do, nothing seems to help. Whether it is due to a genetic component, a malfunction of the metabolism, or some subtle imbalance in the body, willpower and dedication are not enough. Weight loss surgery has become a more mainstream option as new procedures and technology make it less invasive and safer. A number of types of weight loss surgery are commonly performed on obese patients. One of the more recent surgery procedures is the Lap-Band. The Lap-Band apparatus, an adjustable rubber ring, is positioned around a patient’s stomach in order to restrict the amount of food and liquids that can enter the stomach. This Restrictive type of weigh loss surgery does not affect the normal digestion of food or nutrients, unlike Malabsorptive surgery types. Malabsorptive weight loss surgery is more invasive, in other words, it requires more internal surgical work, than other types. Malabsortive surgery shortens the digestive tract and limits the amount of calories that can be absorbed into the body. Amalgamations of restrictive and malabsorptive weigh loss surgery procedures are also typically used. These surgeries restrict the amount of food in the stomach as well as reduce amount of calories that can be absorbed in the body. Carrying around too much weight can cause myriad health and emotional difficulties. The overweight are more liable to experience heart problems, high blood pressure, diabetes and other health problems. People who are morbidly obese often have a shorter lifespan, as well. You may want to consider weight loss surgery, if traditional weight loss methods have failed. Each one of the three above types of weigh loss surgery has its own benefits and drawbacks, so it’s important to speak to a weight loss surgery specialist to find out if one of these surgeries is a good solution for you.

Tips For Realistically Losing Weight

Sat, 26 Jun 2010 09:28:00 +0000

Obesity is a life threatening condition and is spreading at an alarming rate throughout Western society. It is particularly prevalent in the USA. However there are some steps you can take to reduce your weight and improve your health and lifestyle. Reducing calorie intake: What are calories? A calorie is a unit used to measure energy. It is required by most governments to print the calorie value of foods on the nutrition label of all foods that are sold to consumers. Because if this it is easier to calculate your calorie intake. Reducing calories means not just cutting food intake but being careful of the actual caloric value of the foods you are eating. Reduction but not eliminating fats and oils: fat and oil is necessary for the body but we often eat foods which are too high in fats thus taking in more fat and oil than we need to. When you cut down fat and oil you will reduce calories and definitely manage to lose those pounds. Decrease but do not eliminate carbohydrates: Carbohydrates are necessary to the body but we often eat too much of this class of food resulting in the body storing these foods as fat. When you cut down carbohydrates you will reduce your weight. Increase your protein levels: It is often good to eat foods that are high in proteins as they are not as fattening as other foods. High protein foods are good to eat when you are reducing weight to prevent any muscle loss occurring as you shed those pounds. Eat more fruits and vegetables: These are good for providing nutrients to the body and are low in calories. They are a good alternative to “junk food” snacks. They will also increase fiber in your diet. Reduction in sugar and sodium. Sugar is readily broken dawn by the body into energy and excess stored as fat making it a fattening food. Sodium eaten in excess can contribute to water retention by the body and prevent weight loss. Increasing fiber in your diet: this will help you to curb hunger pangs as fiber rich foods will help you feel full as they take longer to digest. Your digestive system will work better with an increase in fiber.Whole grain foods, unrefined foods, fruits and vegetables will give you more fiber. Increase your fluid intake: Drink more pure water especially. This will help to improve your health and fill you up. Increase exercise: Regular exercise will help you reduce weight and build muscle instead of storing fat. You can either work out for about 20 minutes 3 times a week or take a brisk daily walk. When you use these steps you will reduce your weight. You will not achieve a super figure in one day but when you keep up a healthy diet you will lose weight steadily. Maintaining a healthy diet with regular exercise will ensure that you not only reduce but will keep the weight off. You will feel healthier and have more energy to do the things you really want to do in life.

Count Colors Not Calores to Lose Weight!

