I’m FAT! Most adults in the United States have thought this or said it at some point in time. As you sit at the table feeling guilty about the extra piece of pie you just ate, you may ponder the question: Am I always going to be overweight and will I gain more weight than I lose?
A study recently answered that question, although you may not really want to know the results. Analyzing data from 1971 to 2001 for 4,117 men and women in the Framingham Heart Study, researchers found that the risk was greater than 50 percent for becoming overweight and about 30 percent for becoming obese over a 30-year period.
Being concerned about obesity is not just a matter of watching your waist line or being able to fit into last year’s swim suit. A major risk factor for heart disease, diabetes, osteoarthritis, obstructive sleep apnea and other illnesses, obesity is now considered the number one health problem in the world, surpassing even AIDS and malnutrition.
Young adults who are severely obese can expect to have anywhere from 5 to 20 years chopped off their life expectancy. And obesity is growing at alarming rates among children and adolescents as well as older adults.
In the Framingham study, half of those who were normal weight at the beginning of the study became overweight or obese over the next 30 years. And those who were already overweight had an even higher likelihood of staying that way or becoming obese. Overall 75 percent of the women and 90 percent of the men were either overweight or obese at some time during the 30-year period. Overweight was defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 25 to 29 and obese, a BMI of 30 or greater.
CUT THE CALORIES
If you’re thinking twice about the second piece of pie, you may have a step up on some Americans. If you don’t want to slip over the edge into overweight or obesity, there’s one very simple way: don’t eat as many calories. It is the same concept as saving money. The big secret is to spend less than you make. For weight control, you should use more calories than you take in.
A recent book on Body Mass Index by USDA nutritionist Shanthy Bowman found that Americans with a BMI of 25 or greater ate an average of 100 calories more a day than normal-weight adults. The extra piece of pie, incidentally, carries at least 300 calories, mostly empty.
LESS FATTY FOODS
Adults who are overweight, according to Bowman, consume more total fat and more saturated fat–major culprits in heart disease and diabetes as well as obesity. When they ate chicken, 60 percent were likely to eat fried rather than baked, broiled or stewed chicken as recommended by dietitians. And 60 percent preferred not to remove the fatty skin of the chicken as recommended.
MORE BREAKFAST, LESS DINNER
As many other studies have found, overweight persons were more likely to skip breakfast, or skimp on it, and eat a high percentage of their daily calories later in the day. Eating the largest meal of the day in the evening is a common problem leading to obesity.
MORE EXERCISE, LESS TV
Finally, adults who watched more than two hours of television a day were more than twice as likely to be overweight compared to those who devoted their leisure time to physical activity or exercise. Just a small amount of exercise three times each week is an important factor in burning the calories you take in.
LESS MEAT, MORE VEGETABLES
Another study found that meat eaters tended to gain weight faster than those who focused on fruits and vegetables. Not only vegetarians and vegans but semi-vegetarians and those who eat only small amounts of meat every day had a lower risk of being overweight or obese than other adults.
HAVE GOOD GENES
If you have one or more overweight parents or if you had weight problems during middle childhood, you have a risk of becoming overweight yourself. No one knows exactly how genetics and environment contribute to this tendency, but you can alter your lifestyle to compensate.
LIFESTYLE VERSUS DESTINY
There’s little question that lifestyle has had a major impact on the epidemic of obesity among young people. Fast food, soft drinks packed with high-fructose corn syrup, television, video games and computers are all part of a cycle of more empty calories and less physical activity.
Some experts believe, however, that these lifestyle factors may be over-emphasized and that they are less important than your inherited tendencies. More and more healthcare providers are recommending weight reduction procedures to reverse obesity when diet and exercise do not work. When it comes to reversing the trend toward obesity, some issues–such as the piece of pie on your plate–are painfully simple while others are incredibly complex.
Michelle Herbert, PharmD, CDE
Clinical Director, Richmond Apothecaries, Inc.
