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If you are struggling with overweight, you are not alone. Many adults are overweight, which is growing concern since it is a risk factor of many health problems. Obesity is recognized as major risk factor for heart disease.
Reasons for risk of heart disease due to obesity:
- Obesity raises the levels of triglycerides and blood cholesterol.
- Overweight raises your levels of blood pressure.
- Obesity reduces the HDL or good cholesterol. Good cholesterol is associated with lower risk of stroke and heart disease. Reduced HDL raises the heart attack risk.
- Obesity can lead to diabetes. Diabetes can make other risk factors worse. Heart attack risk is more especially for diabetic people.
Being overweight harms not just heart and blood vessel system. Obesity is the major cause of gallstones and can worsen degenerative joint diseases.
Being overweight contributes to angina (chest pain caused by decreased oxygen to the heart) and sudden death from stroke or heart disease without signs and symptoms.
Obesity occurs due to more intake of calories than burned with physical activity everyday. When you eat too much calories, saturated fats, trans fats, and cholesterol, your blood cholesterol levels frequently rise. Therefore, this raises the heart disease risk.
Maintaining a healthy weight can reduce the risk of heart disease and other diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high blood cholesterol can be controlled.
Find your waist circumference:
Measure your waist to find whether you are at risk of heart disease or not. Excess weight around the waist can lead to heart disease and other problems like high blood pressure and diabetes [Identifying your Diabetes Type].
Men with waist circumference of 40 inches or more and women with waist circumference of 35 inches are more are at greater risk.
Find out your BMI:
Find whether your weight falls in the healthy range or not with body mass index (BMI). Body mass index is a measure of body fat based on height and weight. Find if your weight is putting you at risk for heath related problems like diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. [High Body Mass Index Risks]
Maintain healthy weight:
- Follow a balanced diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables. Eat small portion sizes five to six times instead of three large portion sizes.
- Physical activity is important to attain healthy weight. Physical activity can decrease the risk of high blood pressure, diabetes and heart diseases.
- Eat a diet that is low in saturated and trans fats and include complex carbohydrates and high fiber foods in your diet.
- Lose weight slowly and achieve a healthy weight which is a long term commitment.