Thu, 03 Jun 2010 21:39:00 +0000

If you need to drop and few kilos and don’t know where to get started, stop counting calories and start counting colours. When it comes to losing weight, make sure your plate is piled high with a range of colourful fruit and vegetables. You’ll naturally create more balance and health-filled menus. Why? Colour not only brightens your mood – but also your diet. Load your plate with fruit and veges like a box of crayons in colours such as red, yellow, orange, blue, purple, white and green and you’ll also be filling up on power packed phytonutrients. Phytonutrients are naturally occurring chemicals which combat disease, including cancer. Go easy on the beige and brown foods such as pasta and startchy carbs. When there are too many of these drab colours on your plate, weight gain is almost certain. That’s because these beige foods often are high in calories and can leave you feeling hungry later. A cup of beige or brown beans can be over 200 calories….but a cup of red or green vegetables is under a hundred! Add fresh greens, deep purple-reds and bright yellow-orange to a meal, and water the nutrient content go up, while calories go down! Plus, you’ll get more enjoyment from eating when there’s a variety of colours and flavours on your plate. According to Dr David Heber, M.D., Ph.D. and author of “What Color Is Your Diet” the key to designing your colourful diet is to choose from a range of different colour groups: Blue/purple fruits and vegetables contain varying amounts of health-promoting phytochemicals such as anthocyanins and phenolics. Choose from a range including blueberries, blackberries, eggplant, plums, raisins. These assist in memory function. Green group includes broccoli; Brussels sprouts, cabbage, and bok choi. These foods stimulate the genes in your liver to turn on the production of enzymes that break down the cancer-causing chemicals in the body. The yellow/green group includes green peas, avocado and honeydew melon. These promote eye health. The yellow/orange group includes carrots, mangoes, apricots, rock melon and pumpkin. These contain carotenoids (beta carotene is one), fierce antioxidants that help prevent cancer and assist to lower heart-attack risk. The white group includes bananas, white peaches, cauliflower, garlic, ginger, mushrooms and are helpful to maintain heart health. The red group includes tomatoes, pink grapefruit and watermelon all of which contain lycopene. Lycopene is associated with a lower risk of prostate cancer and cardiovascular disease. The red/purple group includes grapes, grape juice, prunes, cranberries, strawberries and red apples. These foods contain anthocyanins which have a beneficial effect on heart disease by inhibiting blood clot formation.

Why Dieting May Not Be The Answer

Wed, 05 May 2010 16:14:00 +0000

Obesity is a real life problem that is spreading fast throughout the Western world but most particularly in the USA. It has given rise to literally 100s of diets and a huge money making industry that has grown up around peoples’ desperate need to shed those pounds. However there is far more to losing weight than a mere diet. Diets are good for emergency weight loss but they are in effect just a quick fix. Many people go thorough with a weight loss diet and do indeed lose weight and are ecstatic! Then when they return to a normal diet they see those pounds returning and pretty soon they are the same, or worse still, heavier than they were in the beginning. Depressed they give up and resign themselves to being fat. You can avoid this happening to you with a few simple steps: Avoid fad diets (ones in fashion) and “lose weight quick diets” Do not just rely on diet alone combine with other weight loss techniques Exercise Mindset Diets in fashion are just that. They are not usually long lasting and if you lose weight it is often only temporary. When you lose weight quickly your body will be stressed and you have a very good chance of regaining your weight and even adding more pounds. A better way is to adjust your eating habits permanently. This can be done by: · Cutting out so-called junk foods like chips candy and sweets. · Eating smaller portions · Drinking more water · Eating more fiber rich foods-these fill you up and stop you from getting so hungry Combine with other weight loss techniques: do not just do dieting, for success use other techniques to help you lose weight, like exercise. Exercise: is one of the best ways to lose weight. You need only do about 20 minutes 3 times a week and you will be losing weight. A brisk walk everyday will help you lose and maintain weight control. Mindset: Be determined to succeed and you will. Once you decide that you have a problem, (you are fat and need help) and are determined to lose weight you will be able to do it. You just need the willpower and attitude to make the changes in your lifestyle to lose those pounds. Try to reduce stress (both mentally and physically): mental and physical stress causes your body to react by retaining weight and not allowing you to shed those unwanted pounds. Lack of sleep is a big factor in stressing out your body and one that many of us do. When you deprive yourself of sleep your body reacts to this stress by retaining fat and not enabling you to lose weight. Mental stress is a big factor in weight loss. When you are stressed or even depressed there is a tendency to eat more to relieve emotions. Plus your body views this frame of mind as a stress factor and again inhibits weight loss. Next time you decide to get rid of those unwanted pounds do not just rely on diet. Change your habits and try to put all these simple techniques to work and you will lose more weight than you expected. When you lose weight you will look better feel better and be able to live a healthier more satisfying life.

