Death to Diabetes 1-800-813-1927
Author's Perspective: Most of us are aware that obesity has reached epidemic levels in our country. We are fat and getting fatter for 7 reasons:
1. Addiction: We love junk food, fast food, and processed food because of the taste, convenience, and low cost. We can't stop eating this food even though we know it's bad for us -- because of the addictive chemicals in the food. It's convenient to just pick up some KFC or stop by McDonald's for a hamburger, some fries, and a diet soda. Most habits are driven by the addictive chemicals that food manufacturers put in fast foods and processed foods so that we will develop cravings for these foods and return to buy more of these foods (even though we know these foods are bad for us).
2. Habits: We have learned many of our poor eating habits from our parents; and, now we are passing our poor eating habits down to our children and our children's children. That's why it appears that diabetes runs in families. Most habits are driven by laziness and the addictive chemicals that food manufacturers put in fast foods and processed foods so that we will return to buy more of their food.
3. Knowledge: We lack the understanding of real nutrition and the super foods; and, how "real food" can help us physically, emotionally, and spiritually. We falsely believe that eating healthy is boring, time-consuming, and expensive and that vegetables taste nasty -- these are just excuses or due to the lack of knowledge.
4. Laziness: We don't like to exercise or walk anywhere; plus, we don't like to take the time to prepare healthy meals. We lack the discipline and drive to want to change. We like taking pills: prescription, OTC, supplements because they're so convenient and they allow us to justify our poor eating habits.
5. Technology: We sit a lot, driving our car, using our computer, watching TV or playing video games. Technology encourages us to live a sedentary lifestyle that discourages us from being physically active.
6. Zombieism: We lack the hope and don't use our inner spirit, walking around like zombies allowing our flesh to rot; and do nothing to improve our health, relying on drugs and pills.
7. Diets: We rely on various fad diets and detox gimmicks to lose weight. Most diets work temporarily, but they fail us for the long term. In fact, most diets actually cause more harm than good.
Obesity is associated with an increased risk of morbidity and mortality as well as reduced life expectancy; and, is associated with numerous co-morbidities such as cardiovascular diseases (CVD), Type 2 diabetes, hyper-tension, certain cancers, and sleep apnea/sleep-disordered breathing.
Health service use and medical costs associated with obesity and related diseases have risen dramatically and are expected to continue to rise. Besides an altered metabolic profile, a variety of adaptations/alterations in cardiac structure and function occur in the individual as adipose tissue accumulates in excess amounts. Hence, obesity may affect the heart through its influence on known risk factors such as dyslipidemia, hypertension, glucose intolerance, inflammatory markers, and obstructive sleep apnea/ hypoventilation.
Belly Fat Cells Are Dangerous!
Obesity is a silent-killer, but, more specifically, it's the fat cells in the belly area that are so dangerous. In fact, you do not have to be "obese" to be in danger of these fat cells. If you have excess belly fat, you have these dangerous fat cells.
Why are these fat cells so dangerous?
Because these fat cells are active -- they send out signals that lead to cellular inflammation, that can trigger other health issues such as high homocysteine and high CRP, which are pre-cursors to arterial plaque formation, heart disease, and heart attacks.
Inflammation -- The Real Culprit
Fat cells produce pro-inflammatory substances including leptin, TNF, IL-6, and resistin, affecting the whole body. Thus, overweight people become subject to a body-wide state of chronic, low-grade inflammation, induced by fat itself.
But, the effect of fat on inflammation is just half of the cycle. The effects of inflammation on fat are equally intense. When inflammation is severe, as in a life-threatening infection, it can cause tremendous weight loss. With severe inflammation, the body cannibalizes itself and both fat and muscle cells are destroyed. This is not a good way to lose weight. The breakdown of muscle is always greater than the breakdown of fat.
