Health Benefits of Losing Weight
Healthy weight loss at any time in adulthood is good for your heart. “So, what is healthy weight loss, isn’t losing weight all the same?” No, losing weight too fast is hard on your body. Usually your depriving your body of nutrition ( starving your body) in order to cut the calories enough to lose pounds. Losing one or two pounds a week is safe and slow weight loss will usually stay off. Fast weight loss will only come back later, and when it comes back you end up gaining more weight and have more fat. You will totally waste your time and money. Slow weight loss will give your body time to adjust, you will actually feel yourself becoming healthier.
"Our findings suggest that losing weight at any age can result in long-term cardiovascular health benefits, and support public health strategies and lifestyle modifications that help individuals who are overweight or obese to lose weight at all ages," according to lead study author John Deanfield, of University College London. Researchers analyzed data from nearly 1,300 men and women in the United Kingdom who were followed since their birth in March 1946. The participants were classified as being either normal weight, overweight or obese when they were children, and at ages 36, 43, 53 and between 60 and 64. The longer the participants had excess body fat in adulthood, the more likely they were to have heart disease risk factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes and narrowing of the arteries later in life, the findings showed.
The investigators also found that people who moved down in weight categories -- such as from obese to overweight, or from overweight to normal weight -- at any time during adult hood reduced their risk for these conditions. This was true even if they regained weight later. ”Our study is unique because it followed individuals for such a long time, more than 60 years, and allowed us to assess the effect of modest, real-life changes in [levels of body fat]," Deanfield explained in a journal news release. While these findings are encouraging, only 2 percent of the study participants managed to keep off weight after losing it, Elizabeth Cespedes and Frank Hu, of Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, noted in an accompanying journal editorial.
This highlights the need for public health officials to promote and help people adopt lifestyle habits that help them maintain a healthy weight, they said. Although this study found an association between weight loss and improved heart health, the research wasn't designed to prove that weight loss caused those improvements. Cheaper food could be a major cause of the obesity epidemic in the United States. "Not only has food been getting cheaper, but it is easier to acquire and easier to prepare. It's not just that we may be eating more high-calorie food, but we are eating more of all types of food," he said. They wrote that "Americans are spending a smaller share of their income (or corresponding amount of effort) on food than any other society in history or anywhere else in the world, yet get more for it.” In the 1930s, Americans spent one-quarter of their disposable income on food. That fell to one-fifth in the 1950s, and currently is less than one-tenth of disposable income, the researchers noted.
Some common notions about the causes of obesity seem to be cast in doubt by the new research. They include theories such as Americans becoming fatter because they find fresh fruits and vegetables tougher to obtain; that exercise rates are falling; and that many Americans lack the time to exercise and eat better. However, the RAND review found that rising obesity rates in the United States coincided with a rise in the availability of fruits and vegetables, as well as a rise in people exercising and having more leisure time. So why are Americans still piling on excess pounds? The fact that Americans have the cheapest food available in history is likely the reason, the researchers said.
Many factors have been suggested as reasons for the steady climb in obesity rates over the past several decades, leading to the current situation where two in three Americans are overweight or obese. These factors include snack products and fast food, large portion sizes, vending machines, increased use of cars, and spending too much time in front of televisions and computers. However, cheap food has the strongest link to obesity, according to the authors of the study published online May 22 in the journal CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.
The RAND review also found that obesity is a growing threat to Americans everywhere, regardless of where they live or what social group they belong to.The findings suggest that focusing on reducing calorie intake -- particularly from sugar-sweetened drinks and salty snacks -- might be a better way to reduce obesity rates than attempts to get Americans to eat more fruits and vegetables and get more exercise, according to the study authors.
Personally, I believe as long as food manufacturers are allowed to sell almost anything and call it food and give it a cheap price, people will buy it, snacks, drinks or anything else. I read a few months ago about restaurants serving breads that had a form of plastic on the bread to enhance the color and texture . The excuse was that there’s so little it won’t harm you. “It’s the same plastic that’s used in shoes.”
I guess you’ve noticed how much it costs for “healthy food”, why isn’t all food healthy? I know the answer and I don’t have to look it up. Food would cost more if all food was healthy food. Middle and lower income families do most of the consuming whether we talk about food or clothes or anything else. The wages of middle American workers has been stagnet for the past 30 years and the food manufacturers want to sell more food and make more money, so the answer is to get people to eat more. Manufacturers have been very successful at doing that. American eat too much, and you can see that by their waist size.
