Obesity knows no age boundaries. Obesity is defined as having a body mass index of at least 30. In the United States, seven out of every ten adults are overweight and one out of every five children ages 6 to 19 are obese.
Obesity Leads to Other Conditions
Being obese is the leading cause of many serious health conditions. Being overweight can lead to type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, heart disease, arthritis, and some forms of cancer. Once a person finds himself with one of these life-threatening conditions, it becomes even harder to lose weight, as well as heal from the condition. This can become a very discouraging cycle for many people.
Pharmaceutical Treatments
Many people have tried drugs that were supposed to help them lose weight, however, very few have found success with these types of treatments. Many were extremely addictive and even deadly, like the amphetamines that were popular in the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s. Others just plain didn’t work.
Today, there is a new group of weight loss drugs that are in clinical trials. They function by mimicking a hormone found in the human gut called glucagon-like peptide-1. These medications were originally created to help patients with diabetes and were accidentally found to cause significant weight loss. It will yet be seen if these new drugs will in reality be the breakthrough they are now hoped to be.
Behavioral Treatments
Many people feel that overeating may be a behavioral issue, often with an emotional component. This makes attempting to lose weight a very complex challenge. If a person has learned to use eating as a way to cope with negative emotions, that can be a hard habit to change. Counseling and behavioral therapy to learn new ways of coping with loss and stress may be more helpful than taking a pill. Getting at the underlying reasons for obesity is a more holistic, natural way of addressing the issue. Doctors at holistic clinics such as Idaho Falls Weight Loss can help you figure out the root cause of why you are holding onto excess weight.
Exercise Programs
Hitting the gym or hiring a personal trainer are other ways people have found success in losing weight. Daily exercise can improve fitness and overall health, but exercise on its own often does not result in the weight loss that was hoped for. Religiously working out for an hour a day, five days a week would seem to be the ticket, yet, many find that they lose little weight even after putting in consistent effort. Nothing is more discouraging.
Combined Programs
After trying every possible diet, exercise program, and drug, many people have found that the answer is not any one program, but a combination of programs. Eating sensibly, but not starving, exercising daily, but not over-rigorously, and going to a behavioral therapist who is trained in supporting people making important life changes, seems to be the combination that brings the most long-lasting success in the neverending endeavor to lose weight.
An Ounce of Prevention
Preventing obesity seems to be easier than curing obesity. Teaching children to have a healthy relationship with food may be the best lesson you will ever teach them. Of course, there is no better way to teach a child than by your own example. If you can model a healthy lifestyle day in and day out for your children, they will have a greater chance of having a healthy relationship with food and avoiding the challenges that come with obesity.