When inflammation is mild and chronic, producing few symptoms and only subtle changes on blood tests, inflammation has a very different effect on your metabolism. Chronic low-grade inflammation makes your brain and body resistant to the normal regulatory effects of leptin and other hormones, including insulin and cortisol. Insulin is made in the pancreas and cortisol is made in the adrenal glands. In excess, either can have a devastating effect on your attempts to lose weight. High insulin levels prevent the breakdown of fat. Cortisol actually causes fat cells to grow.
Mild elevation of the level of CRP in blood is associated with obesity and with weight gain. Weight loss, on the other hand, produces a decrease in CRP. In people with a history of heart disease, mild elevation of CRP predicts an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes. In adults who develop diabetes, elevated CRP occurs before the onset of diabetes. In people with normal blood pressure, elevated CRP predicts the future development of high blood pressure. In aging adults, high CRP is associated with muscle weakness and frailty. Studies of CRP have proven the close relationship between silent, chronic inflammation and the development of the most common chronic diseases of modern society.
Inflammation and fat share a complex relationship. When inflammation is severe, as in a life-threatening infection, it can cause tremendous weight loss. With severe inflammation, both fat and muscle cells are destroyed; the breakdown of muscle is always greater than the breakdown of fat. When inflammation is mild and chronic, however, producing few symptoms and only subtle changes on blood tests, inflammation has a very different effect on your metabolism. It disrupts hormones.
Acting through the complex networks of chemicals involved in homeostasis, inflammation makes your cells resistant to the normal regulatory effects of leptin and other hormones, including insulin and cortisol.
The more fat in your body, the greater the level of inflammation in your body. Not only does this fat-derived inflammation prevent leptin from helping you lose weight, it causes other hormonal effects that interfere with permanent weight loss. Inflammation raises the level of insulin and cortisol, two hormones that actually cause your body to make more fat.
Insulin and Cortisol
Insulin is a hormone produced in your pancreas. Its best known effect is to lower blood sugar by driving sugar and other nutrients into cells, especially muscle cells. Your muscles need insulin to help them produce energy and recover from the effects of exercise.
Inflammation interferes with the effect of insulin on your muscles. Just as inflammation causes leptin resistance, it is a major cause of insulin resistance.
With insulin resistance, your muscles are not fully responsive to insulin, so they don’t efficiently burn the sugar that circulates in your blood. As a result, your blood sugar starts to rise. Your pancreas responds by releasing more insulin. When the degree of insulin resistance outpaces the ability of your pancreas to produce more insulin, diabetes occurs.
Whether or not you actually develop diabetes, high levels of circulating insulin can have seriously negative effects. There are some actions of insulin that occur outside of muscle and are not impaired during insulin resistance. As insulin levels increase, these effects of insulin are felt. High insulin levels make your kidneys retain fluid, raising your blood pressure and creating that feeling of being bloated and swollen.
Consequently, many diabetics suffer with high blood sugar and high blood pressure. But, instead of treating the root cause, your doctor gives you 2 different drugs -- one for the high blood sugar (diabetes) and another one for the high blood pressure.
As a result, over the years, your blood sugar problem doesn't really get any better, and your blood pressure doesn't get any better either. How do you know? Because, more than likely, you are now taking more than the original 2 medications, or you're taking higher dosages of these medications.
High insulin levels prevent cells from breaking down fat, making it harder to lose weight through dieting. Insulin also turns on genes that produce a number of mediators of inflammation, so with high insulin, as with high leptin, the level of inflammation in your body increases. So, you can see why long-term use of insulin injections may not be the best course for a person with Type 2 diabetes.
Your brain and your adrenal glands are attuned to the level of inflammation in your body. As inflammation increases, your brain sends a signal to your adrenal glands to produce more of a hormone called cortisol. You may be familiar with cortisone, a drug used to relieve symptoms of inflammation like itching, redness or pain. Cortisol is the natural equivalent of the drug, made in your own adrenal glands in response to stress. Cortisol naturally combats inflammation, but at a high price. Cortisol increases the amount of belly fat. It also causes fluid retention, muscle weakness, memory loss, high blood pressure, and further raises your blood sugar. The increase in blood sugar then stimulates a further increase in insulin.
