Shocking Obesity Statistics

• General Population 
- More than one third of U.S. adults-more than 72 million people-and 16% of U.S. children are obese 
- Since 1980, obesity rates for adults have doubled and rates for children have tripled 
- Among Americans age 20 and older, 142 million are overweight or obese (73 million men and 69 million women) 
- Of these 142 million overweight or obese people, 67 million are obese (30.7 million men and 36.7 million women) 
- From 1960 to 2004, the prevalence of overweight increased from 44.8% to 66% in U.S. adults age 20 to 74. 
- From 1960 to 2004, the prevalence of obesity increased from 13.3% to 32.1% in U.S. adults age 20 to 74, with most of this rise occurring since 1980

• Childhood Obesity 
- Over the past three decades the childhood obesity rate has more than doubled for preschool children aged 2-5 years and adolescents aged 12-19 years, and it has more than tripled for children aged 6-11 years 
- Overweight adolescents have a 70% chance of becoming overweight or obese adults (this increases to 80% if one or more parent is overweight or obese) 
- 13.9 percent of children two to five years of age, 18.8 percent of children six to 11 years of age, and 17.4 percent of adolescents 12 to 19 years of age in America are obese 
- Among infants and children between 6 and 23 months, the prevalence of obesity rose from 7.2% in 1976-1980 to 11.5% in 2003-2004 
- Nearly 14% of children between the ages of 2 and 5 were overweight in 2003-2004, up from 10.3% in 1999-2000 
- Children who are considered overweight have a 70% chance of becoming overweight adults 
- Among overweight children and teens between the ages of 2 and 19 (or their parents), 36.7% reported ever having been told by a doctor or HCP that they were overweight (for those between the ages of 2 and 5, this percentage was 17.4%)

• Increased Risk of Disease 
- Being obese increases a child's risk for some serious childhood medical problems, including: 
- Asthma 
- Pre-diabetes and diabetes: (a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that one in three American children born in 2000 will develop diabetes in their lifetime) 
- Heart disease, high blood pressure (early indicators of atherosclerosis, the most common cause of heart disease, begin as early as childhood and adolescence in children with risk factors. Atherosclerosis is related to high blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels, which are associated with poor eating habits and overweight) 
- Sleep apnea and breathing problems 
- Bone conditions, such as hip problems 
- Gastro-intestinal diseases 
- Early puberty 
- Psychological problems, like poor self-esteem and depression 
- Obese children are more than twice as likely to have diabetes as nonobese children 
- An as-yet-unpublished study led by Dr Geetha Raghueveer, from the University of Missouri Kansas City School of Medicine, was presented at the recent American Heart Association conference in New Orleans. The researchers found that the artery walls of obese children and teens, or those who have high cholesterol, are as thick as artery walls in the average 45-year-old 
- With children, measuring BMI and taking action if it's too high can actually help prevent heart disease from developing 
- The prevalence of overweight among adolescents in the United States has nearly tripled in the past two decades... Type 2 diabetes, previously considered an adult disease, has increased dramatically in children and adolescents. Overweight and obesity are closely linked to type 2 diabetes. - U.S. Surgeon General 
- During the mid-1990s, type 2 diabetes in youth increased ten-fold in the US, and mirrored the childhood obesity epidemic. - Dr. Kaufman ("Childhood Obesity: The Declining Health of America's Next Generation," testimony before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Children and Families, July 16, 2008) 
- In children who are overweight, between 25 percent and 40 percent will have the metabolic syndrome that sets the stage for diabetes and heart problems

• Multicultural Populations 
- Among women, the age-adjusted prevalence of overweight or obesity in racial and ethnic minorities is higher among non-Hispanic Black and Mexican-American women than among non-Hispanic White women (among men, there is little difference in prevalence among these three groups) 
- African American women have the highest rates of being overweight or obese compared to other groups in the U.S. (about four out of five African American women are overweight or obese) 
- Among Mexican American women, 73 percent are overweight or obese, as compared to only 61.6 percent of the general female population 
- Among Hispanic adults age 18 and older, 39.6% are overweight and 27.5% are obese 
- African Americans, Hispanics and American Indians have been experiencing the highest rates of increase in childhood obesity. On average, 25 percent of children in these ethnic groups are obese 
- Among children between the ages of 2 and 5, 13% of non-Hispanic blacks and 19% of Mexican Americans are overweight. (Scott Christ)

