Overweight and its causes. When is weight considered overweight and how to deal with it? Than obesity threatens

Overweight syndrome is a pressing problem modern world... A sedentary lifestyle, stress, bad habits, street fast food are risk factors that lead populations of all ages to varying degrees of obesity.

The United States has become the record holder for the number of overweight people - two-thirds of Americans suffer overweight... Europe is in second place - about 28% of obese people. The third place is occupied by Japan - 20% of overweight people.

Chronic obesity is gradually acquiring the features of a global epidemic. Overweight and obesity have become common diagnoses even among people in developing countries. Previously, the lack of food was an acute problem here; now every tenth person suffers from diseases associated with overweight.

Determine availability overweight you can use the Quetelet formula: BMI = Weight / Height2 [kg / m2]. A BMI greater than 25 indicates overweight.

The Quetelet formula is the main guideline in the diagnosis of excess weight. Please note that a BMI slightly above normal is not a reason for a diagnosis of obesity. But if concomitant symptoms occur (extra pounds interfere with carrying physical activity, functions are impaired internal organs, skin, stomach upset, constipation, thirst, shortness of breath appears, joints hurt), which means it's time to seek help from specialists in the field of nutrition.

Overweight and obesity are different concepts. With obesity, a thick layer accumulates under the skin. body fat... Fat is formed in the chest, abdomen, thighs and buttocks, covers the heart, blood vessels and liver, provokes organ dysfunctions and chronic diseases.

Cardiovascular diseases develop. deposited on the walls of blood vessels, blood clots are formed. Blood circulation worsens, blood pressure rises, the risk of atherosclerosis, hypertension, and strokes. The heart increases in size and becomes covered with fat. Efficiency decreases, shortness of breath suffers.
Metabolism is disturbed, diabetes mellitus develops. Retinas and kidneys suffer, the body does not fight infections well - due to high level blood sugar becomes an ideal breeding ground for disease-causing bacteria.

Excess weight

Overeating is bad for the liver. When combined with a sedentary lifestyle, excessive consumption of carbohydrates overwhelms the liver with deposits of glycogen and fat. Excess weight becomes the cause of fatty liver, diseases of the gallbladder and ducts, and the formation of stones.
Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract occur. Chronic overeating overloads the digestive system. The stomach and small intestine increase in size up to 40%, which leads to digestive disorders, chronic gastritis and other diseases.
Sexual functions are impaired. Half of obese women have menstrual irregularities, problems with conception, infertility. Excess weight, even in young men, leads to impotence and decreased sperm activity.

Reasons for the appearance of excess weight

Doctors are confident that the main causes of obesity are associated with genetic and endocrine disorders and heredity. Nutritionists, in response, declare that an innate predisposition to excess weight will not manifest itself if a person is taught and eaten right from childhood. Psychologists say that being overweight is a consequence of stress and dislike for your own body.

If the participant decides to ignore tradition, then he will certainly meet with condemnation and resistance from others. By changing the eating behavior, the participant unwittingly forces others to adjust their diet, which they clearly did not plan.

Lack of understanding and support in the family circle, friends complicates the achievement of the goal, and sometimes stops a person halfway to losing excess weight.

Food habits

The harm of eating habits imposed by the Western lifestyle is known to people, but it is not so easy to change habitual behavior. It seems that the crazy pace of life, the busy work schedule, the hustle and bustle and stressful situations should contribute to weight loss. As a result, another risk factor for the development of obesity arises. Pay attention to the list of habits that do nothing good for people, but harm the body and figure.

People have forgotten how to eat breakfast. Breakfast is the main boost of energy. In the morning, a person should consume at least 400 kilocalories for normal health. I didn't have breakfast in the morning - you finish eating on the go, quickly and a lot, or you eat up for the whole day with a hearty dinner.

Eat poor quality food. Delicacies, sweets, smoked meats, fast food - the food is rich flavors, carbohydrates, calories. Nutrients - zero, one harm to the body. Lack of fruits, vegetables and interfere with the synthesis of good cholesterol and the elimination of bad cholesterol.

Eat in large portions. Nutritionists recommend placing a portion on a plate that fits on two palms. People are able to eat 2-3-4 times more food, but the body will assimilate and process only the first portion into energy, and subcutaneous fat is formed from excess food.

They eat and watch TV. While eating, you need to look at the food, and listen to your own stomach in order to receive the signal from the body in time: "I am full!" The TV occupies the brain with unnecessary information, so there is no control over the saturation process. And a conditioned reflex is also developed: the TV turned on - salivation began to flow, an urgent need to make a sandwich.

Chew gum. Chewing gum contains carbohydrates, in addition, chewing gum on an empty stomach provokes gastritis and other gastrointestinal diseases. As a result, digestion and metabolism are disturbed.

They forget. Water is an indispensable solvent for digestion. You need to drink two liters per day pure water room temperature. No tea, no soda, no juices - plain water.