This vicious cycle dooms the diabetic to a life of deteriorating health and the need for more and more drugs.
However, the Death to Diabetes and the Death to Obesity wellness programs are designed to attack the root causes of these diseases, and engage your body to repair the damage and allow your body to recover, reducing and removing the need for a life-sentence of drugs and more drugs.
1. Addiction: We love junk food, fast food, and processed food because of the taste, convenience, and low cost. We can't stop eating this food even though we know it's bad for us -- because of the addictive chemicals in the food. It's convenient to just pick up some KFC or stop by McDonald's for a hamburger, some fries, and a diet soda. Most habits are driven by the addictive chemicals that food manufacturers put in fast foods and processed foods so that we will develop cravings for these foods and return to buy more of these foods (even though we know these foods are bad for us).
2. Habits: We have learned many of our poor eating habits from our parents; and, now we are passing our poor eating habits down to our children and our children's children. That's why it appears that diabetes runs in families. Most habits are driven by laziness and the addictive chemicals that food manufacturers put in fast foods and processed foods so that we will return to buy more of their food.
3. Knowledge: We lack the understanding of real nutrition and the super foods; and, how "real food" can help us physically, emotionally, and spiritually. We falsely believe that eating healthy is boring, time-consuming, and expensive and that vegetables taste nasty -- these are just excuses or due to the lack of knowledge.
4. Laziness: We don't like to exercise or walk anywhere; plus, we don't like to take the time to prepare healthy meals. We lack the discipline and drive to want to change. We like taking pills: prescription, OTC, supplements because they're so convenient and they allow us to justify our poor eating habits.
5. Technology: We sit a lot, driving our car, using our computer, watching TV or playing video games. Technology encourages us to live a sedentary lifestyle that discourages us from being physically active.
6. Zombieism: We lack the hope and don't use our inner spirit, walking around like zombies allowing our flesh to rot; and do nothing to improve our health, relying on drugs and pills.
7. Diets: We rely on various fad diets and detox gimmicks to lose weight. Most diets work temporarily, but they fail us for the long term. In fact, most diets actually cause more harm than good.
Obesity Is An Epidemic
Obesity has become a global epidemic in both children and adults. Obesity rates continue to rise every year in America. and around the world. Approximately 203 million Americans, or 67 percent, are either overweight or obese. More than 2 billion of the 6 billion people worldwide are either overweight or obese.Obesity is associated with an increased risk of morbidity and mortality as well as reduced life expectancy; and, is associated with numerous co-morbidities such as cardiovascular diseases (CVD), Type 2 diabetes, hyper-tension, certain cancers, and sleep apnea/sleep-disordered breathing.
Health service use and medical costs associated with obesity and related diseases have risen dramatically and are expected to continue to rise. Besides an altered metabolic profile, a variety of adaptations/alterations in cardiac structure and function occur in the individual as adipose tissue accumulates in excess amounts. Hence, obesity may affect the heart through its influence on known risk factors such as dyslipidemia, hypertension, glucose intolerance, inflammatory markers, and obstructive sleep apnea/ hypoventilation.
Belly Fat Cells Are Dangerous!
Obesity is a silent-killer, but, more specifically, it's the fat cells in the belly area that are so dangerous. In fact, you do not have to be "obese" to be in danger of these fat cells. If you have excess belly fat, you have these dangerous fat cells.
Why are these fat cells so dangerous?
Because these fat cells are active -- they send out signals that lead to cellular inflammation, that can trigger other health issues such as high homocysteine and high CRP, which are pre-cursors to arterial plaque formation, heart disease, and heart attacks.
Inflammation -- The Real Culprit
Fat cells produce pro-inflammatory substances including leptin, TNF, IL-6, and resistin, affecting the whole body. Thus, overweight people become subject to a body-wide state of chronic, low-grade inflammation, induced by fat itself.
