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The Human body is designed
for
movement and strenuous physical activity, for most of us with the
introduction of modern
technology the physical demands on our everyday
life has lessened. What would have once required
 hours of physical
work
can now be accomplished in just a few seconds. One cannot expect the body to function optimally
and remain healthy if we continue to abuse it or not
use it for its intended purpose.
The medical implications of obesity are
numerous, ranging from coronary heart disease, diabetes,
hypertension,
cancers, arthritis and other related illnesses.
Obesity is defined as
excess body fat for a given body weight. The cause of obesity is the
intake of higher
metabolic fuels (excessive intake of food) than is
required for energy expenditure. Similarly, a person
whose body weight is
high incurs a greater energy cost. It is only during the development of
obesity that
energy intake is greater than expenditure. Unused excess fuel
is stored, largely as fat in adipose tissue
reserves.
We also find overweight
and obese people whose problem can be attributed to a low rate of energy
expenditure despite
a reasonable level of physical activity. Some people
have a very low BMR and hence a low requirement for food. Despite
eating
very little compared with those around them, they may still gain weight.
Equally, we can expect to find people who
have a relatively high BMR who
seem to be able to eat a large amount of food without gaining weight. This
is a normal
biological variation. Some people seem to be able to modify
their expenditure to match their food intake.
The amount of body fat
can be obtained by assessing the Fat Mass (FM) and Fat Free Mass (FFM). FM
(Fat Mass) includes
extractable lipids from adipose and other tissues. FFM
(Fat Free Mass) constitutes all residual chemicals and tissues,
including
water, muscle, bone, connective tissues and internal organs. There is a
clear distinction between FM and FFM,
although they are sometimes
interchangeable. FFM contains no lipids, the LBM (Lean Body Mass) includes
small amounts
of essential lipids (between 2% to 3% in males and between
5% to 8% for females).
Part of the problem of
obesity can be attributed to a psychological failure of appetite control.
This can be blamed on the
variety of attractive foods available to us. The
prevention and treatment of obesity should be an important part of our
daily lives,
not just a matter for physicians and healthcare
professionals.
We are tempted to eat
more than we need. To readdress the balance, one answer is to reduce food
intake and increase
physical activity and hence energy expenditure.
Monitoring our Body Fat with Maltron Body Composition Analysers can help
identify important changes. |
