Wellness for Life: How Increased Body Fat and Excess Weight Negatively Impact Our Lives - Essay Example

Wellness for life –How increased body fat and excess weight negatively impact our lives. Now-a-days excess body fat is very common everywhere though carrying it around is really bothersome. It is very disturbing to observe that the youth’s health and fitness continue to decline because of their inactivity. It is really an irony that youth spends lots of money on healthcare while their health is being traded for pleasure and convenience. Now it is difficult to put on a TV without being bombarded with advertisements for diets, medicine, and exercise machines etc. It is believed that more than 30 million adults across the world are considered obese. “In spite of health risks, personal discomfort, financial expenditures and personal efforts on the part of dieters, people throughout the world have continued to gain weight to a point where obesity has become a global epidemic. It is estimated that almost 10% of the nations current healthcare budget is expended on obesity-related disorders” (Annals of the American Psychotherapy Association. The American Psychotherapy Association the American Association of Integrative Medicine & the American College of Wellness Present the Evolution of Health Care: Unifying Mind, Body & Spirit. Vol. 6, 2003) The numbers of college students who suffer from over weight and excess fat have gone up drastically in United States due to improper diet and lack of physical exercise. It is estimated that more than 45 per cent of American college students are overweight. Most important reasons for their over weight is their addition to fast foods. Another reason is the increased workload after the high school as they are supposed to do lots of reading and writing. Because of their hectic schedule, they usually have very less time for sports activities. It is established that there is a gradual increase in the fat levels in youth and children over the past twenty years. The ideal body fat per cent for men and women are 15 per cent and 20 per cent respectively and anyone who is above this percent is considered obese. Per cent body fat means which is the percentage of the total body that is fat. Someone, who weighs 100kg and is 20% fat has 20kg of fat tissues and 80kg of lean tissues,. Some of the methods to calculate body fat are skin fold thickness, measurements, and underwater weighting and circumference measurements. But a trained persons’ help should be sought to administer the test and reach the correct calculations. This method can clearly distinguish between overweight and over fat because they do not mean same thing. ““Some people are quite muscular and weigh more than the average for their age and height. However, their body composition, the amount of fat versus lean body mass (muscle, bone, organs and tissue), is within a desirable range. This is true for many athletes. Others weigh an average amount yet carry around too much fat. In our society, however, overweight often implies over fat because excess weight is commonly distributed as excess fat” (Exercise and Weight Control. Council Publications. The President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports)Proper excess can reduce excess fat without reducing weight as muscles are heavier than fat. Both exercise and diet control is required to lose weight. Fat in body is made up of unused calories. When people over eat, the unused extra calories are stored as fat. Gradually, the metabolism of our body slows down when we repeat the overeating process, the body converts into a fat storage container. All these process leads to a chain of health issues in our body. Youth who suffer from excess fat feel feeble, find it difficult to do simple exercises, and will have reduced energy. Their defense and physical recuperation mechanism are not able to function properly, gradually insulin response begins to fail, blood pressure increases, joints are not able to carry the weight which they are designed. Finally, those who suffer from increased body fat and excess weight are prone to a spate of illness such as diabetes, osteoporosis, heart disease, arthritis, depression, obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and triglycerides, arthritis, gall bladder disease, gynecologic problems, some cancers, lung problems, coronary heart disease, angina pectoris, stroke, gout, obstructive sleep apnea and respiratory problems, bladder control mechanisms, and back and joint failure. Now the question to be answered is that how excess weight and over fat can be tackled in college students. One of the best methods is the behavior change. Behavior change method. It is very clear that many overweight college students are very conscious about the health consequences of it and yet they fail to make any changes in their life style. To control excess fat and overweight among college students, it is very necessary create a balance between calorie intake and a healthy lifestyle and this balance can be created through regular physical exercises because it can help the body to burn excess body fat. "The best way to lose weight is to do it slowly: Switch to a low-fat, sensible diet and get regular exercise." (Sardina, Jennifer. Journal of Law and