So many people are overweight

Since time immemorial, fat persons have been the butt of many unkind jokes. But being overweight is certainly no laughing matter. Even if you weigh only 15 pounds (7 kg) more than the average weight for your height and build, your life expectancy could be reduced by as much as four years.

“Obesity and its problems are now more pressing than cancer,” Scottish family physician Ian Richardson observed recently. Another authority has stated that being just 10 pounds (4 kg) overweight “carries a greater health risk than smoking 25 cigarettes a day.” High blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, back pains, varicose veins, arthritis, gallstones and a host of other detrimental conditions can be directly related to the problem of excess body fat.

Of course, it cannot be said that being too heavy is always the direct cause of these body malfunctions. But there is a definite association of them with overweight. So there is a problem, a truly serious problem, if you carry excess fat, whatever the reason.

Does the answer to weight reduction lie in exercise? Yes, to an extent. After all, we live in a labour-saving world. Normal expenditure of energy in such routine matters as climbing stairs is often set aside for an elevator. Walking to shops, or even to and from school, is exchanged for a ride. Machines undertake much of the energy expenditure in housework. Similarly, sedentary occupations call for little physical effort. In many lands today, bodies tend to be underused, muscles grow flabby and much of the body’s energy supply turns into fat.

To help restore balance, various ideas hit the market from time to time. Some years back “hula hoops” were the rage for reducing midriff bulge. Rowing and bicycling machines, vibrator massagers and a host of other gadgets using ropes and pulleys are always available for buying or are used in clubs, and health clinics.

In all but a tiny percentage of cases, overweight can be solved by regulating food intake. Persons who wish to reduce must consume less calories, either by eating less food or by avoiding high-calorie items such as sweets. If you seek medical advice about a weight problem, chances are that the doctor will recommend some form of diet that will enable you to have an intake of calories commensurate with your expenditure of energy. Initially, though, a stricter form of diet may be needed to bring your weight down to the limits for those of your height, age and build. These figures are readily available from life insurance companies or from diet books or magazines.

There is a great variety of diets. A vegetarian diet obviously will be more expensive (unless you grow your own fruits and vegetables), as will a high-protein one. Bear in mind too that special “diet foods” are usually more costly and of doubtful value, except as temporary food supplements. Beware of any “crash diet” program. Such methods can be very dangerous and lead to serious health problems, such as ulcers.

Many find calorie counting far too tedious and soon lose interest. A much simpler means of losing weight is to continue with your normal diet, to enjoy what you eat, but to eat less of it. Instead of three slices of bread, eat two. Take one less potato. Instead of two teaspoons of sugar in your tea or coffee, put just one. If you drink five cups of these beverages each day, that will be a reduction of about 1,000 calories per week—no mean saving! Give special attention to cutting down on calorie intake in the evening, because physical activity is usually limited then. Do not expect spectacular results with this approach. But over a period of time you will lose weight slowly—and that is the best way to do it.