The Main Benefits of Endermologie

TK
Cellulite. Those trapped pockets of fat near the surface of the skin that make your skin look bumpy and puckered. Unappealing to most, it appears in problematic areas such as the upper thighs, buttocks, and stomach where many fibrous bands exist to trap fat. Since these areas are slow to react to the benefits of exercise, once cellulite appears, it is often difficult and impossible for those affected to eliminate it. Unfortunately, it is a common occurrence in women even if they do exercise on a regular basis.

Several creams and pills flood the market boasting their curative properties fighting cellulite, but most are only very temporary solutions to a permanent problem. Other treatment methods with longer lasting results can be acquired from cosmetic procedures involving invasive surgery, such as liposuction. However, these are not viable options for those unwilling to go under the knife for the sake of their vanity.

Is there no remedy to "Orange Peel" or "Cottage Cheese" skin, then?

Of course not! In treatments that are about 40 minutes in length, Endermologie® reduces or eliminates cellulite with long lasting results in a non-invasive cosmetic procedure that is not surgical. It is also less expensive than liposuction.

Using a hand held device with motorized rollers and controlled suction, the targeted areas are massaged deeply to stretch fibers that are attached to fat, stimulate blood circulation and lymphatic drainage while the patient wears a body stocking. Toxins are released, allowing for the reduction of cellulite in a painless procedure. This unique device has been approved by the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and has been researched and tested throughout the years.

Endermologie® is not only for cellulite, though. It can be used for those suffering from poor blood circulation, muscular pains, and to exfoliate the skin to smoothen it. In fact, the procedure was originally invented over three decades ago in France for the purposes of acting as rehabilitative treatment for damaged muscular tissue, burns and scars. The reduction of cellulite was simply a side effect to the procedure, and was first used in the United States a decade ago for this purpose.

Usually, a few treatments are required before the appearance of cellulite is reduced or eliminated. It can begin with two procedures per week then gradually, as the results become apparent, follow up treatments are scheduled once per month. Those who have been treated with Endermologie® should continue to exercise and diet accordingly to maintain its effects.

To find out more about Endermologie® and to see if it is the right treatment for you, please visit your physician and cosmetic surgeon.

Different Types of Adult Obesity and Herbal Drugs

The fat is broken down in different ways in the body. It is quite important to determine the fat distribution, as the impact on health is not the same depending on the location of overweight. In obesity or overweight type female (gynecoid), excess fat is located at the hips, buttocks and legs. In obesity or overweight type male (android), excess fat is located at the abdominal organs on the abdominal wall and sometimes on the upper back. There are also mixed types, especially when obesity is very important.

This classification is somewhat simplistic and does not reflect the variety of human types. However, it is estimated that obesity-type female is not as serious as that of male type. This type of obesity is often more serious and results in metabolic disorders: diabetes type II with onset of insulin resistance, abnormal blood lipids (cholesterol and triglycerides) and cardiovascular disorders associated with increased risk of cancers.

Too many Kilos, those that are potentially hazardous to health, are mainly located at the waist and hidden in the abdominal organs. Measuring waist circumference is a simple and practical way of knowing if the overload fat is in the abdomen. There is a danger when the waist reaches more than 1 meter for men and more than 95 cm for women. Anyway, we must interpret the measure by the size of the individual.

The ability to grow is a legacy of ancient times, when our "caves" ancestors have absolutely to store up food when it was available. The best course is to keep it on oneself for hard times. This ability to store fat and use it later has allowed humanity to survive despite recurring famines.

In some populations, there was even selections of the fittest to make such bold among Polynesians (Maori). Indeed, climatic variations in the Pacific region (nino, nina, cyclones) cause, in these very remote islands, famines that could last many weeks or months. Today, with the decline of physical labor, abundant food and reduced energy needs, this "advantage" becomes genetically negative, it promotes the onset of obesity.

Experts say that obesity is on average 25 to 30% of cases in part genetic and the rest linked to eating and physical behavior, when both parents are normal or underweight, the risk of becoming big in turn in adulthood is less than 10%. When one parent is large, this risk is about 40% to 80% if both are.

