You can have heart problems when you are not over weight

Everyone knows that being over weight can lead to heart problems. But did you know that even if you are not over weight, you can still have heart problems?

This is according to a latest finding which tracked the health of 21,094 male doctors for 2 decades. It confirmed that even those who were only moderately overweight had a higher risk.

In men who are 1.8m tall, for every 3.2 kg of excess body weight, their risk of heart failure rose on average by 11% over the next 2 years. This is reported in the journal, Circulation, by Reuters.

The average age of the men at the outset of the Physicians' Health Studies was 53. During the study, 1109 of them developed heart failure.

Overall the risk of heart failure increased by 180% in men who met the definition of obesity according to their body mass index (BMI of 30 and higher) and by 49 % in men who met the definition of overweight (a BMI of 25-30)

So if you are even slightly over weight, you might want to change your diet and maintain a optimal weight. Eating more meals with smaller portions will help. If you are grossly over weight, change diet, exercise and if necessary get professional help.

Does being fat affect mortality rates?

Every time when you hear talk about losing weight, losing fats and getting slim, you will almost always hear about the association to a “healthier” life.

So many studies seem to indicate that “being fat” has an impact on mortality. But is this really true and can it be scientifically proven?
There is an article written in the International Journal of Obesity that attempts to get to the bottom of this. “Does obesity shorten life? The importance of well-defined interventions to answer causal questions” is the title of the piece.

It is interesting because the article challenges some of the assumptions behind these conclusions. Comparing BMI levels and then coming to a conclusion that fat people have a higher mortality rate is not really an accurate and scientific way to do a study.

There are many other factors besides the BMI that determines a person’s mortality. More importantly, it might very well be that the fact that a person is trying to lower his BMI that causes his mortality.

Undeniably, being over-weight does have clear health consequences. But the paper was trying to illustrate that many of these studies do not meet the strict requirements to make such a statement.

The good news of course, is that being over-weight does not mean that you are guaranteed to die earlier. Basic principles of good health, exercise, healthy diet and so on play an important role in your life.

When you are going to do something about losing fats, make sure you have a sensible diet plan and it would also be good to include some exercise programs. Consult an expert if you are not sure what to do. Over exerting yourself is just as bad as not doing any exercise.

How Fats destroy your health?

The human body is a delicate balance of so many things. Have you ever thought about how fats can destroy your health? Have you ever wanted to lose fats fast?

Sometimes, the implication of gaining fats is lost on us because we hear so little about it. What we get are very commercialized versions of scare messages that encourage you to buy this latest product or that latest program.

Let’s focus on what is real.

• Fact: If you gain 6 – 10 kg, you actually increase the risk of contracting type 2 diabetes by two times as much when compared to another person who has not gained.
• Fact: More than 80 percent of people who suffer from diabetes are overweight or obese (BMI > 30).
• Fact: Being overweight and obesity are associated with increased risks for certain types of cancer, for example: endometrial (cancer of the lining of the uterus), colon, gall bladder, prostate, kidney and postmenopausal breast cancer.
• Fact: Women who gain more than 20 pounds from age 18 to midlife, actually double their risk of postmenopausal breast cancer when compared to women whose weight remain stable.
• Fact: Sleep apnea (a type of breathing disorder while sleeping) is more common in obese persons.
• Fact: For every 1kg increase in weight, the risk of developing arthritis increases.
• Fact: Symptoms/Severity of arthritis can be improve/relieved with weight loss.

As you can see, weight gain and obesity is not just about high blood pressure, cholesterol problems or heart diseases. There are many implications when you body accumulates too much fats. To lose fats is to gain health.

Most people believe that they do not need to lose weight because it is “normal” for people to gain weight as they get older. The reality is that the only reason you gain weight with age is your lifestyle slows down without an equal adjustment in your diet habits.

There is no need to go to extreme dieting to lose fats. However, if you are overweight, it is time to consider the benefits of losing some of those fats. Re-building some of those muscles will be good for you too.