Health. Misconceptions and misleading information prevail - less regulation does not mean less danger to consumers: dangerous herbal weight loss products. Vol. 14, 1999.) Moreover, regular exercise is very helpful in creating muscles which uses calories up a faster than body fat. But there is a problem associated with it. Sometimes, youth, especially college going students give too much importance to their training and it can turn out to be counter productive. “However, many weight trainers, especially novices, use too much weight in their training program and consequently predispose themselves to excess fatigue, frustration, failure to reach their goal, and injury.” (Lander, E. The Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance. Performance Errors in Weight Training and Their Correction, Vol. 73, 2002). Another problem of college going students who are suffering excess weight is that even if they burn the excess calorie through regular exercise and diet, once the exercise is stopped, the fat tends to come back. “However fat is removed, it tends to come back. This is why most dieters fail, as perhaps youve observed.”(Gingold, Judit. Adventures in Liposuction. The Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 277, Mar. 1996) Diet control The health and weight of an individual depend a lot on the eating habits of the person. Some foods are good to control obesity and should be eaten often and high fat foods should be avoided .In order to eliminate the risk of over weight, one should pay adequate care in choosing the food one eats. The following foods are considered nutritious but at the same time they have low level fat contents, and therefore, are better suited for college students and is the best method for controlling over weight. Whole grain foods Grain foods are the best sources of the carbohydrates and our body needs carbohydrates for energy. Carbohydrates are found in abundance in oatmeal, whole wheat bread and brown rice. But our body can’t digest these carbohydrates quickly as it is highly processed. This is very helpful in keeping sugar and insulin levels from rising and then falling quickly. Plant oils Plant oils are rich sources of fat. But for the daily calories, we can depend on unsaturated fats which are rich in plant oils like olive, canola, corn, sun flower, peanut as well as fatty fish such as salmon and omega 3 rich fish Vegetables and fruits Teenagers should take vegetables and fruits 2 to 3 times in a day. It decreases the chances of having coronary diseases, give protection against variety of cancers and lowers blood pressure. It also protects the heart from sudden and potentially deadly rhythmic problems. While being nutritious, they don’t add much fat to the body. Fish, Poultry and Eggs They should be taken 1 to 2 times in a day as they are important sources for protein which can reduce the risk of heart disease. Nuts and legumes They may be taken 1to 3 times in a day. They are very good sources for protein, fibre, vitamin and minerals. Dairy or calcium supplements Calcium is required for building bone and keeping it strong. So it should be taken 1 to 2 times in a day. Red meat and butter These should be used sparingly because they contain lots of saturated fat.. Conclusion: As the modern age progresses in technology, sometimes at the perils of ignoring spiritual and holistic ideals, youth change their lifestyles to adapt to the fast pace of so-called progress. This results in aggravation of various health problems apart from offering opportunities for new diseases to emerge. This is especially so in the case of pandemic health issues like excess weight and over fat. The problem basically stems from lack of awareness of the causes and ignorance about its effects. While treatment measures for those already suffering from over weight is one of the top priorities in most of countries across the world, prevention also needs to be addressed to eradicate this menace. In order to implement the action plan effectively, and to achieve its objective, it is imperative that we involve the community in a reactive manner by creating awareness. The government, public, voluntary organizations etc must work in tandem to fight the evil of over fat and excess weight. Let us hope that with the concerted efforts and through campaigns we can create awareness in the public, especially among college going students, and curb the spread of excess fat and over weight. Work Cited Exercise and Weight Control. Council Publications. The President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. 22 Mar. 2007 . Gingold, Judit. Adventures in Liposuction. The Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 277, Mar. 1996. Sardina, Jennifer. Misconceptions and misleading information prevail - less regulation does not mean less danger to consumers: dangerous herbal weight loss products. Journal of Law and Health, Vol. 14, 1999. Lander, E. Performance Errors in Weight Training and Their Correction. The Journal of Physical Education Recreation & Dance, Vol. 73, 2002. Annals of the American Psychotherapy Association The American Psychotherapy Association the American Association of Integrative Medicine & the American College of Wellness Present the Evolution of Health Care: Unifying Mind, Body & Spirit.Vol. 6, 2003 Read More