Lack of physical activity

The era of a sedentary lifestyle has come for a person. We work while sitting, driving while sitting, eating while sitting, watching TV or sitting at a computer, sitting with friends in a cafe ... Lack of physical activity is a major risk factor for overweight and obesity. Being active and athletic is good for appearance, and for the health of the whole organism.

A person needs healthy physical activity, at least 60 minutes daily exercise: running, jumping on, swimming, regular morning exercises.

Sleep problems

Chronic sleep problems lead to depletion of the body. A person who does not get enough sleep feels sluggish, not ready for vigorous activity. Instinctively, the body looks for a source of additional energy and finds it in food. In addition, fatigue reduces the level of protein, which is responsible for the regulation of appetite, slows down the metabolism. No matter how much a person eats, the body's energy reserves will not be replenished. Calories burn slowly, hunger continues to torment.

Psychological

People who are in a state of chronic emotional stress seek to drown out internal discomfort in any way. Not finding support among loved ones, many find solace in food.

Stress

Stressful situations increase the level of hormones in the human body. In order to protect against an aggressive external environment, hormones are produced: cortisol (responsible for conserving energy resources) and cortisone (causes the accumulation of fat reserves). The fight against stress begins.

To get rid of a stressful state, a person needs to apply an active strategy: find and eliminate the cause of the situation. But more often the struggle takes place in a passive form, the body tries to eliminate the consequences, and not the cause of the situation.

People who tend to be overweight choose passive strategies to deal with stress - instead of looking for solutions, they "seize problems."

Psychotherapists have noticed that symptoms of central obesity in women (when excess abdominal fat accumulates on the abdomen) indicate dissatisfaction with life. A thick fat pad is formed in the solar plexus, the energy center, to protect against the outside world. How stronger woman dissatisfied with herself, life, the more fat is formed on the stomach.

Alexithymia

With alexithymia, a person does not know how to distinguish emotions, does not recognize the difference between fear and anxiety, sadness and anger. Feeling nervous tension, boredom, frustration, people experience emotional hunger, but take it for physical hunger. As a result, every emotional outburst is accompanied by a hearty snack.

Sexual problems

Lack of regular sex life leads to a lack of the good hormone oxytocin. Oxytocin, the "calm hormone", is also released when consumed. Therefore, single people compensate for the lack of sex by eating fatty foods.

Being overweight can be associated with negative sexual experiences in the past.

People who have experienced sexual abuse, anxiety and fear at the thought of intimate relationships, unconsciously strive. Excess weight helps them get rid of attractive forms, hide their natural sexuality, and avoid repeating unpleasant experiences.

Many women gain weight after marriage. Psychologists say that slender beauties who have found family happiness turn into crumpets due to the loss of the need to seduce and attract men. A married woman has no one to demonstrate the dignity of a figure, except her own husband. And the husband allegedly loves his wife "in any form" ...

Homework: After familiarizing yourself with the mechanisms of excess weight, make a list of risk factors that lead to the accumulation of fat in your body or prevent you from losing weight. Using the list, find solutions to help you address the causes and develop a weight loss strategy.

Fighting excess weight

Fighting overweight is primarily an internal opposition to willpower, excessive appetite and laziness. The latter factors win more often, so few people manage to get closer to the cherished ideal weight.

If your decision to lose weight is harder than a stone, you are ready to believe in the power of a healthy diet and adjust your diet, stop sitting on the couch and start performing a daily set of exercises for losing weight - you can defeat excess weight !!!

Nutritionist assistance

Consulting a dietitian is a necessary step towards losing weight. Each organism is unique, so there is no single prophylaxis that can help everyone. By contacting a nutritionist, you will receive comprehensive information about your body, you will find out which weight loss strategy is right for your body. The specialist will explain in detail the basic rules of losing weight, which will have to be followed throughout your life.

Not to starve! The diet only needs to be slightly adjusted: reduce a single serving, replace harmful products with useful analogues. Hard diets instead of losing weight, they provide the opposite effect. Feeling prolonged hunger, the body decides that extreme times have come and an urgent need to stock up on fat.

There is often and little by little! Nutritionists recommend eating daily ration for 5 receptions: breakfast, second breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner. Feeling the urge to have a snack, choose fruits, vegetables,. You cannot eat before bedtime.

Balance nutrients! Balance your diet to eat 30% protein, 20% fat, and 50% carbohydrates per day.

Expend more calories than you ate! Therefore, the more you eat at lunch, the more physical activity you need to burn the calories you receive. Conclusion: either eat in moderation, or sweat in the gym sparing no effort.

Drink water! A glass of water, drunk half an hour before meals, will dull hunger and the desire to gobble up all the dishes on the table. In addition, water is a universal solvent, essential for digestion.

Psychologist's help

Normal eating behavior is the best therapy for overweight. Track what you think, what you do and feel while eating, write down the observations in your diary. Recordings will help you understand what behaviors need to be changed.

