What is Obesity?
If a person’s body weight is more than what is considered healthy for his height, then he/she is said to be obese.
In other words, when a person accumulates fat in his body to such an extent it produces ill health, it is called obesity.
How is obesity calculated?
Obesity is measured using the unit called Body Mass Index ( BMI ).
It is calculated by dividing that person’s body weight (in kilograms) by square of his/her height ( in meters)
Example: Person’s weight: 80 kilograms.
Person’s height: 1.60 meters.
BMI : 80/1.60X1.60 = 31.25
Result: Obesity.
Obesity Table
- BMI below 18.5 – Underweight.
- BMI 18.5- 24.9 – Normal
- BMI 25- 29.9 – Over Weight
- BMI above 30 – Obesity
- BMI above 40 – extreme obesity.
Obesity Causes?
The amount of energy taken (as food and drinks ) should be equal to the amount of energy spent for the normal functions of the body.
If the amount of energy taken in is more than necessary, it produces obesity.
Diet: Energy imbalance is due to consuming large quantities of high-calorie diet, junk foods, deep fried foods, aerated sweet drinks, ice creams etc.
Reduced Physical activities: Previously we used to walk to our workplace or for shopping. Now we use vehicles and buy things online.
We used to climb stairs, now we use lifts or escalators.
Previously children used to play outside. But now they play games on smartphones or computers. They also watch television for hours together munching some fried food like chips. This reduced activity produces obesity.
How to reduce obesity? (Top tips)
1. Add Protein to Your Diet
When it comes to weight loss, protein is the king of nutrients.
Your body burns calories when digesting and metabolizing the protein you eat, so a high-protein diet can boost metabolism by up to 80-100 calories per day
A high-protein diet can also make you feel more full and reduce your appetite. In fact, some studies show that people eat over 400 fewer calories per day on a high-protein diet.
Even something as simple as eating a high-protein breakfast (like eggs) can have a powerful effect.
2. Eat Whole, Single-Ingredient Foods
One of the best things you can do to become healthier is to base your diet on whole, single-ingredient foods.
By doing this, you eliminate the vast majority of added sugar, added fat and processed food.
Most whole foods are naturally very filling, making it a lot easier to keep within healthy calorie limits.
Furthermore, eating whole foods also provides your body with the many essential nutrients that it needs to function properly.
Weight loss often follows as a natural “side effect” of eating whole foods.
Processed foods are usually high in added sugars, added fats and calories.
What’s more, processed foods are engineered to make you eat as much as possible. They are much more likely to cause addictive-like eating than unprocessed foods.
Eating a lot of added sugar is linked with some of the world’s leading diseases, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer.
Since sugar goes by many names in ingredient lists, it can be very difficult to figure out how much sugar a product actually contains.
Minimizing your intake of added sugar is a great way to improve your diet.
There is actually truth to the claim that drinking water can help with weight loss.
Drinking 0.5 liters (17 oz) of water may increase the calories you burn by 24–30% for an hour afterward.
Drinking water before meals may also lead to reduced calorie intake, especially for middle-aged and older people.
Water is particularly good for weight loss when it replaces other beverages that are high in calories and sugar.
6. Avoid Liquid Calories
Liquid calories come from beverages like sugary soft drinks, fruit juices, chocolate milk and energy drinks.
These drinks are bad for health in several ways, including an increased risk of obesity. One study showed a drastic 60% increase in the risk of obesity among children, for each daily serving of a sugar-sweetened beverage.
It’s also important to note that your brain does not register liquid calories the same way it does solid calories, so you end up adding these calories on top of everything else that you eat.
Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern that cycles between periods of fasting and eating.
There are a few different ways to do intermittent fasting, including the 5:2 diet, the 16:8 method and the eat-stop-eat method.
Generally, these methods make you eat fewer calories overall, without having to consciously restrict calories during the eating periods. This should lead to weight loss, as well as numerous other health benefits.
