Maintaining a healthy and ideal weight according to your age, gender, and height is essential for your overall health. A healthy weight and physique will not only make you look better, but it will also make you feel better about yourself. Experts say that it will also reduce your risks of stroke, diabetes, heart diseases, and cancers.
How much you weigh and the size of your waist can indicate serious health problems if any. They can have adverse effects on your health and increase your chances of developing severe health complications. If you are not taking your weight seriously, you should. The more weight that you gain, the more you become at risk of chronic illnesses. If you have problems losing and managing weight, there are professionals such as a weight loss trainer or coach who can help you. A weight loss coach can help you create a diet plan, along with physical exercises that can help you lose weight healthily and safely.
What Causes Unhealthy Weight Gain
If you want to pinpoint what causes your steady weight gain, read on. Here are some of the most common culprits.
1. Genes
Unfortunately for some people, their genes are to blame. They are more prone to gain weight faster and accumulate more fat in their midsection. However, this does not mean that you have to resign because your genes work against your goal of having a healthy and fit body. Avoid unhealthy habits and food, especially those laden with saturated fat and artificial sugar. Having a healthy diet and exercising daily can help reduce your risk of obesity.
2. Unhealthy Eating Habits
Your unhealthy diet plays a significant factor in your weight gain. How much do you eat? How healthy are the foods that you eat? Make sure to eat a healthy and balanced meal. Use only healthy oils, such as olive oil, when you cook. Avoid trans fat, which health experts consider the worst type of fat that you can ingest. It increases the level of bad cholesterol in your body and your risk for heart attack and diabetes. Trans fat is usually present in frozen pizzas, microwavable popcorn, and fried foods.
Include fruits and vegetables in your meal: the more variety and more colorful, the better. Eat whole-grain foods and limit refined grains. Add in some fish, beans, nuts, and chicken, and stay away from processed meats such as bacon. The more natural your food is, the better for your body.
3. Less To Zero Physical Activity
One of the best ways to lose that extra weight and calories is through daily and regular exercise. Being active has tons of benefits aside from weight loss. It reduces your risks of heart attack and even cancer. Regular exercise also helps boost your mood and self-esteem. So get up, put on your running gear, and take a slow jog around the block. You can even do some cardio exercises from your home. There are many YouTube channels that you can follow if you need some guidance on home exercises. Walk your dogs. Clean the house. Just do not sit there all day in front of your TV while munching on a bag of potato crisps.
4. Not Enough Sleep
Sleep is essential for your body to function correctly. Research shows that people who get less sleep are more likely to weigh more. If you are sleep-deprived, you may feel tired of your daily exercise that you will skip it. Hence, lesser calories burned. Not getting enough sleep also disrupts your body’s production of hormones, one of which is the hormone that curbs your appetite. People who slept less the night before will be craving more food than those who got enough sleep.
Does Obesity Affect Your Lifespan?
A study conducted by Oxford University found that being moderately obese reduced your lifespan by three years. On the other hand, severe obesity can reduce your expected lifespan by ten years. The researchers computed the Body Mass Index (BMI) of the 900,000 participants in the study. It was found that people who had BMI’s of 23 to 24 had the lowest mortality rate. Those who had a BMI of 30 to 35 were classified as moderately obese, which is the most common obesity problem. People who are severely obese have a BMI between 40 and 50. You can calculate your BMI by dividing your weight in kilograms by your height in meters.
However, BMI is not the only basis of the amount of physical activity of a person and the body fat. An athlete can have a high BMI but still have low levels of body fat. Those with very low BMI, which can be considered underweight, also have a higher mortality rate. Keeping your weight within the healthy range for your height and age is essential. It will not only make you feel and look good but reduce your risks of many diseases. Being healthy and fit can significantly improve the quality of your life.