Opt Phentermine for a guaranteed weight loss

Mon, 29 Mar 2010 05:53:00 +0000

Overweight – A challenging body condition which includes symptoms, like a bulky body, a distorted body structure, heavy weight, low energy and low resistance power, is a major concern today. It has been estimated that around 30-40 % of the population in the US has been suffering from the dangerous effects of overweight or obesity. And this is not all; the similar scenario can be viewed in the other parts of the world as well. Obesity is defined as a BMI (Body Mass Index) of 30 or more than 30 and welcomes the arrival of other hazardous diseases as diabetes, arthritis, hypertension etc. Obesity actually decreases the immunizing power of one’s body due to which a lot of other diseases find their way in ones body. Obesity considerably affects one’s body internally and externally. For a treatment of obesity Phentermine is considered as the wonder pill in order to loose weight. Phentermine acts as an appetite suppressant and hence helps by properly defining healthy eating. Phentermine works by stimulating the central nerves which again helps suppress the frequent hunger strokes that helps in reducing the calorie intake .As soon as the calorie intake on one’s daily schedule is maintained the metabolic rate automatically improves and hence weight loss occurs. Phentermine works on a systematic way to weight loss and that is why it guarantees a weight loss of 5-15% of your body weight. Apart from that it works for a short term management of obesity due to which it starts performing in a very short duration and hence helps people losing weight and maintaining a proper weight loss.Phentermine is termed as the world’s number one weight loss pill not only because of its performance but also because of its quality, cheap prices and user friendliness.Phentermine is available on unbelievable prices which actually caters to the demand of all those who look forward to weight loss within their budjet.Phentermine acts as an unbeatable weight loss pill and stands as the first and foremost medication for weight loss. Phentermine is a prescription diet pill and is available on the doctor’s prescription suiting to the capacity and requirements of one’s body.Phentermine is available online so as to be in the reach of all “anywhere anytime”.

Is Fructose The Cause Of Obesity?

Thu, 25 Mar 2010 03:49:00 +0000

The Glycemic Index offers an interesting, and scientifically valid, way of assessing the types of carbohydrates we eat. It measures and rates the way these carbohydrates enter the bloodstream. And in doing so offers a way of approaching a meal so that it may be both nutritionally valid, and keep hunger pangs at bay. This of course is one way of preventing overeating. And its a great way for parents to try and curb their children’s desire to eat unhealthy food between meals. The Glycemic Index rates carbohydrates as having either a high, low or medium glycemic index. And the idea is to eat more foods that have either a low or medium glycemic index, and less with a high one. Low glycemic index foods enter the bloodstream more slowly, and so don’t raise blood sugar levels like high glycemic index foods. So, what is a carbohydrate? All sugars, or foods that are broken down into sugar, are carbohydrates. This includes regular sugar, glucose (often used in sports drinks), fructose, (in fruit), lactose, (found in milk and similar products like yoghurt), maltose, (found in malt which is often used to flavor cereals), all types of starches, from potatoes to noodles and pasta, and legumes, such as lentils and peas (though these also contain some protein). Fruit is considered to have a low GI (not fruit juice though). Interestingly though, recent research has found what they believe is a link between fructose and obesity. However, the type of fructose studied was in corn syrup, which is a refined and concentrated form of fructose. It also doesn’t have the beneficial fiber, antioxidants and other phytochemicals that fruit does. This was also preliminary research done in an animal model, so it may not be valid for humans. Researchers from the University of Florida found that fructose may make people believe they are hungrier than they should be. And when these researchers interrupted the way fructose was metabolized, the rats they were working with did not put on weight, even though they still ate fructose. This is not the first research that has suggested fructose may be linked to a propensity to put on weight, more so than other types of food. A study at the University of Cincinnati found that eating fructose (high fructose corn syrup), led to greater fat storage. They say that the body processes fructose differently to other types of sugars, though again, it is not clear if this is mitigated by perhaps the lower concentration of fructose in fruit as compared to the corn syrup used in the study. The research from the University of Florida found that there were higher levels of uric acid in the bloodstream after eating or drinking fructose. This spike in uric acid affects insulin, by blocking it. Insulin regulates the way our cells store and use fat. If uric acid levels are elevated a lot, then symptoms of metabolic syndrome can develop. These symptoms include high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, as well as gaining a lot of weight. What is of possible concern to people is that fructose is used in a lot of soda drinks, so if you drink a lot of soda it is going to be quite easy to frequently spike uric acid levels in the blood. Metabolic syndrome is also a precursor of type 2 diabetes. Signs of metabolic syndrome include fat on the abdomen, such that the waist appears as big as the hips or larger. There tend to be lower amounts of the good type of cholesterol in the blood, and high levels of triglycerides which make the blood ’sticky’. Metabolic syndrome is associated with the way the body responds to insulin, so that there are higher levels of glucose in the blood. All of these things can be tested by doctors. References: 1. http://www.nutraingredients.com/news/ng.asp?n=64395&m=1NIED08&c=qgtqmovbyiaxdub 2. Australian Healthy Food, November 2005 3. Nature and Health, Oct/Nov 2005

