Weight Management Articles

Extreme obesity is affecting more children at a younger age, 7.3 percent of boys and 5.5 percent of girls are now classified as extremely obese, according to a Kaiser Permanente study of 710,949 children and teens that appears online in the Journal of Pediatrics. That means more than 45,000 extremely obese children were in this group. 

These numbers are taken of children from the ages of 2-19 years from a largely racially and ethnically diverse population, using the recent 2009 U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention extreme obesity definition.

Children’s Obesity Risk

Children’s obesity risk is greatest for this generation, and a threat to their health as they mature.

“Children who are extremely obese may continue to be extremely obese as adults, and all the health problems associated with obesity are in these children’s futures. Without major lifestyle changes, these kids face a 10 to 20 years shorter life span and will develop health problems in their twenties that we typically see in 40 – 60 year olds,” said study lead author Corinna Koebnick, PhD, a research scientist at the Kaiser Permanente Southern California’s Department of Research and Evaluation in Pasadena, Calif. “For example, children who are extremely obese are at higher risk for heart disease, type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease and joint problems, just to name a few.”

Obesity and Health 

“Our focus and concern is all about health and not about appearance. Children who are morbidly obese can do anything they want — they can be judges, lawyers, doctors — but the one thing they cannot be is healthy,” said study co-author Amy Porter, MD, a Kaiser Permanente Baldwin Park pediatrician who leads the Pediatric Weight Management Initiative for Kaiser Permanente’s Southern California Region.

“The most important advice to parents of extremely obese children is that this has to be addressed as a family issue. There is rarely one extremely obese kid in a house where everyone else is extremely healthy. It’s important that everyone in the family is invested in achieving a healthier lifestyle,” Porter said.

Obesity Head Start

What we are promoting in this country is a new head start program.This problem is not only growing, but it is starting at a younger and younger age. Numerous studies have shown that packing on the pounds during the infancy and toddler years put very young toddlers at risk to become obese adults. It has also been shown that the eating patterns that children are exposed to early on sets up preferences.

Obesity is Abuse

America is setting children up to develop diseases of aging at very young ages.

To halt the vicious cycle that comes from a life of unrestricted eating, nutritional intervention is needed. The body can only tolerate so much abuse before it starts to fail. How much more can Americans tolerate?

There are failures, deception, and cover ups that are making our food supply both addictive and dangerous. The danger that obesity poses to this generation is enormous. This is a generation that will be introduced to pharmaceuticals before they learn about healthy eating.

Being called fatty is not the problem. It isn’t even being charged for two airline seats, or being asked to get off the flight. It is that by being a fatty, you’re on fire literally and figuratively.

Those extra pounds cause inflammation, which is akin to a fire within. The consequence of this is chronic health conditions, and accelerated aging. Your shape is the precursor of things to come.

Appearance

The outward appearance is the least of the problem. What is of concern is the increased risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and cancer risk. Your weight is a precise and accurate measurement of your loss in function, not gain.

There is a debate going on that says you can be overweight and healthy. That is true, but you can’t rely on this fact to be consistent. The reason is that most people who are overweight rely on inflammatory foods for nutrition.

Health

Health is not related in a positive way to obesity. It is a sub-group that has outstanding health and is grossly overweight. In a study published in the May 2009 “Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology” it suggested an increased occurrence of food allergies may be liked to the rising rate of childhood obesity. It is known that obesity is associated with a greater development of atopic diseases such as eczema and psoriasis. Also a 59 percent increase in food sensitization was noted. “The analysis of continuous Body Mass Index (BMI) with total igE levels supports the concept that increased weight is associated with increased allergic predisposition.” IgE is a class of antibodies produced in the lungs, skin, and mucous membranes and responsible for allergic reactions.

Medical research suggests that obesity (BMI), allergy (igE) and inflammation (C – reactive protein) are related. Inflammation is the foundation for the development of allergies, and degenerative diseases.

Fat Cells

Fat cells produce inflammatory hormones. The question scientists ask is whether inflammation precedes obesity or obesity leads to inflammation and allergy. This is like asking which came first the chicken or egg. Of course inflammation is a cause of obesity, and obesity sets you up for more inflammation. An anti-inflammatory diet and lifestyle is the answer to both possible scenarios.

Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey for 2005-2006, were analyzed and the key findings were:

• Allergies are more prevalent among obese and overweight children.
• Obesity is associated with chronic inflammation.
• Allergy is also associated with inflammation.

Aging

There are a lot of people who are aging and manage to remain healthy. These people can gain weight with less repercussions. It is even thought to be protective to put on a few pounds.

The aging population is the first generation of pill poppers, which say that they have serious afflictions. So their extra weight is not necessarily good if it is coming from nutrient deficient foods. Seniors are also suffering from inflammatory conditions, which are being treated with pharmaceuticals.

Conclusion

Being overweight is less about appearance and more about substance. The effect of the extra fat is where the problem resides. Obesity is associated with chronic, low-level inflammation in fatty tissue. Double jeopardy is when you see it and then do nothing about it. Seeing the weight as a cosmetic issue doesn’t make sense, when everything points to a lifetime of nagging health problems. That is the real shape of things to come.

When a house is on fire you get out, when your body is on fire you stay and put it out.

Metabolism is a conveniet catch phrase; it really is taken out of context most times.

Metabolism-One Part

If you just look at one part of weight loss you lose the whole picture. Your metabolism is influenced by chronological age, sex, genetic make-up, and proportion of lean body mass.  A few facts that will show you that this is a small part of most weight loss plans.

“Some people just burn calories at a slower rate than others” says Barrie Wolfe-Radbill, RD, a nutritionist specializing in weight loss at the New York University Medical Center. There are a few intriguing reasons for this.

Yo-Yo Dieting

What most people do not realize, the heavier you are the chances are your metabolism is running faster.

It may only be a small amount faster, but the fact is your body has to work harder to sustain itself.  

For that reason it is sometimes easiest to loss weight at the start of a diet. A small cut in calories when you are obese results in a fast weight loss at first.

But, then as you lose both muscle and fat you need fewer calories to sustain body functions. This makes it easy to put on the pounds again if you go back to your regular eating.

Yo-yo dieting: you loss weight and then gain back more than you lost, when you return to your old eating habits.

Lifestyle

At the end of the day, what it comes down to is lifestyle. As engaging as all the theories are, weight follows your lead. To change weight you have to change your habits. You have to handle stress, food, and activity differently than previously. The thing that matters is the way you work with the metabolism that you have. This is a realistic goal.

Walking and any type of physical activity help speed up your metabolism.

Eating the right foods, at the right time of day often helps boost your metabolism.

Plateau

Reaching a plateau is  one of the problems when trying to lose weight. If you binge after you drastically cut calories your body will hold on to the calories as if you are in a famine.

With that said, the answer really is in a healthy lifestyle. It is not just calories in and calories out. It is where you are getting your calories from. To boost your metabolism should not be the focus of your dieting plan. Here is the key, the modern processed food diet that we gobble up is the culprit not a slower metabolism. Previous generations did not know all the buzz words for weight loss yet; they were not nearly as overweight as we are.

High-Fructose Corn Syrup

Here is a clue high-fructose corn syrup can switch metabolism from a fat-burning one to one that stores fat.

It promotes the formation of long chain fatty acids that are resistant to oxidation.

The amount of long chain fatty acids you produce is directly related to the amount of fat in and on your body.

We need to stop talking about a slow metabolism and concentrate on what is your source of energy. Yes, that source is from the food you ingest.

The fructose in fruit is a small amount and it is ingested with the vitamins, minerals, enzymes and fiber which are present along with any fructose.

What we are talking about is the high fructose syrup that is in our food in epidemic proportions. This is the first generation to consume processed food with high fructose corn syrup. Coincidentally, this is the generation that is facing an obesity epidemic, and a laundry list of chronic health problems.

Answer

The answer to becoming slimmer, is to become healthier. The way to do that is through an individualized nutrition plan, one that becomes a lifestyle. To keep using the metabolism excuse will keep you from being healthy. By concentrating on a healthy lifestyle, everything will work as it is mean to, including your metabolism.