We grow mainly because we absorb more calories (as food) than we use. There is an imbalance between food intake and energy expenditure overall. One should recall that the accumulation of fat in fat cells (adipocytes) is something daily and quite normal. Several physiological mechanisms allow transforming what was eaten into fats, immediately stored in the fatty tissue in the form of triglycerides.

These stored fats will be used to request the opportunity to make prolonged exercise or during a period of fasting, for instance. It is the increase in the number of adipocytes, their hypertrophy and disruption of their activity that cause the accumulation of grease resulting in morbid obesity.

We know that medium weight is a parameter remarkably stable during adulthood. It grows sustainably when the food-energy imbalance is chronic and changes in both the number of fat cells (increase) and their regulation, physiological mechanisms that maintain the weight almost constant are disturbed, consequently you inexorably gain weight. This overweight will, no doubt, stabilize, but at a higher level.

We grow sustainably when fat cells accumulate triglycerides (fats) but do not "know" anymore how to free them when the body needs them. Added to this energy imbalance related to food, other causes may be hormonal reasons (puberty, pregnancy, endocrine disruption related to chronic stress), a lower metabolic regulation of carbohydrate and fat associated with aging (we grow with age), dietary reasons (diet too rich in fat immediately stored in adipocytes and food artificially high in sucrose and fructose) and perhaps an environment and food contaminated by pesticides or alimentary adulterants (dyes, changes of taste, aroma ) which insidiously alter our metabolism, from childhood.

Many solutions exist to fight over-weight. Chemical drugs are available on the market, however, suchlike products have a lot of nasty side-effects. Surgery is also possible but it is a heavy and risky operation. Herbal drugs are plants-based products free from any-side-effects. They are very accessible and not expensive. Obesity is a curable disease and the best way to heal it is to resort to natural therapies such as herbal treatments.

Ines Khalsi fitness professor, she has acquired a significant experience in weight loss therapies, having weight problems herself; she went across different medicines and discovered that herbal medicine is the safer way to lose superfluous kilos. She also discovered that herbal medicine can be used to fix many physical deficiencies.  She has gained a significant knowledge in the field and now she wants to share with other people. Ines Khalsi.

How Lamb and Pears Can Help Your Food Allergy

Jack Prime
Lamb and pears may appear to be a strange combination, but the reason they are chosen as part of a food allergy diet is because they are rarely indicated in allergies and are therefore relatively safe foods for most people with a food allergy to eat.

Often the best way to treat a food allergy is to avoid the food that causes the allergy altogether so a period of exclusion gives your body a chance to tell you which foods are making you ill and whether you react to one food or many foods.

An exclusion diet consists of eliminating one or more foods completely from the diet for a given period of time and then reintroducing foods one at a time to check for adverse reactions.

If you are committed to the process your efforts will be rewarded with the food, or foods, that cause your problems and you can be free of the symptoms and distress a food allergy may cause.

The principle of the lamb and pears food allergies diet is that you only eat these two foods, lamb, pears and bottled or filtered water, for five to seven days. During the course of the food allergy diet you can begin reintroducing other foods one at a time and gauge whether they cause a food allergy reaction.

As the lamb and pears food allergy diet is so restrictive it gives a chance for your system to clear and reveal the hidden allergies which are causing illness or allergy symptoms.

Keep a food diary to track your progress and note down how you are feeling during the diet.

If your food allergy symptoms disappear during the diet you can try and reintroduce suspect foods to see if they cause you a reaction. Keep a note of how you feel before and after eating the different foods you reintroduce.

Any food that does cause a reaction needs to be kept out of your diet and placed on your "foods to avoid list". If a food passes your test successfully you can place it on your "foods you can eat" list.

For best results take each step slowly; reintroduce foods slowly, perhaps one food per meal and if possible one food per day.

A variation of the lamb and pears food allergy diet allows you to eat turkey and peaches, or rabbit and raspberries.

Important note! A two food diet is very restrictive and should never be followed without close supervision or for an extended period of time. Severe exclusion diets can compromise your nutritional well-being so pregnant women, children, diabetics, epileptics, anyone with emotional disturbances or anyone with a serious illness should seek professional advice before embarking on any type of food allergy treatment or exclusion diet.