Why Do We Cheat On Our Diets?

Fri, 08 Jan 2010 16:36:00 +0000

If only we could solve this question, the world (for many) would be a better place! Well, the reality is that there are real answers to this question that will apply to many people. It will take a good dose of reality and a brave heart to stop denying what really happens. Read on to discover some answers that may change your life forever and give you the impetus to lose weight and keep it off! Justification? Being overweight can be used as an excuse for being unhappy, especially when you do not do anything to help yourself. Subconsciously, over-eating is a comfort for many people and this then allows them to hide behind their weight problem and helps them to justify rejection and avoid being hurt. They can then shift the blame of rejection on their weight-problem, without addressing other aspects of their fears. Sometimes it seems easier to hide behind your “weight problem”, than address other matters where you may have a greater fear of failure. Eating Without Thinking? If you are concentrating on another activity while you are eating you are more likely to overeat because you are not fully aware of how full you are feeling. This factor can be difficult to change because it is not a conscious action. Try to only eat when you don’t have a lot of other distractions. Sit down, eat slowly and enjoy the food you are eating, and remember that it is not always necessary to go back for seconds. It takes 20 minutes for food to reach your stomach and for your brain to register that you are full. Cravings? The famous “Pavlov’s dogs” were conditioned to eat at the sound of a bell, and we human are much the same when it comes to habitual cravings. If you wonder why you always feel like a chocolate when you sit down to watch a movie, or you have to have a box of popcorn….think again. You are not necessarily craving these foods because you are hungry, but rather consider force of habit. During the time when you have a craving, try to ask yourself whether you are really hungry or not. If you are hungry, reach for a low fat snack rather than a chocolate bar or bag of crisps. Indulging? Eating or thinking about food can be a distraction from your troubles and you may therefore be unnecessarily over-eating. Emotions and hormones can trigger certain cravings, for example, if you are feeling low, chocolate and carbohydrates assist the production of serotonin in your brain. Serotonin helps you feel happier. This is why we might crave sweet or starchy foods during times of sadness or stress. If you identify with any of the above factors, you could be on your way towards discovering what is triggering you to overeat.

A Look At Obesity

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 21:39:00 +0000

If you thought being obese is being the target of fun, it only tells the part of the story about dangers and predicaments obesity exposes you to. Obesity is no more a simple result of overeating-lead-to-overweight case. To quote the American Obesity Association’s words, “It is now recognized that obesity is a serious, chronic disease. No human condition — not race, religion, gender, ethnicity or disease state — compares to obesity in prevalence and prejudice, mortality and morbidity, sickness and stigma.”

Obesity is a trojan horse. It brings a battalion of ailments, which are most detrimental to our health. To name a few, following are the complications that could arise out being obese.

1. Hypertension

2. Diabetes (Type-2)

3. Coronary heart disease

4. Stroke

5. Gallbladder disease

6. Osteoarthritis

7. Asthma

8. Sleep apnea and respiratory problems

9. Some cancers (endometrial, breast and colon)

10.High levels of cholesterol

This is an unending list, where each of the above ailments are capable of creating other complications, where no medication without side effect, could be comfortably used. Prevention is the best cure for obesity. How to achieve this?

Shake Your Head

A doctor once told my friend, who is obese that it is very easy to lose weight. My friend became very interested and asked him to suggest a way. The doctor calmly replied that just shake your head from left to right, maybe ten times a day! My friend became very curious. What is the idea behind this? He asked. Doctor calmly replied, "Whenever anyone offers you something to eat, shake your head from left to right". Simple, isn’t it? It is simple, but it requires discipline, which is not simple. But then, habit makes discipline. Avoiding junk food and fast food must be done with a discipline.

