Overweight Cause; Beside Eating

One of the most common remarks I hear from overweight clients is: "But doctor, I hardly eat anything at all. My weight has nothing to do with the food I eat." Ridiculous as such a comment may sound; there is a grain of truth in it. Since the end of World War Two, the amount of food we eat has actually lessened, whilst at the same time our average body weight has risen. Whilst this may seem a puzzle, there is a very simple explanation.

Weight gain pattern

During the past few decades we have watched more and more television, we spend more time in front of computers, we use cars where before we used our feet or bicycles, and we use lifts and escalators instead of stairs. We have become less active. So, although we consume fewer calories now than a few years ago, we also burn up far fewer calories than before.

What we weigh depends on a simple balance: the calories we consume against the calories we burn. Or, put more simply, food versus exercise. Yes, we may not seem to eat very much, but if we are couch potatoes we still end up piling on the weight.

This is one example of poor public knowledge about excess weight. Another has to do with the best way to shed those excess pounds. Ask most people and they will tell you: "Diet". Again, there is some truth in the answer, but it is far from complete.

Avoid Junk Food

And What Can You Do About It?

For a start, most people's idea of "diet" is to go on some kind of masochistic hunger-driven eating plan, which forbids all of their favorite foods. Yes, as long as you stick to such a program you will probably lose weight, but at what cost? Anyone who has followed such a regime knows that it is impossible to stick to it for long, and when the diet is eventually abandoned all those pounds come tumbling back on even faster than they went away.

The tendency to be overweight is a lifelong condition. Like diabetes or high blood pressure, you don't "cure" it - you aim only to "control" it. Unless you continue to work at it, excess weight has an unpleasant habit of coming back. But the process really does not have to be unpleasant. Good healthy food in moderation and reasonable exercise help to shape a fitter and more energetic body, which makes for a more enjoyable lifestyle