How to Really Make Your Diet Work For You

Stanislav Karpunin
First of all, you need to understand, that your body needs a proper Balanced Nutrition Diet, with a proper daily amount of: vitamins, proteins, minerals and carbohydrates.

Get into a habit of eating exactly 3 Meals a day.

1. Eat breakfast within one hour of rising.
Breakfast provides at least 30 percent of the total energy and nutrition needed to sustain the human body during the whole day. And therefore it is very important to have a proper breakfast and not to skip it.

2. Have a healthy low-fat lunch snack.
Have a healthy snack in your lunch time, low fat yogurt for example, to keep your energy running.

3. Have your dinner three hours before your bedtime.
Have a Proper dinner three hours before your bedtime; never go to bed on a full stomach.

Drink at least 2 liters of water a day. 2 liters of water a day would help your body to burn calories more effectively and to get rid of toxins.

Exercising is a KEY.
By exercising, your body gets an advantage of many physiological benefits such as:

Weight Control by elevating your metabolism so that you burn more calories daily.
The Boost in your energy level
Strengthening of your heart and lungs
Improvement in your self-image and self-confidence.
So, don't forget to exercise at least 10 minutes a day.
Try to avoid using fats. Try to keep the fat level in your cooking as low as possible.

Make Calcium your friend. Include as much calcium as you can in your daily diet by eating:

Oranges
Broccoli
Soybeans
Tofu
Sunflower Seeds
Papaya
And other sources of calcium. Calcium is a crucial element for bone metabolism. Calcium deficiency is very common. The "Average" American diet does not even come close to meeting the normal calcium requirements:
425 mg. a day for Men
450 mg. a day for Women

So, to sum it up:
1. Have exactly 3 meals a day
2. Drink at least 2 liters of water a day
3. Exercise at least 10 minutes a day
4. Avoid fats
5. Make calcium your friend

By following these 5 simple rules, you will be losing weight in no time.

How To Lose 20 Pounds REALLY, REALLY Fast

Tom Venuto

Back "in the day" when I used to be a full time personal trainer and I met with clients in person at my New Jersey Health Club, the first thing I would always ask my clients during the initial consultation was:

"Tell me exactly what you want... and I'll show you how to get it."

Typical reply from client:

"I want to lose 20 pounds fast."

My reply:

"Are you SURE that's what you want? If I can show you how to lose 20 pounds REALLY, REALLY fast, will that make you happy?"

They nodded their head affirmatively as their eyes lit up in anticipation of the quick weight loss secrets I was about to reveal.

Their face went white when - with a totally straight face - I pulled out a hacksaw and started walking towards them.... menacingly.

Not sure whether to laugh or to run away in sheer terror, they said,

"What the heck are you doing?"

"You said you wanted to lose 20 pounds fast. This is the easiest, surest, most effective way I know to take 20 pounds off you FAST! In fact, I figure that right leg of yours might even weigh 25 pounds!"

I kept walking closer and started to get into sawing position, wielding my fast, effective and guaranteed weight loss tool.

"Bear with me because this IS quick, but sometimes it takes a few minutes for me to cut through the bone."

By this time, my client and I are either completely cracking up, or I have seriously scared the living you know what out of them, or they just think I'm a complete lunatic. (it depends on whether I was able to keep a straight face or not).

Finally, the light bulb goes on, and my client would see where I was going with this:

"Okay, smart alec," I get it. I don't want to lose WEIGHT, I want to lose FAT."

Sometimes I would be having so much fun, I would just keep on playin'.

"But why not? This is easy, fast and guaranteed - just what everyone wants these days, it's even better than taking a pill! Come on, let me hack it off! You'll be my next testimonial: 'I lost 20 pounds in 5 minutes!' Imagine what that will do for my business!"

"Very funny. I told you, I get it, I get it! I want to lose FAT, not muscles and bones. I need my leg!

