I’m often asked about the best treatments for obesity and my response is always the same:

Change your dietary habits

The primary reason for weight gain is eating too many calories combined with a lack of physical activity. The simple solution is to eat less and be more active to balance your energy intake against the energy you use.

Whether you are obese or simply carry a few extra pounds, this is the only healthy option and is a three-step process.

1. Eat less.

Cut down the volume of your daily meals and stop “snacking” to immediately reduce your calorie intake. Do this and at the very least you will reduce your weight gain.

2. Eat better.

Let’s make it perfectly clear; there is no such thing as a “fat calorie”, but there is an abundance of calorie-laden foods readily available and attractively packaged, just waiting for you to eat them.

The secret to weight control is to find the hidden calories in the food you buy. Fast foods are notable for the high levels of saturated fats and transfats they contain.

Don’t be fooled by low fat labels either, as it’s not uncommon for sugar levels to be increased to improve taste.

Unless you are in a manual job that requires high levels of physical activity, I recommend limiting your daily calorie intake to 2000 for women and 2500 for men. If you can reduce that by 500 calories a day, you will lose weight.

Your target should be to lose around 2lbs a week. It may not sound a lot, but it soon adds up and at this rate its fat you will lose and not muscle mass.

I do not recommend any form of rapid diets, as they are unhealthy, unnatural and unsustainable. In fact I never advocate dieting, only dietary change. We are not looking for a temporary solution, rather a lifetime change that will lead to a healthier, happier and more fulfilled life.

Increasing your fiber intake is also a vital step in your new dietary regime. Fiber serves two purposes in your daily diet, improving you bowel function and satisfying your hunger quicker, for a lower calorie intake.

The average person consumes 8g of fiber per day and this should be increased to around 25g by eating more fiber rich foods. Dietary fiber is readily available from fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, pulses and whole grains.

The final step is to increase your water intake; try to drink 4 pints daily, as this will flush toxins from your body and help suppress hunger pangs.

3. Increase exercise.

Your body was built to do work, but in todays’ automated world, machines and technology have reduced the need for human muscle power, so it’s important to find other forms of exercise to keep us mobile and maintain a high metabolism.

This is simply a question of choosing an activity that suits you best. Walking, swimming, cycling, and most ball games are ideal forms of exercise, for increasing metabolic rate and calorie burning.

By applying these three straightforward steps you will be following the best treatments for obesity Petra Peach is a London based Nutritionist working hard to combat the rising tide of obesity both nationally, and globally through the power of the net. For more information check out fatlossthesecret.com

If you’re not worried about the obesity of children, you should be, because it’s a growing epidemic that isn’t going to go away. In the US 1 in 3 kids are now classed as obese and the UK doesn’t fare much better, with a figure of 1 in 4 it is the worst in Europe.

Over weight kids are heading for a lifetime of medical complaints, general poor health and a shortened life expectancy. Medical science has clearly identified links between many chronic illnesses and obesity.

The early onset of type 2 diabetes is an example of changes occurring. It was often referred to as adult onset diabetes, but the age of those affected is dropping and it’s now not uncommon to see obese children showing symptoms.

Cardio vascular illnesses and heart conditions are also on the increase and, if left unchecked will also migrate down into childhood illnesses.

The most disturbing fact is it’s a self-induced, lifestyle problem that can easily be avoided, with a more sensible approach to diet. It’s time for parents to wake up and act responsibly in time to prevent their children becoming obese.

How do you avoid the obesity of children?

Dietary change is the answer. Stopping the junk food and increasing physical activity can solve the problem. Weight gain is primarily the consumption of two many calories and to little physical activity.

Returning an obese child to a normal, healthy weight is a hard task and it’s far better to take preventative action now. A healthy (no junk) diet maintained throughout the family will benefit both children and parents alike.

Here is a 7-step plan for weight reduction through improved diet.

1. Replace fizzy drinks and cola’s etc with home made lemonade, or even better, water.

2. Introduce more fresh fruit and vegetables into the daily diet. Make smoothies if the kids struggle with some veg. It’s amazing what you can hide in a smoothie.

3. Reduce the intake of burgers, hot-dogs, donuts, and any deep-fried foods as they are high in saturated fats and may also contain hydrogenated oils (trans-fats) which increase bad cholesterol (LDL) and decrease good cholesterol (HDL).

4. Also avoid: salad dressings, some margarine (olive based is good), and shortening and also most processed foods.

5. Get your kids eating fiber. Fiber is great for keeping you regular, delaying hunger and providing slow release carbohydrate. Rye and whole meal breads are so much better for the digestive system than over refined white breads.

6. Cut down on the candy, it’s pretty near 100% sugar (empty calories).

7. Get them eating good fats like olive oil dressing. Flavor it up, with herbs or spices if required. Use it for cooking. Want a cheese sauce? Make a rue using olive oil and whole meal floor, add some semi-skimmed milk and a low fat, herb flavored cheese spread. Easy, tasty and above all healthy.

Petra Peach advises parents to make a start; adopt some of the above tips for your own and your kids diet today and you wont need to worry about the obesity of children. Well at least, not your children.

fatlossthesecret.com

Health professionals are united in their belief that obesity in children causes lifetime health problems. The question is, how to combat this rising tide of childhood obesity in the twenty-first century.

Genetics may play a role in childhood obesity but it’s more often a case of poor eating habits being inadvertently passed down from parent to child through a lack of dietary understanding, financial issues and general shared behavior patterns. It’s not uncommon to see several members of the same family all being overweight.

When a shared poor quality dietary regime results in producing an overweight family it often masks the childhood obesity issues due to the “mini-me” syndrome where the kids are simply seen as “a chip off the old block” or “big like his father”. When this situation exists and there is no parental guidance available it is almost inevitable that the problem will be perpetuated.

As well as the obvious issues of being overweight through excess calorie intake, there is an even more sinister underlying problem of the long-term health of the child as he or she continues to eat the fat forming food. A number of diet related chronic complaints are now manifesting themselves much earlier in life than was previously seen. Unless these poor diet issues are addressed it is inevitable that peoples’ quality of life and life expectancy itself will continue to diminish.

Lifestyle changes play a significant role in the growth of this obesity epidemic, with children preferring to play a virtual sport from the confines of their own home rather than venturing out into real world activities that just might burn some fat.

Physical activity is no longer required to carry out many tasks, as was once the case. In the home, school and workplace, technology has reduced physical activity to a minimum. This progressive reduction in muscle power required to carry out almost any daily task has, in effect, reduced our daily calorie intake requirements dramatically over the last few decades. If this trend continues it surely will only magnify the obesity problem.

At the same time as physical activities have diminished, calorie intake has increased, largely through the aggressive marketing of convenience foods and take-out meals, many of which are high in bad fats, sugar, salt and refined carbohydrate.

If parents care about their offspring it’s time to take stock and address these issues before those children develop the early onset of chronic illnesses such as:

· Cardio-vascular problems and heart failure

· Orthopedic disorders

Consult your family doctor for advice; seek the services of a nutritionist/dietician or click the link to find further information on why obesity in children causes lifetime health problems.

fatlossthesecret.com