But, the effect of fat on inflammation is just half of the cycle. The effects of inflammation on fat are equally intense. When inflammation is severe, as in a life-threatening infection, it can cause tremendous weight loss. With severe inflammation, the body cannibalizes itself and both fat and muscle cells are destroyed. This is not a good way to lose weight. The breakdown of muscle is always greater than the breakdown of fat.
When inflammation is mild and chronic, producing few symptoms and only subtle changes on blood tests, inflammation has a very different effect on your metabolism. Chronic low-grade inflammation makes your brain and body resistant to the normal regulatory effects of leptin and other hormones, including insulin and cortisol. Insulin is made in the pancreas and cortisol is made in the adrenal glands. In excess, either can have a devastating effect on your attempts to lose weight. High insulin levels prevent the breakdown of fat. Cortisol actually causes fat cells to grow.
Mild elevation of the level of CRP in blood is associated with obesity and with weight gain. Weight loss, on the other hand, produces a decrease in CRP. In people with a history of heart disease, mild elevation of CRP predicts an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes. In adults who develop diabetes, elevated CRP occurs before the onset of diabetes. In people with normal blood pressure, elevated CRP predicts the future development of high blood pressure. In aging adults, high CRP is associated with muscle weakness and frailty. Studies of CRP have proven the close relationship between silent, chronic inflammation and the development of the most common chronic diseases of modern society.
Inflammation and fat share a complex relationship. When inflammation is severe, as in a life-threatening infection, it can cause tremendous weight loss. With severe inflammation, both fat and muscle cells are destroyed; the breakdown of muscle is always greater than the breakdown of fat. When inflammation is mild and chronic, however, producing few symptoms and only subtle changes on blood tests, inflammation has a very different effect on your metabolism. It disrupts hormones.
Acting through the complex networks of chemicals involved in homeostasis, inflammation makes your cells resistant to the normal regulatory effects of leptin and other hormones, including insulin and cortisol.
The more fat in your body, the greater the level of inflammation in your body. Not only does this fat-derived inflammation prevent leptin from helping you lose weight, it causes other hormonal effects that interfere with permanent weight loss. Inflammation raises the level of insulin and cortisol, two hormones that actually cause your body to make more fat.
Insulin and Cortisol
Insulin is a hormone produced in your pancreas. Its best known effect is to lower blood sugar by driving sugar and other nutrients into cells, especially muscle cells. Your muscles need insulin to help them produce energy and recover from the effects of exercise.
Inflammation interferes with the effect of insulin on your muscles. Just as inflammation causes leptin resistance, it is a major cause of insulin resistance.
With insulin resistance, your muscles are not fully responsive to insulin, so they don’t efficiently burn the sugar that circulates in your blood. As a result, your blood sugar starts to rise. Your pancreas responds by releasing more insulin. When the degree of insulin resistance outpaces the ability of your pancreas to produce more insulin, diabetes occurs.
Whether or not you actually develop diabetes, high levels of circulating insulin can have seriously negative effects. There are some actions of insulin that occur outside of muscle and are not impaired during insulin resistance. As insulin levels increase, these effects of insulin are felt. High insulin levels make your kidneys retain fluid, raising your blood pressure and creating that feeling of being bloated and swollen.
Consequently, many diabetics suffer with high blood sugar and high blood pressure. But, instead of treating the root cause, your doctor gives you 2 different drugs -- one for the high blood sugar (diabetes) and another one for the high blood pressure.
As a result, over the years, your blood sugar problem doesn't really get any better, and your blood pressure doesn't get any better either. How do you know? Because, more than likely, you are now taking more than the original 2 medications, or you're taking higher dosages of these medications.
High insulin levels prevent cells from breaking down fat, making it harder to lose weight through dieting. Insulin also turns on genes that produce a number of mediators of inflammation, so with high insulin, as with high leptin, the level of inflammation in your body increases. So, you can see why long-term use of insulin injections may not be the best course for a person with Type 2 diabetes.