Naturally, of course, I didn't always have to pull out my trusty blade. Every once in a while, about as often as a total solar eclipse, a client answers my question like this:

"What do I want? Tom, I want to lose 20 pounds of body fat in the next 12 weeks. I want to do it slowly, safely and healthfully and then keep it off permanently. I want all the fat around my hips and thighs completely gone and I want a firm flat stomach. I want muscle all over my body while still looking feminine. I'd like to see myself at about 16% body fat and maintain all my muscle or gain a few pounds of lean mass if I can, especially in my arms. This is important to me because I want to set a good example for my kids, I want to be healthy and live to at least 90 and I want my husband to look at me and say, "I love your body, honey," and I want to be able to *honestly* say back to him, "me too!"

It is on these rare occasions that I know there is still intelligent life on this planet.

If you could answer the question, "What do you want" with the degree of clarity that this woman did, I don't think you would ever have any difficulty reaching your health and fitness goals... or any other goal in your life, for that matter.

This answer is what you call a very "well-formed" goal, backed up with lots of emotional motivation-inducing "reasons why."

"I want to lose weight" is a poorly-formed goal.

"Weight" is not the same as "fat." Weight includes muscle, bone, internal organs as well as lots and lots of water.

If you only get ONE thing from this article, get this:

WHAT YOU REALLY WANT IS TO BURN THE FAT, WHILE KEEPING THE MUSCLE!!!!

FAT LOSS is what you want, not weight loss.

If your body was 100% rock-solid muscle, with absolutely nothing that jiggled (unless it was supposed to), would you care how much you weighed?

I bet you wouldn't!

SO STOP WORSHIPPING THE SCALE AND START MEASURING YOUR BODY COMPOSITION!

By measuring your body fat, you take the guesswork out of your health and fitness plan and you get an accurate picture of what's really happening in your body as a result of your diet and exercise program.

Instead of worrying about whether you are losing muscle, or wondering if you are losing fat, you can measure it and KNOW for sure. (I always get a good chuckle when someone tells me they're worried about losing muscle when they don't even measure how much muscle they have!)

Instead of being confused by all the "opinions" from weight loss and exercise "experts" who are all telling you something different, you can MEASURE your body composition and based on the results, you can KNOW for sure whether your program is working.

A very wise man once said,

"A single measurement is worth a thousand opinions."

So, how do you measure body fat?

There are many methods. Thanks to technology, there are some methods today that are so accurate, they can tell you whether your left pinky has more fat than your right pinky! Unfortunately, many of them are either too expensive or they are inaccessible, being found only in hospitals or research facilities.

Instead of boring you with a lecture about all the various body fat testing methods, let me give you three quick and easy, practical suggestions:

Suggestion 1: Have a trainer or fitness professional measure your body fat if this service is available at your local health club. Sometimes, there's a charge - usually $15 - $25, although some clubs offer the service for free to all their members.

Suggestion 2: Purchase an Accu-measure skinfold caliper. The Accumeasure was designed to allow you to measure your own body fat in the privacy of your own home (you don't need someone else to measure you). Do a google or yahoo search to find a reseller.

Some people wonder if this is really accurate. Truth is, it's not quite as accurate as a multi site skinfold test from an experienced tester, but it's better than nothing. Besides, what's most important is not the "accuracy" per se, but the reliability and ! consistency of your measurements so you can track your progress. Skinfold calipers in general are not accurate or inaccurate, it's the person doing the test that is accurate or inaccurate.

Suggestion 3: If you have a spouse, roommate, or friend who can measure your body fat, you can purchase a "Slim Guide" body fat caliper. The Slimguide is the best inexpensive (about $20), caliper available for multi-site testing, but it wasn't designed for you to measure your own body fat like the Accu Measure. Other models of body fat calipers (if you want to splurge), range from $150 to $450. (At our health clubs, I use the electronic "SKYNDEX" caliper with the 4-site "Durnin formula.")

The calipers come with instructions, or you can use these formulas, which I have used and found to be very accurate:

4 Site formula for men (abdomen, suprailiac, thigh, tricep)

% fat = .29288(sum of 4 skinfolds) - 0.0005(sum of four skinfolds squared) + 0.15845(age) - 5.76377

4-Site Formula for women (abdomen, suprailiac, thigh, tricep)

% Fat = (.29669)(sum of 4 skinfolds) - (.00043)(Sum of four skinfolds squared) + .02963(age) + 1.4072

Source: Jackson A S, Pollock, M (1985) Practical assessment of body composition. Physician Sport Med. 13: 76-90.

