Strong Correlation Between Obesity And Heart Disease
It's not only fashionable to loose your extra pounds - it could save your life. One of the reasons people are encouraged to loose weight, exercise regularly and make wiser food choices is to avoid obesity. What's so bad about being too fat? Because obesity and heart disease are inevitably linked. You also have a higher chance of getting diabetes Type 2 when you are obese.
How Fat Is Too Fat?
There are big distinctions between being too fat and being obese. There's even a medical class of obesity called morbid obesity - that's when you are at least 100 pounds over the weight you are supposed to be. Not only is obesity rising, but so is morbid obesity. The medical costs in America alone to treat all of the health issues surrounding obesity is about $120 billion per year. One reason for obesity's cost is heart disease.
The medical definition of obesity is when you are more than 20% of your ideal body weight (which is determined by your height). This is dangerous, for obesity and heart disease can lead to a potentially lethal heart attack. When you are obese, you have more body area for the blood to circulate through. That means your heart has to work harder. And your heart is not designed for that.
Is It Due To Fate?
Medical experts argue just how much of our genes are responsible for obesity and heart disease. Some say it's only 30%, while others place losing the genetic lottery at 70%. If you know that you have a family history of heart disease, angina, coronaries, high cholesterol or other cardiovascular problems, then it's imperative that you try to keep within five to ten pounds of your ideal body weight.
Another reason that obesity and heart disease are in the news and in the minds of doctors so often is that we don't exercise as much as we should. Obesity and heart disease proves that our species is a victim of its own success. Although we now have year-round access to a wide variety of foods instead of plowing fields and go hunting for our food, we still have the desire to stuff our faces as often as possible.
But this instinct does not doom us to becoming slugs that will die a premature death. We can train ourselves and our taste buds to eat healthier foods, to eat less food and to crave healthier foods. We can also loose a lot of weight when we stop smoking and drinking alcoholic beverages. Both smoking and drinking slows down our metabolism and puts on weight.