Your brain and your adrenal glands are attuned to the level of inflammation in your body. As inflammation increases, your brain sends a signal to your adrenal glands to produce more of a hormone called cortisol. You may be familiar with cortisone, a drug used to relieve symptoms of inflammation like itching, redness or pain. Cortisol is the natural equivalent of the drug, made in your own adrenal glands in response to stress. Cortisol naturally combats inflammation, but at a high price. Cortisol increases the amount of belly fat. It also causes fluid retention, muscle weakness, memory loss, high blood pressure, and further raises your blood sugar. The increase in blood sugar then stimulates a further increase in insulin.
This vicious cycle dooms the diabetic to a life of deteriorating health and the need for more and more drugs.
However, the Death to Diabetes and the Death to Obesity wellness programs are designed to attack the root causes of these diseases, and engage your body to repair the damage and allow your body to recover, reducing and removing the need for a life-sentence of drugs and more drugs.
Obesity Statistics
As depicted in the diagrams below, obesity is an epidemic in the United States and worldwide. About two-thirds of adults in the United States are overweight, and almost one-third are obese, according to data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
Recent studies have shown that obesity is one of the key risk factors for many of our diseases, including heart disease and diabetes. Consequently, losing weight is one of the key strategies to prevent heart disease and diabetes.
Obesity is the second largest cause of preventable deaths, after tobacco, in the United States. Obese patients are more liable to develop a range of associated diseases than people of normal weight. Among these diseases are:
• Diabetes
• Heart disease
• Strokes
• High blood pressure
• Cancer
• Obstructive sleep apnea
How is obesity determined?
BMI Calculation
The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) identified overweight as a BMI of 25 to 29.9 kg/m², and obesity as a BMI of 30 kg/m² or greater. Calculating BMI is simple and quick:
BMI = Weight in pounds X 703
Height in inches X Height in inches
For example, if you weight 220 pounds and your height is 6 ft 3 in. or 75 inches, your BMI is as follows:
BMI = 220 X 703
75 X 75
BMI = 200 X 703
72 X 72
BMI = 27.5
However, you do not have to do this calculation – you can use a BMI chart or go online and use one of many free BMI calculators to figure out your BMI.
BMI Ranges:
Underweight = <18.5
Normal weight = 18.5-24.9
Overweight = 25-29.9
Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater
But the BMI does have limitations. One problem with using BMI as a measurement tool is that very muscular people may fall into the “overweight” category when they are actually healthy and fit.
Another problem with using BMI is that people who have lost muscle mass, such as the elderly, may be in the “healthy weight” BMI category (BMI 18.5 to 24.9) when they actually have reduced nutritional reserves.
BMI, therefore, is useful as a screening tool for individuals and as a general guideline to monitor trends in the population, but by itself is not diagnostic of an individual patient’s health status. Further assessment of patients should be performed to evaluate their weight status and associated health risks.
Note: Because of the limitations of BMI, Waist Size may be more important than BMI.
Note: Refer to this web page for a list of critical blood tests, including inflammation markers that will give you a better indication of your health than just using BMI or Waist Size.
What Causes Obesity?
Being seriously overweight is not caused by one single factor. There are a number of things that may interact and contribute to one becoming morbidly obese, including the following:
• High-Fat /High-Calorie diets
• Physical inactivity
• Biochemical/hormonal
• Emotional or psychological factors
• Genetics
• Culture
• Gender
• Age
• Medical problems
• Medications
High-Fat/High-Calorie Diet - Ounce for ounce, fat provides more than twice as many calories as protein or carbohydrates (nine calories for fat versus four calories for carbohydrates). This energy difference may explain how fat promotes weight gain. Yet even when caloric intake is the same, a person eating a high-fat diet tends to store more excess calories as body fat than someone eating a lower fat diet. Often low-fat foods are high in calories.