Body fat percentages vary based on age and gender, but 20-25% body fat is average for women (15-19% is ideal), while 15-20% is average for men (10-14% is ideal).

Once you know your body fat percentage, then weigh yourself and record your weight and body fat on a progress chart. You can also calculate your lean body mass (muscle and other fat free tissue) very easily just by crunching some numbers:

For example, if you weigh 200 pounds and you have 10% body fat then you have 20 pounds of fat (10% of 200 = 20). That means you have a lean body mass (LBM) of 180 pounds. Now we're talking! With this data, you can get a really clear picture of how your exercise and nutrition program are affecting your physique.

Losing weight is very easy. Losing fat - and keeping it off without losing muscle - is a much bigger challenge. If you simply wanted to lose weight, we could just chop off your leg. Or, (slightly less painful), I could show you how to drop 10 - 15 pounds over the weekend just by dehydrating yourself and using natural herbal diuretics. Bodybuilders and wrestlers do it all the time to make a weight class. But what good would that do if it's almost all water and you're just going to gain it all back within days?

You don't have to "throw away your scale" like many "experts" tell you to. By all means, keep using the scale, the tape measure and even photographs and the mirror - the more feedback the better, but body fat is where it's at.

By the way, I recently bought a chain saw and a shiny new axe from Home Depot, and I've been practicing my "A merican Psycho" and Jack Nicholson, "The Shining" impersonations... so if you want to come to my office any time soon for personal consultation, you'd better have the right answer to my question, "What do you want?"

Is Your Diet Colorblind?

Lee Dobbins

Next time you have a meal, look at your plate - what colors do you see? If its mostly white and brown then your diet might be colorblind!

In order to have a healthy diet you need foods from all the food groups and that means a colorful plate. Just eating meat and potatoes won't provide you with the essential vitamins and minerals you need to stay in your best health - you need to add in colorful fruits and vegetables!

If you want a good balanced diet, here's some colors you might want to see next time you look down at your plate:

Green

Green colored foods like peas, kale, spinach, honeydew melons, kiwifruit, dark leafy lettuces, and leafy greens contain lutein which helps maintain good vision and can help reduce the risk of macular degeneration and cataracts.

Another green group includes broccoli, cabbage, bok choy, swiss chard, brussels sprouts, rutabaga, turnips, cauliflower, and watercress. These foods contain indoles, which can help reduce the risks of cancer and reduce tumor growth in cancer patients.

Yellow

The yellow orange colored food are high in bioflavonoids, which work in combination with vitamin C to help reduce the risk of cancer and heart attack. They also contain powerful antioxidants and help maintain healthy skin, strong bones, and good vision. The foods in this group include oranges, tangerines, pears, lemons, nectarines, grapefruit, peaches, apricots, pineapple, pineapple, yellow raisins, and yellow peppers.

Blue and Purple

Blueberries, purple grapes, blackberries, black currents and elderberries contain
Anthocyanins which can reduce the risks of heart attack, cancer, diabetic complications, Alzheimer's disease and age-related memory loss. Dark purple foods contain phenolics, which are powerful antioxidants and can help to slow the effects of aging.

Orange

Dark orange foods like pumpkin, sweet potatoes, apricots, peaches, carrots, cantaloupes, mangoes, and butternut squash contain beta-carotene, a powerful antioxident that can help keep your immune system healthy as well as maintain good vision and can even aid in reducing heart attacks and cancer.

Red

Tomatoes, guava, watermelon and pink grapefruit are all red colored foods. These foods contain lycopene which has been much publicized lately as helping to protect against prostate cancer. In addition, these foods can help reduce the risk of breast, and skin cancer as well as reduce the risk of heart attack.

Red onion, cherries, kidney beans, raspberries, strawberries, cranberries, beets, red apples (with the skin), and red cabbage contain anthocyanins, powerful antioxidants that can help control high blood pressure as well as reduce the risks of cancer, heart attack, Alzheimer's disease, and diabetes complications.

One way to get a colorful plate at every meal is to try to fit in 5 servings of fruits and vegetables every day. Try to include food from all these color groups at least once during the day and you will be surprised at how much your health improves.