Eat meaningfully! Listen to your inner feelings, try to eat to satisfy your hunger, do not "seize" stress and emotional stress.

Turn off your TV! You need to take food at the table, looking at the plate, thinking about the benefits that the food eaten will bring. Break the associative connection of eating with watching TV, reading, talking.

Distinguish between hunger and emotion! Track what emotion makes you feel hungry? Fear, boredom, sadness, weariness? If your emotions are pulling you into the refrigerator, not hunger, find other ways to satisfy your emotional needs.

Learn to think sensibly! Negative attitude towards healthy eating makes diet a punishment for losing weight. Learn to overcome negative attitudes, encourage healthy eating habits, otherwise therapy will not work.

Choose an active rhythm! Use to track your activity level and calories burned during the day. This way you will quickly learn self-control and make sure that you have chosen the right path.

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Fat people do not stay healthy for long: the heart weakens, joints hurt, blood pressure and sugar jump. Excess weight- This is an excessive increase in adipose tissue, which poses a threat to human life and health. Excess weight gains imperceptibly, but getting rid of it is quite difficult, especially when health problems have already appeared.

Obesity as a mass disease began to cause alarm in the middle of the 20th century, and today it affects 1.5 billion people on the planet. The USA and Europe are in the lead, where every third is overweight. In Russia, 25% of people have unhealthy obesity, but it is not considered a disease. It is difficult to get qualified help in the fight against obesity, everyone is trying to cope with the problem alone. Scientific research long ago confirmed that the causes of obesity are the culture of "fast food" in combination with a sedentary lifestyle. It would seem that what is easier: balance your diet, sign up for gym- and you will have health and happiness. If it comes about 5-10 extra pounds, perhaps such a scheme will lead to success. But when the body is burdened with dozens of excess kilograms, you cannot do without the help of specialists: psychologists, endocrinologists, nutritionists.

Our body is prone to rest, but those who are accustomed to active image life, perceives peace as discomfort. Such people immediately feel the extra pounds and declare war on them. In other women and men, the first signs of excess weight are not so noticeable, and weight loss is postponed until later. And some go to the other extreme: in pursuit of the notorious "90-60-90" they bring themselves to anorexia, although they initially had a normal physique.

So what is overweight, and when to sound the alarm about it

Medicine considers excess weight as a result of metabolic disorders, in which excessive accumulation of adipose tissue occurs, and conditions are created for the development of deadly diseases. To diagnose overweight, doctors use the Body Mass Index (BMI, BMI). The digital indicator determines how much a person's weight corresponds to his height. You can calculate BMI yourself: your weight (in kg) must be divided by the amount of height (in m) squared. If your height is 1.66 m, and your body weight is 85 kg, then: BMI = 85 / 1.662 = 30.8, which corresponds to obesity of the 1st degree.

The table shows that in this state the risk of cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, diabetes mellitus is increased. To correct this weight, you will need medical attention.

Overweight symptoms

Overweight and obesity do not appear suddenly. At first, the plump waist and hips just spoil the mood, but do not instill anxiety. How do you know if a problem is becoming dangerous and urgent?

First signs

There are a few warning signs of being overweight that you should be aware of:

Snoring appears at night, sleep becomes restless.
Sports, outdoor activities are no longer for you - where with such dimensions!
Cellulite zones appear on the abdomen and thighs.
You are constantly hungry, and if this fails, irritation arises.
Hypertension attacks occur more often.
Disturbed by pain in the back, knees, swelling of the legs.
The size of the waist and weight are growing, despite the restriction in food.

Having noticed such changes in well-being, one cannot postpone a visit to the doctor - any should begin with this. correct weight loss... Obesity is the sphere of competence of an endocrinologist, only he can take into account all the causes of excess weight. To switch to the correct diet, it is useful to consult with a nutritionist, and a psychotherapist will help create a persistent motive for losing weight.

Diagnostics

To find out why you are overweight, you will have to do tests. A biochemical blood test for the level of cholesterol, glucose, insulin will show how much metabolic processes have deviated from the norm, and how they affect the appearance of excess weight. A blood test for hormones will determine if the excess weight is endocrine in nature. You may need to undergo treatment with hormonal drugs.

Why is overweight

The most common cause of obesity is slow metabolism during the absorption of high-calorie foods. Excess calories do not have time to be used by the body and are converted into fat reserves.

Many factors create this situation:

Overeating: the need to eat a lot and tasty; improper eating behavior (eating on the go, plentiful dinners); "Sweet drug addiction"; the habit of eating up stress with "snacks"; love of beer, etc.
Sedentary lifestyle: sedentary work; driving life; rest in front of the TV or computer.
Age-related changes: after 30 years, metabolic processes in humans slow down; excess body weight appears with normal nutrition.
Lack of important vitamins and minerals in food.
Endocrine diseases: dysfunction of the thyroid gland, pituitary gland, adrenal glands, ovaries.
Taking corticosteroids / antidepressants.