Physical Inactivity – Overweight people are usually less physically active than normal weight adults. Seriously overweight people may have difficulty moving. The additional weight can cause pain in the feet, knees and ankles. It can cause shortness of breath, making you feel tired quickly. Also, we have so many labor-saving devices now that it is difficult for people to get exercise in the amounts the body requires. For example, we drive to the corner store for a frozen dinner. We drive home, click the garage door opener and relax on the couch with the remote control. All these devices can keep us from physical activity.
Biochemical/hormonal – The combination of a high-fat/high-calorie diet of “dead” and processed foods and very little physical activity creates biochemical and hormonal imbalances in the body that leads to leptin resistance, high cortisol levels, and insulin resistance.
Genetics - Genes play a part in how your body balances calories and energy. Children whose parents are obese also tend to be overweight. A family history of obesity increases your chances of becoming obese by about 25 to 30 percent. Heredity does not destine you to be overweight, but by influencing the amount of body fat and fat distribution, genes can make you more susceptible to gaining weight. You cannot change your genetic makeup by willpower any more than you can make yourself taller or shorter by wishing. But you can still achieve your weight loss goals even with a family history of obesity.
Culture - People learn to eat and cook the way in which they were brought up. Food choices and combinations are learned very early in life. Social events and family rituals are often centered around large meals.
Today's culture promotes eating habits that contribute to obesity. People may serve large portions and foods that are most readily available instead of choosing foods that are most nutritious. Cooking with butter, chocolate and other high-caloric foods is a normal part of the American diet. Also, food is often used as a reward in this country. Children are treated to sweets for cleaning their room, and the team is taken for pizza or ice cream after the game. Seldom is eating only when hunger is present.
Emotional or Psychological Factors - Food is often a source of solace or celebration. If we feel blue, we may turn to food. If we celebrate a new job or birthday, we may go out to a big dinner. If a friend is grieving, we bake them a pie. Often as children, parents told us to clean our plates. Food carries many significant memories from our past. Food may be your best friend. Food may become less important in your life after weight loss, especially if you have surgery. Weight loss will allow you to acquire new interests in your life and become more active and varied in your activities.
Gender - Muscle uses more energy than fat does. Men have more muscle than women, and burn 10 percent to 20 percent more calories than women do at rest. For this reason, women are more likely to be obese.
Age - As you get older, the amount of muscle in your body tends to decrease, and fat accounts for a greater percentage of your weight. This lower muscle mass leads to a decrease in metabolism. Your metabolism also slows with age. Together, these changes reduce your calorie needs. If your food intake is not adjusted, you will gain weight.
Medical Problems – Some of the health problems include diabetes, low thyroid function or other hormonal imbalance.
Medications – OTC and prescription drugs can lead to weight gain because they create hormonal and biochemical imbalances in the body.
Obesity Statistics in the U.S.
Many weight loss programs produce weight loss, but they lose the lean muscle tissue that your body needs to burn the fat! That’s why a lot of people on weight loss program look like “death warmed over”. They have lost lean muscle tissue, which also affects your body composition.
Weight gain is due to 3 reasons for most people:
1. Biochemical and hormonal imbalances
2. Poor nutrition and lifestyle choices that lead to low physical activity
3. Emotional issues that trigger poor eating habits
Consequently, the strategy to overcome weight gain and achieve weight loss requires the following:
1. Rebalance biochemically and hormonally.
2. Proper nutrition and lifestyle choices that lead to increased physical activity.
3. Addressing the emotional issues that trigger poor eating habits.
Note: If you have been diagnosed as morbidly obese, then, we recommend that you get the Death to Obesity Weight Loss ebook and the Power of Juicing ebook. Use these books together to accelerate and maintain your weight loss.
References
As depicted in the diagrams below, obesity is an epidemic in the United States and worldwide. About two-thirds of adults in the United States are overweight, and almost one-third are obese, according to data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
Recent studies have shown that obesity is one of the key risk factors for many of our diseases, including heart disease and diabetes. Consequently, losing weight is one of the key strategies to prevent heart disease and diabetes.
