Okay – so I haven’t posted in over a month – I’m so sorry!  I don’t know how that happened, but I’m glad to be back.

I’ve been reading a fascinating book, called “the Optimal Health Revolution” by Duke Johnson, MD.  One of the chapters is dedicated specifically to obesity and I found the whole thing so interesting.  I’ll share some of the information with you today.

Here are rates of obesity by country and gender (and these are from 2000 – so they will be even worse now.)  I’m just including a few.

Australia: Men 63% and Women 46.8%

Canada: Men 71% and Women 56%

China: Men 16% and Women 23%

Japan: Men 26% and Women 22.6%

Russia: Men 45.3% and Women 56.4%

UK: Men 62.8% and Women 53.3%

USA: Men 60% and Women 50%

There are a lot of high numbers there!  I think I should throw in the definition of obesity here just to give some context to this.  One of the most popular definitions of obesity is body mass index (“BMI”).  I’ve done a post about BMI previously, but just as a recap, you find out your BMI by doing your weight in kg multiplied by your height in meters.  If your BMI is 30 or above you are classified as obese.

In his book, Dr. Duke Johnson gives a list of what he considers to be the top 13 risk factors for Obesity.  I’ve listed them below with a few comments of my own.

1. Ignorance (i.e not knowing the risk factors, so keep reading and you’re one step ahead!)

2. Excess calories

3. Obsession over fats and carbs. This refers to the fads of eating certain ratios of fats, carbs, and proteins.  Instead of doing this, you should focus more on eating the right fats, carbs, and proteins.

4. Lack of exercise

5. Narrow focus. I think this requires some explanation.  The diet industry has led us to think about one aspect of our lifestyles in order to figure out how to lose weight.  This might be exercise – “Use this one magic piece of exercise equipment and lose 10 pounds this week!”  This might be diet – “If you eat this magic soup recipe every day for a week, you’ll lose 15 pounds!”  Hopefully that gives you the message.  Essentially, to avoid obesity, or to lose weight so that you’re no longer obese, you must look at your whole lifestyle, rather than just one tiny part of it.

6. The TV, the PC, and the WWW. You probably get what this means, but in case not, this just has to do with how much time we now spend in front of either the television, our computers at work, or surfing the web after work or on the weekends.  These are all inactive experiences, so if this makes up the majority of your time every week, you can’t possibly be getting much exercise.

7. Coping with stress by eating. Wow, I can relate to this one!  I can definitely eat a lot (and the wrong things) when I’m stressed…or sad…or really excited – I always refer to it as emotional eating.  With people working long hours and dealing with other stresses in their lives, an obvious “release” for this stress is snacking.  Unfortunately this usually means choosing unhealthy, non-nutritious snacks, which are quick, easy, and cheap.  Smoking is another big one, and is equally unhealthy.

8. Snack foods. I am still amazed at the abundance of snack foods there are to choose from.   Cakes, cookies, chocolate bars, chocolate molded into weird shapes, potato chips (in all shapes and sizes), strange packaged dips with crackers, and many more.  Even the ones that advertise themselves as “healthy” snacks are usually loaded with sugar, fat, preservatives, and other things that contribute to obesity.

9. Feeding our emotions. This may sound similar to number 7, but what Dr. Duke Johnson is saying is that many people treat food as a reward.  I was just discussing this with a friend the other day and we were talking about how many families bring up their kids to think of ice cream, burgers, or other sweets or candy as a reward for doing something well or getting homework done.  This leaves those kids with an emotional connection with those foods.  Another common thing in childhood is being forced to finish a plate of food.  Again, this is a negative connection with food, so as those kids grow up they always finish everything, even if they’re full.  (And for anyone who lives or has visited the USA, you must realize how damaging this can be…portions in America are massive.)

10. Quitting on your new lifestyle. This refers to the many times that we start a new way of eating or a new exercise plan, only to give up a few days into it.

11. Restaurant food, both fast and slow. People do eat at restaurants more now than ever.  I’m sure there are people who NEVER eat a meal at home.  You know, just pick up a bagel and coffee on the way to work.  Grab a sandwich at lunch.  Then get something to go from your local Chinese restaurant because you worked so late or are too tired to cook.  However you slice it, you will definitely consume more calories, fat, salt, and sugar if you are eating in this way.  Sure, it’s okay to eat out – I love it – but you can see how this lifestyle can pack on the pounds.

12. Genetic predisposition. This is the one factor you can’t change, but look at the other 12 you can change!

13. Lack of adequate sleep. This may sound silly, but lack of sleep or not getting good quality sleep truly impacts your body’s natural functions.  People who can find a way to get more sleep can lose weight naturally, without changing anything else.

You’ve now got a great list to work from.  Try to address one at a time and go from there.  Obesity has horrendous consequences on your life!  It’s not just an aesthetic thing!

To your health,

Kimberly