If a pregnant woman eats carbohydrate foods that are not balanced in proteins, the fetus will develop an innate predisposition to obesity.

Ways to fight obesity

A common mistake when losing weight is the desire to lose excess pounds using any one method, be it diet, fitness, pills, dietary supplements or massage. To be successful in such a business, you need a set of effective tools.

Slimming diets

A diet for weight loss cannot be chosen just because it helped someone from your acquaintances. Every diet has health limitations and cons to endure.

Important! How to eat while losing weight, you need to decide after the examination, knowing your weak spots and health problems.

General requirements for food for weight loss are typical for all diets:

High-calorie foods are excluded: fatty and delicacy meat, baked goods, sugar and sweets.
Recommended: vegetables, fruits, lean meat, lean fish.
Allowed: dried bread, dairy products.

In the diet, it is important not to allow the feeling of hunger, to eat often and little by little, not to snack on the go and not to overeat at night. To make trips to the store and to visit on a full stomach.

Physical activity

Signing up to the gym or jogging in the morning - effective ways lose excess pounds, but they are put off for later years. It's easier to start actively moving today: a couple of stops on foot from work, daily climbing stairs instead of an elevator - this should become a habit and a necessity. Cycling, swimming, nordic walking... But what if a person is ashamed of their impressive dimensions? Dance rug in the room - great way to move, to get pleasure not to have complexes about the fact that your dances seem comical to someone.

Advice. Learn at home a set of yoga exercises that combine cardio with strength training... With a properly selected complex, you can burn 200-400 kcal in one lesson.

Massage

Massage cannot radically get rid of excess weight, but it serves as a good addition to diet and exercise. Its various types: lymphatic drainage, anti-cellulite vacuum massage, Charcot's shower, - affect problem areas, improve blood circulation in them, increase muscle tone... With the help of massage, you can prevent sagging and sagging of the skin in places of intense weight loss.

Tablets and dietary supplements

Dietary supplements and diet pills should not be taken without the advice of a specialist. They are prescribed to bring metabolism back to normal. Some lack vitamins for this, others need certain microelements, and others need to cleanse the intestines and remove metabolic products. At the stages of obesity, hormonal drugs become relevant. Even appetite suppressants should not be taken without consulting your doctor. To intervene in metabolic processes, you need a justification and an exact dosage.

Than overweight threatens

Excess weight is not so much a defect in appearance as a colossal load on all body systems.

The heart muscle has to pump blood over the body of enormous size and push it through the vessels clogged with cholesterol. Hypertension, atherosclerosis, heart attack, stroke are a natural result of obesity.
The liver becomes clogged with products of fat metabolism, from this develops steatosis - dystrophy of liver cells.
The gastrointestinal tract passes through itself all the abundance of food, the digestive organs work hard: gastritis, ulcers, cholecystitis, pancreatitis, heartburn, constipation, dyspepsia - this is not a complete list of problems with overweight.
Endocrine diseases, and first of all, diabetes mellitus, are an obligatory companion of overweight.
The musculoskeletal system is deformed under the influence of a massive body: the spine, joints hurt, - a full person condemns himself to a sedentary life.

Excess weight is a step towards dangerous diseases. At the beginning of this path, everyone can stop and choose a completely different direction.

Lasciate ogni speranza, voi ch'entrate (from Italian, “Give up hope, everyone who enters here”).

Obesity, or in a broader sense, overweight, is gradually becoming one of the most big problems with the health of the XXI century. It has numerous negative health effects, but is also regarded by many as a vital aesthetic problem.

Obesity is generally considered to be a disease in itself, but it can also be a symptom of other diseases. It follows from this that persons prone to obesity should conduct the necessary research to identify the cause of this disease, which should be treated. Who should take on this task? Often this pathology is dealt with by an endocrinologist. Is it correct? Let's see.

Determining the presence of obesity

To determine what body weight is normal for each person, the body mass index (BMI, BMI) is used, it is effective in adults (but does not apply to pregnant women). This index is defined as the ratio of the division of body weight (in kg) to the square of body height (in meters).

In order not to calculate quadratic equations, using a calculator, you can divide the weight by height (in meters, for example 1.76) and then again by the same number. BMI is considered a normal value if it is 18-25. If the resulting number is lower, it is underweight, higher is overweight, and a value over 30 indicates obesity.

The definition of overweight and obesity based on BMI "works" only if the increase in body weight is due to excess adipose tissue. Sometimes obesity can be due to other reasons, and BMI is then not effective: excessive body weight can be caused, for example, by edema due to various diseases, sometimes by overdeveloped muscle tissue in exercising people or using pharmacological doping.

