The Unfairness of Obesity

Most fat people have this one cry in their heart. It seems so unfair that so many around us eat anything and everything and never put on weight while everything we eat seems to stick to our bodies as fat. I would like to explain some factors contributing to obesity and what we can do to treat and control this condition.

1) One of the biggest contributing factors is genetics. If any parent or grandparent is obese you could suffer from this, similar to getting B.P, heart disease or diabetes.

2) Your parent or grandparent may be obese due to a hormone problems and you need to test for this immediately. If there is family history of thyroid dysfunction, diabetes or reproductive hormone imbalance, all these can lead to obesity.

3) If at any point in your growth cycle or later you allow a large amount of fat to accumulate in the body, you imbalance the fat mass to muscle mass proportion. This proportion is directly related to your basal metabolic rate (BMR). If you have an increased number of fat cells then the muscle mass goes down and this results in a lower BMR. Those with less fat mass and more muscle mass, like lean people and sports people, have a higher BMR and that means a higher capacity to burn calories.

These people even though they eat a lot, their high BMR will burn off the extra calories and they stay thin. That is why it is important to try to keep trim and also guide children to keep trim from a young age. Women too must not simply let themselves go and put on a lot of fat during pregnancy and lactation months.

Last but not the least is the habit of over eating. We have observed that thin people have this special habit of stopping themselves while they are eating, just before they feel full. Most overweight people have this habit of always eating one more portion, even after they feel quite full. And this results in their doom.

We may be endowed with bad genes of obesity. We may have a hormone imbalance and we may have already created more fat mass in our bodies. Do we just throw up our hands saying that we are doomed to be fat or can we fight? I am a living proof that we can fight and can win this battle. If we have the will, God will give the power to heal and change our lives. I have a family history of obesity from both mothers and fathers and grandparents side. I have polycystic ovaries, family history of diabetes and was fat from age 10-35. But in the last 14 years I have lost 25 kgs and kept it off!! It’s a battle, day and night, but I have chosen to fight.

The first step is to make a decision to stop over eating and commit oneself to avoiding fatty foods, like fried foods, nuts, sweets, butter, ghee, etc. Besides this you need to eat all your meals in a healthy and balanced manner. Fill yourselves up with fresh fruits, salads and plenty of water. Finally make sure you fit in a 20-30 min walk, all 7 days of the week.