Green tea is a natural beverage that is loaded with antioxidants.
Drinking green tea is linked with many benefits, such as increased fat burning and weight loss.
Green tea may increase energy expenditure by 4% and increase selective fat burning by up to 17%, especially harmful belly fat.
9. Eat More Fruits and Vegetables
Fruits and vegetables are extremely healthy, weight-loss-friendly foods.
In addition to being high in water, nutrients and fiber, they usually have very low energy density. This makes it possible to eat large servings without consuming too many calories.
Numerous studies have shown that people who eat more fruits and vegetables tend to weigh less.
Some studies have shown that using smaller plates helps you eat less, because it changes how you see portion sizes.
People seem to fill their plates the same, regardless of plate size, so they end up putting more food on larger plates than smaller ones.
Using smaller plates reduces how much food you eat, while giving you the perception of having eaten more.
Many studies have shown that low-carb diets are very effective for weight loss.
Limiting carbs and eating more fat and protein reduces your appetite and helps you eat fewer calories.
This can result in weight loss that is up to 3 times greater than that from a standard low-fat diet.
A low-carb diet can also improve many risk factors for disease.
12. Replace Some Fat with Coconut Oil
Coconut oil is high in fats called medium-chain triglycerides, which are metabolized differently than other fats.
Studies show that they can boost your metabolism slightly, while helping you eat fewer calories.
Coconut oil may be especially helpful in reducing the harmful belly fat.
Note that this does not mean that you should add this fat to your diet, but simply replace some of your other fat sources with coconut oil.
13. Add Eggs to Your Diet
Eggs are the ultimate weight loss food. They are cheap, low in calories, high in protein and loaded with all sorts of nutrients.
High-protein foods have been shown to reduce appetite and increase fullness, compared to foods that contain less protein.
Furthermore, eating eggs for breakfast may cause up to 65% greater weight loss over 8 weeks, compared to eating bagels for breakfast. It may also help you eat fewer calories throughout the rest of the day.
Probiotics are live bacteria that have health benefits when eaten. They can improve digestive health and heart health, and may even help with with weight loss.
Studies have shown that overweight and obese people tend to have different gut bacteria than normal-weight people, which may influence weight.
Probiotics may help regulate the healthy gut bacteria. They may also block the absorption of dietary fat, while reducing appetite and inflammation.
Of all the probiotic bacteria, Lactobacillus gasseri shows the most promising effects on weight loss.
Fiber-rich foods may help with weight loss.
Foods that contain water-soluble fiber may be especially helpful, since this type of fiber can help increase the feeling of fullness.
Fiber may delay stomach emptying, make the stomach expand and promote the release of satiety hormones.
Ultimately, this makes us eat less naturally, without having to think about it.
Furthermore, many types of fiber can feed the friendly gut bacteria. Healthy gut bacteria have been linked with a reduced risk of obesity.
Just make sure to increase your fiber intake gradually to avoid abdominal discomfort, such as bloating, cramps and diarrhea.
16. Do Some Sort of Cardio
Doing cardio — whether it is jogging, running, cycling, power walking or hiking — is a great way to burn calories and improve both mental and physical health.
Cardio has been shown to improve many risk factors for heart disease. It can also help reduce body weight.
Cardio seems to be particularly effective at reducing the dangerous belly fat that builds up around your organs and causes metabolic disease.
Loss of muscle mass is a common side effect of dieting.
If you lose a lot of muscle, your body will start burning fewer calories than before.
By lifting weights regularly, you’ll be able to prevent this loss in muscle mass.
As an added benefit, you’ll also look and feel much better.
Most people get enough protein from diet alone. However, for those who don’t, taking a whey protein supplement is an effective way to boost protein intake.
One study shows that replacing part of your calories with whey protein can cause significant weight loss, while also increasing lean muscle mass.
Just make sure to read the ingredients list, because some varieties are loaded with added sugar and other unhealthy additives.