There are various methods for objectively measuring your actual body fat percentage, but this is generally not required. Whether the increase in BMI is associated with an excess amount of adipose tissue or was it due to other reasons - in most cases, the doctor can decide after a small examination.

Causes of excess weight and obesity (more precisely - excess body fat)

A patient who has consulted a doctor about an excess of adipose tissue counts on help, and, in particular, on identifying the immediate causes. The ideal outcome would be if it was possible to detect a disorder, as a result of which the patient has such consequences as an excess of adipose tissue. Then, after recovery (elimination of the cause), the weight will decrease to the required level, without any forced changes in habits and in the mode of life. Most patients have such expectations in relation to the work of an endocrinologist; most of them consider their way of nutrition to be correct, and, at least, unchanged. So why does overweight appear, if "once" it was not?

Sometimes it is possible to detect such a violation, which leads to this. Most often it is uncompensated (untreated) (compensated is not the cause of obesity), in men (deficiency of sex hormones), less often - (Itsenko-Cushing's syndrome), other disorders are extremely rare, the discussion of which is beyond the scope of the manual for patients.

However, it should be emphasized that people who develop these diseases do not deal with the usual excess of body fat: in the case of (thyroid insufficiency), weight gain is at least partly the result of intercellular edema, and in patients with excessive amounts of adipose tissue the trunk is accompanied by atrophy muscle mass limbs.

Most often, nevertheless, no methods confirm the indicated violations, and the excess of adipose tissue is the result of an incorrect (excessive calorie content in relation to the required figures) diet. Such obesity is called alimentary or primary obesity, also sometimes simple (in foreign literature).

Primary obesity

As you know, the risk of developing alimentary (primary) obesity:

characterized by a genetic condition;
increases with age, as the need for calories decreases.

Why it happens? Why is there an excessive appetite, an excessive intake of food in relation to needs, an excessive accumulation of adipose tissue and a decrease in the need for calories with age? These questions are still in the "not known" category. Obesity research results can be summed up in the words: “we see a tree, but we do not see a forest”. A variety of hormones and other regulatory factors are known to affect fat storage, metabolism, or appetite. Unfortunately, scientists and doctors do not fully understand their significance in the case of primary obesity.

Among the few exceptions is the one described in another article, which has not been fully studied today, although this phenomenon explains the problem only partially. In addition, the difficulties of diagnosis, the lack of studies on the effect of long-term replenishment of growth hormone deficiency and the high cost of treatment limit the use of these advances in practice. As a warning to potential questions, diagnostics are not mentioned in contracts and directives from the Ministry of Health regarding endocrinology clinics. Even if this clause is introduced, the research costs exceed the money spent as a result of current contracts, which makes it impossible to fulfill them.

Thus, obesity is the result of the coexistence of genetic and environmental factors. The latter, of course, include physical inactivity and poor eating habits:

binge eating;
meals at any time of the day (main meal in the evening);
eating high-calorie foods (sweets).

Obesity consequences

Common cases include situations in which overweight / obesity is not a consequence, but the cause of other disorders, for example, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hyperlipidemia (excessive levels of substances that transport fats and cholesterol in the blood), gout (joint disease caused by excessive deposition of uric acid) and many others. You cannot lose weight when using lipid-lowering drugs or antihypertensive drugs. But limiting excess weight can reduce lipid levels or blood pressure numbers.

There are also other serious diseases, such as polycystic ovary syndrome (), in which this association with obesity is not so obvious: it cannot be revealed that excess adipose tissue is the cause of this disease, but the correlation is visible - obesity and are often interrelated. Sometimes, by reducing body weight, it is possible to reduce the manifestations of other disorders.

Procedure for overweight and primary obesity

When overweight / primary obesity is already definitely confirmed, the question arises - what next? Further difficulties arise. As stated above, with one exception, there were no studies providing the identification of "metabolic defects" that cause alimentary obesity in order to make a "metabolic correction" on their basis. The efficacy and safety of any drug that disrupts metabolism and allows you to "burn" extra calories, that is, get rid of excess body fat without changing your dietary habits and lifestyle, has not yet been confirmed.

Therefore, the solution is to change your eating habits and lifestyle. This raises the question, can this tactic be called "obesity treatment"? There is a psychological trap in this definition, because the very concept of "treatment" usually implies a passive position of the patient, whose only role is to "contemplate" the treatment, which in this case is absolutely unrealistic.

So how can you correct your obesity-promoting lifestyle and remove bad eating habits? Pay attention to the fact that laziness (doing nothing), like food, is pleasant, moreover, manifestations of addiction, because these actions are on the list of deadly sins. Coping with bad habits is absolutely like breaking any bad habit and requires the methods used in the case of drug addiction. The purpose of our event will be as follows:

increasing the level of physical activity;
reducing the calorie content (energy value) of food.

