The Growing Problem of Obesity

In our body-conscious society, nearly all of us know someone (perhaps ourselves) who could stand to lose a few pounds. As a nation, we’re getting fatter. In fact the average American adult today weighs 25 pounds more than the average American adult 40 years ago.

In the United States, obesity (defined as a body mass index, or BMI, of 30 or more) is so pervasive that it affects our health and quality os poverty, and more than smoking or problem drinkinf life as much age.¹ Consider the following:

• The number of adults who are overweight or obese has increased steadily over the last three decades. Today, two-thirds of U.S. adults are overweight (vs. 46% in 1976-1980), and nearly a third are obese (vs. 15% in 1976-1980).²
• Our youth are getting fatter, too. Fifteen percent of children and adolescents aged 6 to 19 are overweight—nearly twice the number of two decades ago. ²
• Each year 300,000 people die as a result of excess weight.³
• Americans spend more than $75 billion a year in medical costs directly related to obesity.⁴

But despite spending over $30 billion a year trying to lose weight or prevent weight gain, our waistlines continue to expand.⁵ Why is this so?

Weight loss and body composition

The problem with most popular weight loss programs is that they focus on weight loss alone, resulting in an unending merry-go-round of fad diets. Little or no emphasis is placed on healthy body composition (fat-to-lean muscle ratio), even though healthy body composition is widely recognized as being more crucial to long-term success than just dropping pounds.

Unhealthy body composition refers to carrying too much fat in comparison to lean (i.e., muscle) tissue. Diet programs that focus only on weight loss can help you look thinner, but they can also lead to muscle loss and retention of excess fat. So even if you do lose weight, an unhealthy body composition will still leave you at risk for a wide range of serious health concerns, such as

• Diabetes
• Heart disease
• High blood pressure
• Stroke
• Certain types of cancer
• Metabolic syndrome
• Osteoarthritis
• Kidney disorders

A healthy body composition program that focuses on losing excess fat while retaining lean muscle will produce significantly better overall health, and may help prevent the onset of these diseases.

Determining your body composition

Your bathroom scale alone isn’t a good indicator of body composition. Even if your weight is within normal range, you might still be considered over-fat.

Several simple non-invasive methods are available that can estimate body composition. These include waist-to-hip ratio, skin-fold thickness, and bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA).

Are you an “apple” or a “pear”?

Where your fat is located is just as important as how much fat you have. Excess fat located near the waist—a condition referred to as central adiposity or an “apple shape” (as opposed to excess fat located on the hips or thighs or “pear shape”)—greatly increases your risk of disease.

How to achieve healthy body composition

More than anything else, achieving a healthy body composition and long-term health is about making changes to your lifestyle. Even small adjustments can lead to big improvements. For instance, you can:

• Eat a healthier diet. Research suggests that a diet rich in whole grains, legumes, and vegetables (especially the dark-green leafy variety) is not only a good source of essential nutrients and fiber, but it also has a beneficial effect on blood lipids and blood pressure.
• Start a daily exercise regimen. Exercise will help you build muscle and increase your body’s metabolic rate, enabling you to more effectively burn calories. Even low to moderate intensity activities such as walking the dog, stair climbing, and gardening can provide significant benefits.
• Take quality supplements. Supplementing your healthier diet with certain nutrients—at doses that are difficult to obtain from diet alone—may be beneficial in supporting your overall health.
• Learn to manage stress. Change of any kind, even if beneficial, is stressful. Eating in response to stress (i.e., “emotional” eating), can undo all your good dietary and fitness efforts. For these and other reasons, stress management techniques such as breathing exercises, meditation, and yoga are invaluable for good health.

FirstLine Therapy^®—Better health now and for a lifetime

FirstLine Therapy (FLT) is a therapeutic lifestyle changes (TLC) program developed to help you address the underlying causes of disease and lead a healthier, more vibrant life. The basic principles of FLT—healthy eating, regular exercise, nutritional supplementation, and stress management—are the foundation upon which you and your healthcare practitioner can build a program tailored to your specific needs.

Are you ready to get off the diet merry-go-round and get on the road to optimal health? FirstLine Therapy can help. For more information or to find a certified FirstLine Therapy practitioner near you, click here.

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REFERENCES 

1. Sturm R, Wells KB. Does obesity contribute as much to morbidity as poverty or smoking? Public Health.2001 May;115(3):229-35.
2. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
3. Allison DB, Fontaine KR, Manson JE, Stevens J, VanItallie TB. Annual deaths attributable to obesity in the United States JAMA 1999 Oct 27;282(16):1530-8.
4. Finkelstein EA , Fiebelkorn IC, Wang G. State-level estimates of annual medical expenditures attributable to obesity. Obesity Research 2004 12:18-24.
5. American Obesity Association Fact Sheet, available at www.obesity.org/subs/fastfacts/obesity_consumer_protect.shtml. Access 3/13/07.