Is Being Overweight Obesity

Obesity is not just due to eating disorder unlike overweight. Obesity is hereditary and it is measured by Body Mass Index or BMI. Adults over the BMI of 30 Kg/m2 is considered are considered obese and any one with reading between 25 and 29.9 kg/m2 is overweight, not obese.

Obesity is posing the biggest threat to Americans and the numbers are rising with each year. There are around 35% obese Americans according to a survey. This is also draining the state exchequer heavily to the tune of $25 billions a year.

What Causes Obesity

There are more reasons than one. Having obsession to eating more calories than you can burn off, how active are you, what you eat and whether you have an inherited streak in your genes, all these determine your chances of becoming obese. In any case it is due to the over accumulation of fats.

Is There An Anti-Obesity Plan?

There are many quick-fix plans being promoted by the so called dieticians which are not regulated by FDA. However, burning fat by increased physical activity and a changed lifestyle in addition to changed eating habits to healthier foods must gradually show results.

Although fat at hips is not quicker to harm you than the accumulation around waist, there is no guarantee that you are absolutely safe. Talk to your trainer and dietician, pull-up your socks and get going. After all, it’s your life.

8 reason to lose weight now

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 03:25:00 +0000

Obesity is the second leading cause of death after smoking. It is associated with an increased mortality rate of all ages including children. Losing weight though commercialized is still to your benefit if you carry more weight than you should. Obesity and overweight are term often used interchangeably. However, technically they refer to two different states. Being overweight technically means excess body mass. This includes all the body tissues. Obesity on the other hand refers explicitly to excess body fat e.g. a professional heavy weight body builder is overweight because of excess muscles but is not obese. Obesity is what should concern you. Losing weight is no longer an issue you can afford to procrastinate, and probably a good health scare is in order. Reason #1 to lose weight
Diabetes:- It is well known that 80 -90% of type-two-diabetes patients are overweight. Diabetes is the third leading cause of death in the U.S., as well as the leading cause of adult blindness in the world. One of the direct causes of obesity is eating wrong foods. Some of these wrong foods include high glycemic foods. High glycemic foods are energy dense foods that quickly increase the level of blood glucose in your body after been eaten. This results to the body reserving the unnecessarily high glucose/energy into fat. This makes losing weight very difficult. Releasing a hormone called insulin does this. Type-Two-diabetes occurs because the body cannot produce enough insulin to remove the excess blood glucose and store it as body fat. This will occur after straining insulin production for some time. And that’s how you end up being fat and diabetic. Reason #2 to lose weight
Stroke:- Obesity is associated with arteriosclerosis, the build up of fatty deposits in the arteries through out your body. This makes them narrow slowing blood flow and among other things increases risk of the blood clotting. Arteries at risk include those supplying blood to the brain. If clotting occurs due to narrowed artery, it blocks blood supply to an area of the brain resulting to stroke. Losing weight reduces this risk. Reason #3 to lose weight
Cancer:- The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates between 25% – 33% of cancer world wide are overweight and physical inactivity related. Body fat evidently promotes higher levels of insulin production and excess estoregens, a hormone. Both insulin and estorogens accelerate cell division. [Probably to create adipose tissue; new fat cells to store fat, in addition to the regular cell division] As research has indicated, the faster cells duplicate the more they increase chances of a cancerous cell developing. The situation is further complicated as the rapid cell division caused by the excess hormones lead also to rapid cell reproduction of the one cancerous cell, hence cancer starts to develop actively. In addition fat cells tend to keep carcinogenic i.e. cancer-causing agents, trapped in the body which increases chances of developing cancer.
Types of cancers you will be at high risk to get include:-

Breast cancer- affecting the breast possibly in both men and women.

Colorectal cancer- affecting colon and rectum.

Prostrate cancer- affecting the prostrate gland in men.

Endometrial cancer- affecting the uterus.

Esophageal cancer- affecting the esophagus.