Thus, you can imagine a method of dealing with this addiction:

Replacing the pleasant with the pleasant

There are many ways in which the pleasure of eating and doing nothing can be replaced with something even more enjoyable. All sorts of trips to the spa, active outdoor activities, subscriptions for health and beauty procedures, etc., help in this. nice, not to mention the very participation in this part of the entertainment industry. The variety of proposals, each time new ideas, also increase the attractiveness of lifestyle changes and make it possible to break the deadlock associated with old habits. It is only important that new habits “take root in the blood”, and that such impulses do not end at the very start.

You cannot afford to think that passive exercises such as massage or lying in the pool are sufficient to combat excess weight. There are too many passive activities that have been introduced into the assortment of businesses, sanatoriums and entertainment centers from a health point of view, but they are only an addition to active activities, so that the proposal does not look too cruel, and the person believes that he has a choice (between Thai massage and hot stone massage, etc.).

Social support groups

This is a very important method - it is difficult to fight habits on your own, it is easier in a group. A significant role is visible here sports clubs, annual events, or simply groups of people running, swimming, walking or riding together. Also, the previously described activities of enterprises, sanatoriums and entertainment centers contribute to the emergence of social support groups and healthy sports rivalry. Thus, if you want to fight excess weight, you should consider joining a social support group.

Traditional methods based on "strong will"

In theory, volitional methods should be the most effective, although in practice our “will” is often insufficient to achieve the goal, but why not try. Therefore, it is worth immediately analyzing food habits and lifestyle, and then planning changes:

Refusal from snacking between meals and the fight against "small hunger". Unfortunately, if you want to lose weight, you cannot avoid being hungry for some time of the day. In general, snacks between meals can be considered the main cause of excess weight, since patients, as a rule, neglect their influence and recognize them as insignificant and unimportant, while maintaining the false confidence in their consciousness that they do not make mistakes in the diet.
Planning the amount of food (the number of slices of bread, desserts, hot, fruits) and strict adherence to these plans, despite the feeling of hunger / satiety. This is an extremely important matter. Many obese people, and especially those at risk of developing diabetes, can suffer from reactive hypoglycemia - a decrease in glucose levels within 2-3 hours after a meal due to excessive secretion of insulin. This pathology is perceived as hunger and nervousness - if you hesitate with food, instinctively your hands reach for dessert, coffee with sugar, then fruit, and so on. The only way to break the “vicious circle” is to abstain from food. In order to cope with this unpleasant sensation, it is worth spending a little time and energy on gymnastic / athletic exercises.
Change in lifestyle, finally and irrevocably - a clear establishment of the time of meals throughout the day, for gymnastic / sports training. Sometimes it is necessary to adjust / limit opening hours to find time for these activities. As already mentioned, it is difficult to hope for weight loss without being hungry during the day. On the other hand, everyone understands perfectly well that it is difficult at this time to count on effective work therefore, during the period of such an unpleasant state, you can refuse the most important work, for example, before lunch.

Metformin

In the treatment of obesity-related diseases such as or , this drug is used, the action of which is so complex, and the effects are so numerous that it can be included in the group of drugs that reduce body weight. Until now, it has not been proven to be beneficial in common obesity, and there is no hope that metformin will lead to weight loss without changing eating habits and increasing physical activity. Rather, its effect on weight loss is to facilitate adherence to normal eating habits by increasing insulin sensitivity and thus preventing the postprandial hypoglycemia described.

Medication methods - what not to use

There are many different medicines designed to help in the fight against excess weight. Unfortunately, most of them will not stand the test of time. Below is a concise overview of currently and in the past ineffective and ineffective pharmacological methods:

Stomach Swelling Drugs - Stimuli associated with the presence of foods (or substances that swell) in the stomach suppress the cerebral appetite center and stimulate the satiety center. After a promising start, it turned out that the body adapts to these stimuli. These funds even worsened the situation - in order to induce a feeling of fullness now requires more food than before the "treatment". Therefore, it was completely accepted correct solution to refuse to use this type of funds.
Drugs that inhibit the digestion of food (most often, fat). The result of the action of these drugs is the elimination of undigested food, thus reducing its energy value. These drugs have not brought particular results in the fight against obesity, since they do not affect the center of appetite / satiety, which is key in this process, do not limit the pleasures associated with food, so their effect cannot be significant. Instead, there is a risk of strengthening negative habits, that is, lack of control over the energy value of the food product taken: "I am taking the drug, so why bother yourself with a diet." Currently, there is only one drug in this group: Orlistat (Xenical), a substance that inhibits the digestion of fats.
Drugs that suppress appetite centers. There is really a problem here. Avipron, Mazindol, Izolipan, Meridia (Zelixa) - how many drugs have passed the tests. The story is always the same ... A drug appears that inhibits the center of thirst. Regardless of the chemical structure, the action of such drugs should at least partially mimic the action of psychoactive substances from the amphetamine group, since this is the essence of the effect. There are positive reviews about the action of the drug. After a while, it turns out that preliminary observations were too optimistic, in particular due to the fact that the drug does not provide a long-term effect. Descriptions also appear side effects- after all, it cannot be otherwise if the drug is a psychoactive substance, and its use is becoming wider and covers more and more large groups of patients. Thus, a decision is made to withdraw the drug from the market. Is this the right decision? The last decision on Meridia (Zelix) can be considered controversial. Many other drugs are known, with unproven or minor therapeutic effects, and each drug can cause side effects when abused or thoughtlessly used.
Preparations that “enhance fat burning”. Once again, I would like to emphasize that there are no such funds today. In the treatment of diseases associated with obesity, such as diabetes mellitus or, a drug is used that could be attributed to this group (metformin), but the expediency of using it in the case of primary obesity has not yet been proven. Sometimes weight loss is observed after the use of various drugs, when the described action comes from the psychologically adjusted behavior of the patient: the use of expensive drugs induces changes, they "cure" by the fact that the patient is interested in what he eats, and distributes motor activity. The black market, of course, offers many drugs from this group that can act as poison rather than medicine.