Obesity is the second largest cause of preventable deaths, after tobacco, in the United States. Obese patients are more liable to develop a range of associated diseases than people of normal weight. Among these diseases are:
• Diabetes
• Heart disease
• Strokes
• High blood pressure
• Cancer
• Obstructive sleep apnea
How is obesity determined?
BMI Calculation
The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) identified overweight as a BMI of 25 to 29.9 kg/m², and obesity as a BMI of 30 kg/m² or greater. Calculating BMI is simple and quick:
BMI = Weight in pounds X 703
Height in inches X Height in inches
For example, if you weight 220 pounds and your height is 6 ft 3 in. or 75 inches, your BMI is as follows:
BMI = 220 X 703
75 X 75
BMI = 200 X 703
72 X 72
BMI = 27.5
However, you do not have to do this calculation – you can use a BMI chart or go online and use one of many free BMI calculators to figure out your BMI.
BMI Ranges:
Underweight = <18.5
Normal weight = 18.5-24.9
Overweight = 25-29.9
Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater
But the BMI does have limitations. One problem with using BMI as a measurement tool is that very muscular people may fall into the “overweight” category when they are actually healthy and fit.
Another problem with using BMI is that people who have lost muscle mass, such as the elderly, may be in the “healthy weight” BMI category (BMI 18.5 to 24.9) when they actually have reduced nutritional reserves.
BMI, therefore, is useful as a screening tool for individuals and as a general guideline to monitor trends in the population, but by itself is not diagnostic of an individual patient’s health status. Further assessment of patients should be performed to evaluate their weight status and associated health risks.
Note: Because of the limitations of BMI, Waist Size may be more important than BMI.
Note: Refer to this web page for a list of critical blood tests, including inflammation markers that will give you a better indication of your health than just using BMI or Waist Size.
What Causes Obesity?
Being seriously overweight is not caused by one single factor. There are a number of things that may interact and contribute to one becoming morbidly obese, including the following:
• High-Fat /High-Calorie diets
• Physical inactivity
• Biochemical/hormonal
• Emotional or psychological factors
• Genetics
• Culture
• Gender
• Age
• Medical problems
• Medications
High-Fat/High-Calorie Diet - Ounce for ounce, fat provides more than twice as many calories as protein or carbohydrates (nine calories for fat versus four calories for carbohydrates). This energy difference may explain how fat promotes weight gain. Yet even when caloric intake is the same, a person eating a high-fat diet tends to store more excess calories as body fat than someone eating a lower fat diet. Often low-fat foods are high in calories.
Physical Inactivity – Overweight people are usually less physically active than normal weight adults. Seriously overweight people may have difficulty moving. The additional weight can cause pain in the feet, knees and ankles. It can cause shortness of breath, making you feel tired quickly. Also, we have so many labor-saving devices now that it is difficult for people to get exercise in the amounts the body requires. For example, we drive to the corner store for a frozen dinner. We drive home, click the garage door opener and relax on the couch with the remote control. All these devices can keep us from physical activity.
Biochemical/hormonal – The combination of a high-fat/high-calorie diet of “dead” and processed foods and very little physical activity creates biochemical and hormonal imbalances in the body that leads to leptin resistance, high cortisol levels, and insulin resistance.
Genetics - Genes play a part in how your body balances calories and energy. Children whose parents are obese also tend to be overweight. A family history of obesity increases your chances of becoming obese by about 25 to 30 percent. Heredity does not destine you to be overweight, but by influencing the amount of body fat and fat distribution, genes can make you more susceptible to gaining weight. You cannot change your genetic makeup by willpower any more than you can make yourself taller or shorter by wishing. But you can still achieve your weight loss goals even with a family history of obesity.
Culture - People learn to eat and cook the way in which they were brought up. Food choices and combinations are learned very early in life. Social events and family rituals are often centered around large meals.