Renal cell cancer, the cancer of the kidney, etc. Reason #4 to lose weight
Respiratory problems:- Obesity causes lungs to “become smaller” in size and chest wall become heavier to lift in the process of breathing in. The most common respiratory problem is sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a condition where by an individual stops breathing for some time while asleep. A soft tissue in the throat collapses around the air way probably due to weight, blocking it. For the severely obese sleep apnea may get more complicated with hypoventilation. Hypoventilation is accumulation of toxic levels of carbon dioxide (the gas we breathe out) in the blood, due to inadequate breathing. Losing weight would be the only permanent safe and healthy solution to sleep apnea. Reason #5 to lose weight
Urinary Incontinence:- This is involuntary release of urine. Being overweight can contribute to urinary incontinence. A heavy abdomen due to body fat deposit may cause valve of urinary bladder to be weakened. The weight also exerts pressure on the urinary bladder, trying to push urine out. This results to leakage of urine when coughing, sneezing or laughing. This is because of a slight relaxation of the bladder valve that normally will not result to leakage. It can even result to bed wetting at night. This particular problem can be a very effective motivator to lose weight. Reason #6 to lose weight Varicose veins:- Also known as Venous Stratis Disease. The leg and thigh muscles assist the heart in blood circulation just like most large muscles in the body. They are involved in pumping blood against gravity back to the heart with the help of valves that close to avoid a backward flow. Pressure as a result of a large abdomen may increase the work load on the valves eventually causing damage. Damaged valves then allow for blood to back up, due to gravity, causing high pressure in these veins leading to swelling, thickening of skin and skin ulcers. Reason #7 to lose weight High Blood Pressure:- The BMI (Body Mass Index) and age together are the strongest indicator of risk of hypertension or high blood pressure. At least a third of hypertension is related to obesity. Reason #8 to lose weight
Other Diseases:- Other diseases which MAY occur as a result of being overweight include;

Gout
Coronary heart disease
Lower back pains
Osteoarthritis
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Gall stones
Pregnancy disorders such as
Neural tube defect,
Prenatal mortality,
Maternal hypertension,
Gestational diabetes etc.
Impaired immune response
Liver disease
Pancreatitis
Bad body smell
Depression

Research shows that even modest weight loss of even 10 pound for the overweight significantly reduces the risk of developing these diseases. Weight loss is in fact a challenge taken by many every year. Unfortunately many fail in this healthy endeavor. And all because of one thing; they lack proper information on effective weight loss. Effective weight loss is permanent, and a permanent weight loss depends fundamentally on four factors. These four are what we at Health-eMark call the ‘Top 4 Reasons for Weight Loss Failure’.

Obesity, an American Epidemic, a Worldwide Concern

Sun, 06 Dec 2009 01:33:00 +0000

If you are considered overweight, whether you know it or not, you are in the majority. In America, it has been recently estimated that 65% of the population is overweight with 30% being at least clinically obese. To add to this alarming statistic is the estimate that 15-20% of the nation’s children are overweight. Now, obesity is beginning to spread more and more to countries that have always had a relatively low rate of obesity, like China and Japan. This is one case where being in the majority is not considered a good thing. What really matters is, how being overweight or obese affects your overall health. According to the body mass index, you are considered overweight if your index is between 25 and 29. If your index is over 30, you are considered obese. The American collage of sports medicine defines obesity as an amount of body fat that increases the risk of disease. As a general rule, more than 25% body fat for men and more than 32% body fat for women is considered obesity. Let’s look at some of the most likely reasons that so many people are obese. 1: overeating 2: lack of exercise 3: genetic predisposition 4: psychological problems 5: too slow a metabolism These are some of the things scientists are investigating as to the likely causes for obesity. Most of these can be overcome by lowering the fat in the diet and by exercising. Regardless of the reasons for overweight and obesity, there is health risks associated with these conditions. According to the U.S.Surgeon’s report: A bodyweight of more than 20% over ideal constitutes a definite health hazard. Obesity is associated with a reduced life expectancy. Risk factors for heart disease such as high cholesterol increase. Obesity increases stress on the body joints. Obesity increases the risk of surgery. The presence of diabetes is nearly 3 times higher in overweight people. According to the experts, all of these risk factors can be improved by a reduction in weight. Some have estimated that a weight loss of 10% can improve the risk factors for heart disease by 20%. Also, the greatest health benefits are reported to occur with the first 20 pounds of weight loss, which means that even if it seems to be hard to lose weight, it is still worth doing it. If you don’t lose all of the weight you want to lose, you can still improve your risk factors by losing some of the weight. You can make losing weight a little easier if you just set a small goal at first, then when you reach that goal, set another small goal and aim for that. A good target is to try to lose 1 to 2 pounds per week. It is within reason to try to lose 10% of your current bodyweight, or 20 pounds in about six months if you are overweight.