Pharmacological methods that can be effective

The European Medicines Agency has registered two drugs that are used in the fight against obesity. The first is Misimba, which contains naltrexone (a partial opioid antagonist known to be physiologically present in the central nervous system) and Bupropion (used in the treatment of nicotine addiction). These drugs are reminiscent of drugs used in narcology, and this is their concept of the mechanism of action. The previous effects of the pharmacological treatment of drug addiction were not encouraging, so their tremendous effectiveness cannot be expected. It is important to note the analogy between obesity behavior and addiction treatment behavior. When using complex psychological assistance, the described drug can be a valuable addition.

Surgical methods

Surgery, now called bariatric procedures, is one of the few treatments (in the traditional sense of the word) for obesity with proven effectiveness and acceptable risk. Surgery obesity consists in interventions that reduce the volume of the stomach or create a "bypass" shortened path of food through gastrointestinal tract... Previous observations are very encouraging. It also describes the effectiveness of these methods in the prevention of diseases associated with obesity (primarily diabetes mellitus).

Alternative to iodine treatment

If you have a sense of humor, dear reader, check out what can also be effective for obesity.

Today it is difficult to find a woman who would be one hundred percent satisfied with her figure. But it's one thing when we accept a problem and fight hard with extra pounds, and quite another, when consciously (or unconsciously) pretend that we do not notice a rounded face, plump legs and an increased waist.

But excess weight can cause the development of serious diseases, including diabetes mellitus, osteochondrosis, infertility, stroke, heart attack, sleep apnea and breast cancer.

Here are 11 signs that it's time for you to pay close attention to your figure.

Signs of being overweight

Clothes became small

The first and undeniable proof that you have gained extra weight is that most of your wardrobe has become small for you. If your favorite jeans do not converge at the waist, and the dress diverges at the seams when you put it on, it's time to lose weight.

Excess weight and fatigue

If in the morning, despite prolonged sleep, you feel tired and fatigued, if you spend twice as much time and energy on your usual routine exercise stress(for example, walking or cycling) is fraught with discomfort, it's time to pay attention to your weight.

Shortness of breath when overweight

Overweight and cellulite

Constant hunger when overweight

Overweight people often experience uncontrollable bouts of hunger even after a recent meal.

Such unreasonable hunger appears for several reasons. First, a set of extra pounds negatively affects a person's physical activity, which is fraught with impaired energy metabolism and problems with glucose absorption. In addition, limiting physical activity frees up a lot of time, which a person fills with food intake (in other words, he eats from nothing to do).

Secondly, constant food intake leads to stretching of the walls of the stomach, so more and more food is required for saturation each time.

However, it should be remembered that constant hunger combined with blurred vision, constant thirst, dry mouth and numbness in the limbs can be a sign of diabetes mellitus.

Excess weight and pressure

World statistics show that overweight people hypertension is diagnosed 3 times more often than those whose weight is within the normal range.

Why it happens? The fact is that with excess weight, the heart has to work with a vengeance in order to ensure the vital activity of all organs and systems. The increase in blood volume increases the pressure in the vessels, against the background of which hypertension develops.

Excess weight and back pain

Joint pain localized to the spine, pelvis, and lower extremities may indicate weight problems.

Extra pounds increase the load on the spine and joints, as a result of which the tissues wear out quickly, and pain appears.

In general, in terms of its effect on blood vessels and the spine, doctors equate excess weight with injuries or physical overload.

Constant weight gain

It has been proven that the fair sex grows up to 19 years old, while the strong half of humanity - up to 25. Accordingly, natural weight gain occurs before the specified time frame.

If the weight gain after the indicated age is about 1 - 2 kg per year, it's time to think about a change in lifestyle, in otherwise health problems and obesity will not be long in coming.

Body mass index calculation

The last weighty argument in determining excess weight can be the calculation of the body mass index (BMI), which allows you to assess how much weight corresponds to a person's height.

