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Also check the "hypnosis" pages for information on hypnosis and weight loss
Fat Facts - Dr. Patrick Nesbitt
Mid life is supposed to be when a broad mind and a narrow waist change places. Now that I am well out of my teens, I think I might actually be there. In fact I may be verging on the positively obese.
This is not because my weight or measurements have changed recently.It is because the experts on obesity research have just lowered the guidelines for what is considered obese.We should try and be even skinnier than we thought we should in the past to gain the medical benefits.
This is not because my weight or measurements have changed recently.It is because the experts on obesity research have just lowered the guidelines for what is considered obese.We should try and be even skinnier than we thought we should in the past to gain the medical benefits.
How fat is fat ?
My usual advice to patients who wanted to know if they were overweight involved the “mirror test”.When they hopped out of the shower in the morning they should look at themselves in the mirror.If they look morbidly obese to themselves then they should be on a diet, and maybe work out now and again.
( This of course excludes people with anorexia nervosa and at least half of the rest of us. We tend to think that we are overweight all the time. But on the bright side – about 40 % of us really are! )
A much more scientific way of telling if there is too much fat in your body is to measure the amount of fat in your body.This can be somewhat technically challenging -- you have to be completely submersed underwater ( so as to measure body volume ) and standing on a bathroom scale at the same time.
With the bathtubs I've seen in some of the new were mega-homes this maybe theoretically possible, but for the rest of us this remains somewhat impractical.Besides, that underwater measurement just gives you your total percent body fat.It also seems to be important where the fat is distributed.
Other methods of measuring obesity can involve computers, MRI's, and CT scans ! ( I find mirrors simpler.)
( This of course excludes people with anorexia nervosa and at least half of the rest of us. We tend to think that we are overweight all the time. But on the bright side – about 40 % of us really are! )
A much more scientific way of telling if there is too much fat in your body is to measure the amount of fat in your body.This can be somewhat technically challenging -- you have to be completely submersed underwater ( so as to measure body volume ) and standing on a bathroom scale at the same time.
With the bathtubs I've seen in some of the new were mega-homes this maybe theoretically possible, but for the rest of us this remains somewhat impractical.Besides, that underwater measurement just gives you your total percent body fat.It also seems to be important where the fat is distributed.
Other methods of measuring obesity can involve computers, MRI's, and CT scans ! ( I find mirrors simpler.)
Comparing apples and pears
I like to think of this as the "Dr. Pat fruit theory of obesity".
If you look like a pear you are relatively low risk for heart attacks and strokes. Many women look like pears – they have and thin waist, but just keep getting larger as you look down.This is actually relatively healthy.
“Apples “ should get their cholesterol checked right away.Men tend to looklike apples – bigger around the middle than at the bottom end. This correlates very well with the amount of fat around your internal organs and the amount of fat clogging up the arteries to your heart. So in this case apples are NOT good for your health.
If you look like a pear you are relatively low risk for heart attacks and strokes. Many women look like pears – they have and thin waist, but just keep getting larger as you look down.This is actually relatively healthy.
“Apples “ should get their cholesterol checked right away.Men tend to looklike apples – bigger around the middle than at the bottom end. This correlates very well with the amount of fat around your internal organs and the amount of fat clogging up the arteries to your heart. So in this case apples are NOT good for your health.
Belt to Butt Ratio
A more accurate way of defining apples and pears is by use of “waist –hip ratios”.This means comparing how big around your waist is to how big around your backside is. The classical 36-24-36 measurements would give you gave waist hip ratio of 0.66. Anything under 0.80 for women is considered slim and healthy.
For several years now my measurements have being 36-36-36. This gives me a waist hip ratio of one. One or below is considered healthy for males.
But if I start developing even a tiny pot belly, my chances of ending up with cardiac problems increase proportionately with the size of my gut.
The idea is that fat builds up around a pot-belly the same way it does around your internal organs - including the heart. So waist -hip ratio can actually be a much more accurate predictor of heart attack risk than all kinds of fancy cholesterol blood tests and serum marmalade.
For several years now my measurements have being 36-36-36. This gives me a waist hip ratio of one. One or below is considered healthy for males.
But if I start developing even a tiny pot belly, my chances of ending up with cardiac problems increase proportionately with the size of my gut.
The idea is that fat builds up around a pot-belly the same way it does around your internal organs - including the heart. So waist -hip ratio can actually be a much more accurate predictor of heart attack risk than all kinds of fancy cholesterol blood tests and serum marmalade.
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 Waist - hip ratio measurments correlate with cardiac risk |
Body Mass Index !
Body Mass Index Nomogram - Track your weight on one axis and height on the other
The most scientific way of determining obesity on a mass basis (‘scuse the pun ) now involves the use of the Body Mass Index. This is calculated by dividing your weight in kg by the square of your height in meters.If you weigh 100 kg and are two meters tall, then your Body Mass Index is 100 divided by four, or 25.
Anything 25 or lower is considered slim.Anything over 25 and you might be auditioning for the Sumo championships.
This is one time when being old is an advantage!Careful analysis of the statistics show that until we reach age 70 we should all run four miles a day, and lifting weights religiously. If we are even a few pounds overweight we should work hard at loosing it, especially if we have other risk factors for heart disease.These include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes.
Once we reach 70 (years not pounds), then we can allow our Body Mass Index to rise a bit. People with a slightly higher body mass index who are over 70 actually seen to live longer and healthier lives than those with less of a "cuddle factor".
Anything 25 or lower is considered slim.Anything over 25 and you might be auditioning for the Sumo championships.
This is one time when being old is an advantage!Careful analysis of the statistics show that until we reach age 70 we should all run four miles a day, and lifting weights religiously. If we are even a few pounds overweight we should work hard at loosing it, especially if we have other risk factors for heart disease.These include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes.
Once we reach 70 (years not pounds), then we can allow our Body Mass Index to rise a bit. People with a slightly higher body mass index who are over 70 actually seen to live longer and healthier lives than those with less of a "cuddle factor".
Sumo Exceptions
Adjustment of waist - hip ratio
Sumo Wrestlers may actually be able to cheat on the Body Mass Index a little bit.There is a minimum height requirement for Sumo.Many Japanese are on the short side.They used to boost their height, and therefore lower their Body Mass Index, by having their teammates whack them on the head repeatedly with a board.This would raise a goose egg on the top of their heads, which would then elevate their height to just above the minimum requirement.
Science and technology has now even helped in this area. Sumo wrestlers are now showing us that even morbidly obese people can have normal cardiac risks - provided they get lots of exercise and have a good diet. More info about this is an interesting area of medicine, and may soon eliminate some of the discrimination against those of girth.
Of course they will still have the diapers and the funny hair to defend !
Science and technology has now even helped in this area. Sumo wrestlers are now showing us that even morbidly obese people can have normal cardiac risks - provided they get lots of exercise and have a good diet. More info about this is an interesting area of medicine, and may soon eliminate some of the discrimination against those of girth.
Of course they will still have the diapers and the funny hair to defend !
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