Waistline Management
A recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine reported that more than 2 billion adults and children worldwide are overweight or obese and the rest of us are working our butts off to maintain our ideal body composition. The prevalence of obesity has continued to increase over a three-decade span though trends and magnitude vary widely from country to country. Here in the United States, we should hardly be surprised that we fall into the rank of number 3 on the obesity scale. Another thing that shouldn’t surprise us as we complain about the rising cost of health care is that obesity presents an enormous burden on our health care system with the associated increased risk of diabetes, high cholesterol, hypertension, inflammation, and as a result cardiovascular disease.
Obesity is quickly becoming a global issue, and until we as a society gain an understanding of what leads us towards health instead of away from it, we will continue expanding waistlines to the detriment of our global wellness.
The prevailing mantra still stands: Poor diet and sedentary lifestyle but let’s get more specific.
According to recent studies, the major culprits for today’s obesity epidemic seem to be the following:
Increased availability, accessibility, and affordability of energy-dense foods (but not necessarily nutrient dense) and intense marketing of such foods
Reduced opportunities for physical activity
Innovations which continue to reduce the need for daily movement
If we look at the problem in reverse, the simplest waistline management strategy is the following:
Maximize NEAT (Daily non exercise related movement)
Regular exercise
Whole food centric nutrition
As we get closer to the holiday season, we’re going to do a quick series on how these three relate to managing your waistline and how to make sure you’re entering the holiday season with these three in check. So put the rest of that halloween candy in the trash bin and get ready to take a look at these solutions in more detail
References:
Health Effects of Overweight and Obesity in 195 Countries over 25 YearsThe GBD 2015 Obesity Collaborators N Engl J Med 2017; 377:13-27July 6, 2017DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1614362