To calculate the BMI, the body weight in kilograms must be divided by the height in meters, while the height value should be squared.

For clarity, we will give an example of calculating BMI with a height of 1.7 m and a weight of 90 kg. Squaring the growth rates, we get the value 2.89. We divide the weight (90 kg) by the obtained value (2.89) and get 31.15 (this is the body mass index).

The norm is considered to be an indicator in the range of 18 - 25. The presence of excess weight (pre-obesity) can be said if the BMI varies in the range of 25 - 30. The indicator, which is in the range of 30 - 35, signals the I degree of obesity, 35 - 40 - about the II degree obesity. With BMI over 40, we are talking about III degree of obesity.

Which doctor should I see if I am overweight?

Often, excess weight gain is associated with impaired metabolism in the body, therefore, the initial examination is carried out endocrinologist (sign up), which, if necessary, will direct you to gastroenterologist (sign up), neurologist (sign up), cardiologist (sign up), urologist (sign up), gynecologist (sign up), ophthalmologist (

From the early childhood different patterns are hammered into our heads: how to behave, what to say, how to look. Especially walk on the latter. After all, to have body with excess fat, albeit small, is ugly, and even threatens a person with dangerous diseases.

Overweight

In obese people, shortness of breath is often observed, the risk of heart attacks, strokes, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, atherosclerosis is increased. It turns out that in order to get rid of all these sores, you need to lose weight? With a decrease in body weight, many of these diseases recede. But when losing weight, it is important not to acquire new ailments.

However, I hasten to please you: I have good news for those who cannot boast of being thin. According to the latest optimistic data, moderate excess weight leads to longevity. So being plump is better than thin?

Editorial staff "So simple!" prepared interesting information for you about whether it is better to have in stock a few extra pounds? I needed to know about this a year ago ...

According to the WHO, the normal range of body mass index (BMI) for people over 20 is between 18.5 and 24.9. There is also a weighty argument for these indicators: with an increase in BMI, the threat of developing serious chronic diseases increases. Hence the danger of early death.

Experiments by German scientists have led to interesting results. Researchers from the University Hospital of Berlin compared the data of more than one hundred thousand people aged 50-60.

The aim of the study was to find a BMI that was statistically associated with the lowest risk of premature death. From which an unusual conclusion followed: the BMI with which people live the longest is associated with slightly overweight.

Surprisingly, it had nothing to do with ideal weight. Being underweight and obese also turned out to be no better than being slightly overweight.

Experts analyzed 42 different studies that examined the relationship between obesity and disease, as well as life expectancy. The results of their work were published last issue Deutsches Ärtzeblatt International. Needless to say, for curvy ladies and men in the body, this information is like a real balm!

The fact is that the population of Germany is mostly overweight, and the body mass index is very far from ideal. Moderate obesity affects up to 40% of the population, and obesity in 20%. It is now known that with moderate excess weight, the mortality rate does not change, and with obesity, it rises by no more than twenty percent.

Moreover, the older a person is, the significantly reduced the effect of excess body weight on life expectancy. The data of German scientists are considered relevant by their American colleagues. They also analyzed mortality statistics and, taking into account the BMI of more than two million Americans, noted that slightly overweight is beneficial.

Such people are less likely to die from Alzheimer's disease, pneumonia, Parkinson's disease. They are also less likely to get sick with infectious diseases and even less often get injured.

With regard to mortality due to cancer causes, the statistics are the same in all groups. Canadian scientists also agree that moderate fat is an advantage rather than a disadvantage.

The Japanese have studied this issue no less carefully. Scientists from Tohoku University observed thirty thousand people between the ages of forty and seventy-nine for twelve years. Researchers confirm that people who have gained some overweight by the age of forty live on average seven years longer than thin people.

There are many factors that affect health, and weight is just one of them, albeit an important one. Therefore, it is worth considering a woman's lifestyle in a complex.

For example, a woman with 10-15 extra pounds, who has no bad habits, is engaged in fitness and feels good, is generally healthier than a woman with an ideal weight, but with zero physical activity and addiction to fast food and alcohol. And that's not counting the issues of heredity and systemic diseases!

In the long term, the best option for health is a constant normal (in the physiological sense) weight, which, if it fluctuates, is insignificant, as well as the presence of sufficient muscle mass and a healthy ratio of it to fat.

But among people with painful thinness mortality increases not only from malignant neoplasms, but also from cardiovascular diseases, heart attacks and strokes. They are more likely to be discouraged and depressed. In general, the adage “while the fat one dries, the thin one dies” is not without meaning from a medical point of view.

And if you think that a woman with curvaceous forms and a little extra fat cannot be a model, then I hasten to convince you. V recent times plus size models began to appear and are becoming very successful. Therefore, I suggest you find out about one of the brightest representatives of magnificent beauty -.