The twenty first century has brought in its wake a multitude of new problems which we wouldn’t have imagined earlier. Obesity is one of them, and a major one at that. As of 2005 the WHO estimates that at least 400 million adults (9.8%) are obese, with higher rates among women than men. Owing to the sudden increase in the number of deaths caused by cardiovascular diseases, obstructive sleep apnea, certain types of cancer and osteoarthritis, diabetes mellitus type 2, the governments of various nations have started bringing out healthcare programs with special attention to weight loss and fitness.

A person is said to be obese if he/she has a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 kg/m2 or higher. Between 1980 and 2000 the obesity rates in adults have almost doubled and with the numbers increasing it presents a very scary scenario. The primary reason for obesity is high calorie food intake and lack of physical exercise, which has become a part of our life style.

Weight-loss programs have recently become great hits among people. There are a lot of ways one can lose weight and maintain a level of fitness. Let’s start with dieting, a practice that has always been quite popular among girls, who aspire to get that super model look. Though dieting is a very good way to lose weight, ‘crash dieting’ and ‘unregulated-fasting’ can lead to severe side effects because food is just not calories. It provides six essential nutrients like proteins, vitamins, carbohydrates, fats, dietary minerals and water. Any diet that fails to provide the minimal nutritional requirements of all of these can threaten the health of the person with direct impacts on the day-to-day active life.

So instead of just starving, and go on a binge later, it is always advisable to stick to a balanced diet with low fat, low calorie and high nutritional content diet. The best way perhaps is to avoid eating between meals and snacking.

This is a practice that most people don’t follow especially the gluttonous lot for whom even a three course meal seems like a single one which is why most of them don’t succeed in shedding that extra flab so for starters, you can lookup custom keto diet reviews online to get an understanding of what an actual dial plan should be.

Good physical exercise is probably the best way to lose weight and stay fit. A brisk walk or a jog must be an everyday habit, rather than a sporadic one. Aerobic exercises, apart from helping you to shed weight, enhance your cardio-vascular system and strengthen your muscles. Regular exercise can help prevent or treat serious conditions like high blood pressure, obesity, heart disease, insomnia, and depression.

There has been a recent interest in Yoga too. Yoga helps a person to stay absolutely fit, apart from giving him/her a sense of peace and total ease with the surroundings. It has been in practice for centuries and when learnt under proper supervision can tone a person’s muscles and increase the metabolism.

Obesity is not undefeatable. It just takes some self control and a lot of will-power. More importantly, it is about changing the mentality and about how one feels about oneself. Staying fit with a healthy eating habit is a better deal than having to suffer from the disease. After all, prevention is much, much better than the cure!

A recent study completed in has determined that the body resists attempts to lose weight which is why idealica apteka is there to help you with that. The study comes on the heels of news that obesity is still on the rise despite efforts to reduce the recent epidemic. The study covering the body’s high resistance is set to be reviewed by obesity experts at the Queensland University of Technology.

Contrast of mechanisms

One doctor associated with the project from the Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation has states that the body has very few processes to prevent weight gain, but very strong processes to prevent weight loss. The study showed a long-known effect whereby weight loss effectively stops or is drastically reduced once it reaches a certain level.

A plateau effect

The long-known plateau effect was demonstrated in this study. The plateau effect marks a point where exercise and reduced calories no longer lead to significant weight loss. In the study, two sets of data were used. The first set involved obese men and women exercising five times a week, but did not regulate the amount of food that they were able to consume. The second survey group tracked was those which utilized both diet and exercise, but it was up to them how much of each they completed.

The first group lost an average of 3kg a week for the first seven weeks but in the eight weeks, the average net weight loss was only .7kg, a staggering drop. This stoppage of weight loss is evidence of the mechanisms the body has in place to prevent it from losing further weight, or at least from losing it as fast as it had been.

The second group had a wide array of weight losses, mainly due to the fact that the exercise program and diet had been left up to each individual. Despite the difference in total results, most of those surveyed displayed the previously mentioned plateau and a major slowdown in weight loss.

The next steps

Despite the conclusive results of the study, much more research will be required. This study established that there are indeed mechanisms in place in the human body that prevents it from losing weight. Much more research is on the horizon and it will focus on several different aspects not specifically focused upon in this study.

One branch of research will most likely focus on just why the body has the mechanisms in place that it does. Some feel that they are in place so that in times of famine, the body will retain as much weight as possible so it can sustain itself for long. Other theories feel that the body has this measure in place to make sure weight is lost at a healthy rate so as not to harm the body by losing weight too fast.

A second branch will focus on the brain’s function in the entire process of weight loss particularly whether the function can safely be shut off. In a time where obesity is continuing to rise despite our best efforts, an effective shut down of such mechanisms may be a very useful tool in reducing the obesity rate. If the famine theory is correct, the mechanisms are no longer needed in a time when food is overabundant.

Continued research in this area of studies could eventually aid millions of ineffective and extensive weight loss. It may also extend the life expectancy of many more by allowing them to remain healthier throughout their lives by effectively controlling their weight.