Our country is in crisis. We are the third fattest in the world. One in five South African children is either overweight or obese with 20% of children under the age of six being overweight and more than half of South Africa’s women are overweight or obese. More South Africans now die from obesity than they do from poverty.
National Obesity Week is now taking place between October 19-19 and . It’s a call to understand the dangers of obesity, to be educated on the difference between being overweight and being obese and to come to terms with the fact that our country is in trouble and we need to do something to curb this weight epidemic.
You may be avoiding your weight issues – it’s not something that is easy to confront. For many of us, it’s far easier to throw on an extra layer of clothes and tuck into a bit of ice cream than deal with how we are feeling about our bodies, especially when weight affects our confidence. The problem is that it can lead to a downward spiral.
If the scale is collecting dust in your bathroom, it’s time to get on it and weight yourself as well the rest of your family. If you or your children are overweight or obese, you could be in serious danger in terms of health. Obesity has been linked to high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol levels, cancer, infertility, back pain, skin infections, ulcers and gallstones.* These are all very serious health issues, some of which are even life threatening.
By weighing yourself and your family members and then calculating each other’s Body Mass Index, you can work out where each of you fit into the equation. Calculate your Body Mass Index (BMI) as follows:
BMI =weight (kg) x height (m).
Individuals with a BMI between 25 and 29.9 are considered to be overweight, and if your BMI is 30 or higher, then you are obese. If it is above 35, then you are considered to be morbidly obese. If you’re BMI is above the healthy norm, you need to re-visit your lifestyle and drastically change your eating and exercise habits as this will increase the risk of heart disease and diabetes.
A crash diet won’t solve this problem however, you need to adopt a healthy lifestyle programme that you can maintain. A lifestyle programme will educate you on what foods are nutritional and wholesome, allowing you to get full on healthier options. Incorporating exercise into your life can also make a huge difference.
The Diet Everyone Talks About is a lifestyle programme that many are opting for to fight obesity. By controlling carbohydrate intake when on The Diet Everyone Talks About you can kick start your metabolism. The controlled carbohydrate intake forces your body to use stored fat, and because you are not introducing excess amounts of carbohydrates (energy) into your system, there is less that will be stored because your body will use what it needs. It allows you to lose weight and then adopt eating patterns that ensure you keep the weight off.
The Diet Everyone talks About is a scientific 10-week programme that can only be presented at pharmacies and beauty clinics by trained clinicians. The Diet recommends a carbohydrate-controlled weight-loss programme that has been proven to work over the last 24 years. At your first meeting with the clinician you will be weighed, your BMI (body mass index) will be calculated, and a guideline of what foods you can eat, and what must be eaten in moderation, will be drawn up for you. The clinician will also discuss with you why you are overweight and how much weight you could expect to lose. These weekly meetings with the clinician, plus the week to week weight loss goals, greatly help to keep you motivated.
To help guide you to better living, visit www.the-diet.co.za or call 016 362 4890.
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