By getting down to your healthy weight you can eliminate most of those health problems. There would be very little need for joint replacement. Pills for things like heart disease and high blood pressure would almost disappear. Diabetes would not be a looming problem that affects millions. We can change our overweight population with education just like we did with cigarettes and tobacco. If we teach children about proper diet, good foods and the right way to eat, we can change the next generation.
"Our findings suggest that losing weight at any age can result in long-term cardiovascular health benefits, and support public health strategies and lifestyle modifications that help individuals who are overweight or obese to lose weight at all ages," according to lead study author John Deanfield, of University College London. Researchers analyzed data from nearly 1,300 men and women in the United Kingdom who were followed since their birth in March 1946. The participants were classified as being either normal weight, overweight or obese when they were children, and at ages 36, 43, 53 and between 60 and 64. The longer the participants had excess body fat in adulthood, the more likely they were to have heart disease risk factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes and narrowing of the arteries later in life, the findings showed.
The investigators also found that people who moved down in weight categories -- such as from obese to overweight, or from overweight to normal weight -- at any time during adult hood reduced their risk for these conditions. This was true even if they regained weight later. ”Our study is unique because it followed individuals for such a long time, more than 60 years, and allowed us to assess the effect of modest, real-life changes in [levels of body fat]," Deanfield explained in a journal news release. While these findings are encouraging, only 2 percent of the study participants managed to keep off weight after losing it, Elizabeth Cespedes and Frank Hu, of Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, noted in an accompanying journal editorial.
This highlights the need for public health officials to promote and help people adopt lifestyle habits that help them maintain a healthy weight, they said. Although this study found an association between weight loss and improved heart health, the research wasn't designed to prove that weight loss caused those improvements. Cheaper food could be a major cause of the obesity epidemic in the United States. "Not only has food been getting cheaper, but it is easier to acquire and easier to prepare. It's not just that we may be eating more high-calorie food, but we are eating more of all types of food," he said. They wrote that "Americans are spending a smaller share of their income (or corresponding amount of effort) on food than any other society in history or anywhere else in the world, yet get more for it.” In the 1930s, Americans spent one-quarter of their disposable income on food. That fell to one-fifth in the 1950s, and currently is less than one-tenth of disposable income, the researchers noted.
Some common notions about the causes of obesity seem to be cast in doubt by the new research. They include theories such as Americans becoming fatter because they find fresh fruits and vegetables tougher to obtain; that exercise rates are falling; and that many Americans lack the time to exercise and eat better. However, the RAND review found that rising obesity rates in the United States coincided with a rise in the availability of fruits and vegetables, as well as a rise in people exercising and having more leisure time. So why are Americans still piling on excess pounds? The fact that Americans have the cheapest food available in history is likely the reason, the researchers said.
Many factors have been suggested as reasons for the steady climb in obesity rates over the past several decades, leading to the current situation where two in three Americans are overweight or obese. These factors include snack products and fast food, large portion sizes, vending machines, increased use of cars, and spending too much time in front of televisions and computers. However, cheap food has the strongest link to obesity, according to the authors of the study published online May 22 in the journal CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.
The RAND review also found that obesity is a growing threat to Americans everywhere, regardless of where they live or what social group they belong to.The findings suggest that focusing on reducing calorie intake -- particularly from sugar-sweetened drinks and salty snacks -- might be a better way to reduce obesity rates than attempts to get Americans to eat more fruits and vegetables and get more exercise, according to the study authors.
Personally, I believe as long as food manufacturers are allowed to sell almost anything and call it food and give it a cheap price, people will buy it, snacks, drinks or anything else. I read a few months ago about restaurants serving breads that had a form of plastic on the bread to enhance the color and texture . The excuse was that there’s so little it won’t harm you. “It’s the same plastic that’s used in shoes.”
I guess you’ve noticed how much it costs for “healthy food”, why isn’t all food healthy? I know the answer and I don’t have to look it up. Food would cost more if all food was healthy food. Middle and lower income families do most of the consuming whether we talk about food or clothes or anything else. The wages of middle American workers has been stagnet for the past 30 years and the food manufacturers want to sell more food and make more money, so the answer is to get people to eat more. Manufacturers have been very successful at doing that. American eat too much, and you can see that by their waist size.
By getting down to your healthy weight you can eliminate most of those health problems. There would be very little need for joint replacement. Pills for things like heart disease and high blood pressure would almost disappear. Diabetes would not be a looming problem that affects millions. We can change our overweight population with education just like we did with cigarettes and tobacco. If we teach children about proper diet, good foods and the right way to eat, we can change the next generation.
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