Today's culture promotes eating habits that contribute to obesity. People may serve large portions and foods that are most readily available instead of choosing foods that are most nutritious. Cooking with butter, chocolate and other high-caloric foods is a normal part of the American diet. Also, food is often used as a reward in this country. Children are treated to sweets for cleaning their room, and the team is taken for pizza or ice cream after the game. Seldom is eating only when hunger is present.
Emotional or Psychological Factors - Food is often a source of solace or celebration. If we feel blue, we may turn to food. If we celebrate a new job or birthday, we may go out to a big dinner. If a friend is grieving, we bake them a pie. Often as children, parents told us to clean our plates. Food carries many significant memories from our past. Food may be your best friend. Food may become less important in your life after weight loss, especially if you have surgery. Weight loss will allow you to acquire new interests in your life and become more active and varied in your activities.
Gender - Muscle uses more energy than fat does. Men have more muscle than women, and burn 10 percent to 20 percent more calories than women do at rest. For this reason, women are more likely to be obese.
Age - As you get older, the amount of muscle in your body tends to decrease, and fat accounts for a greater percentage of your weight. This lower muscle mass leads to a decrease in metabolism. Your metabolism also slows with age. Together, these changes reduce your calorie needs. If your food intake is not adjusted, you will gain weight.
Medical Problems – Some of the health problems include diabetes, low thyroid function or other hormonal imbalance.
Medications – OTC and prescription drugs can lead to weight gain because they create hormonal and biochemical imbalances in the body.
Obesity Statistics in the U.S.
The Weight Loss Solution
There are many weight-loss diets, but most of them fail in the long run. The key is to gradually make lifestyle changes that you can live with over a period of years.Many weight loss programs produce weight loss, but they lose the lean muscle tissue that your body needs to burn the fat! That’s why a lot of people on weight loss program look like “death warmed over”. They have lost lean muscle tissue, which also affects your body composition.
Weight gain is due to 3 reasons for most people:
1. Biochemical and hormonal imbalances
2. Poor nutrition and lifestyle choices that lead to low physical activity
3. Emotional issues that trigger poor eating habits
Consequently, the strategy to overcome weight gain and achieve weight loss requires the following:
1. Rebalance biochemically and hormonally.
2. Proper nutrition and lifestyle choices that lead to increased physical activity.
3. Addressing the emotional issues that trigger poor eating habits.
Of course, there are other reasons such as environment, age, culture,
and overall health, but these three fuel the obesity epidemic more than
any other factor.
In order to increase your probability of success, you must prepare
yourself physically, emotionally, and spiritually to embrace making the
necessary lifestyle changes to improve your health. You must make
yourself a priority and set aside the time to improve your health if you
really want to lose weight.
You must establish and implement goals to increase the frequency of your
(super) meals and snacks to enable proper blood glucose stabilization.
You should also establish goals to increase the frequency of your
exercise, cleansing/detox, and other key activities. This will prevent
the blood glucose highs and lows that many people experience, and help
to reduce the excess insulin production, which fuels Type 2 diabetes and
obesity.
You need a weight loss program that will help you to reduce the belly fat,
lower your blood pressure, lower your blood glucose level, and lower
your cholesterol.
That weight loss program must address the science of obesity (pathology) and be comprehensive enough to address the following key areas:
• Meal Planning
• Blood Glucose Testing/Analysis (for Type 2 diabetics only)
• Exercise
• Cleansing/Detox
• Nutritional Supplementation
• Support and Relaxation Sleep
• Health Coaching & Planning
• Doctor Visits, Medical Blood Tests & Exams
• Drug Weaning
That weight loss program is called the Death to Obesity® Weight Loss Program.
Note: You should implement one new activity at the start of a new week until you have implemented all the activities into your daily life and lifestyle. If one-week increments are too much for you, then, slow down and use two-week or 1-month increments.
Note: If you would like to learn how to increase your weight loss and reduce the belly fat, get the Death to Obesity Weight Loss ebook and the Power of Juicing ebook.Note: If you have been diagnosed as morbidly obese, then, we recommend that you get the Death to Obesity Weight Loss ebook and the Power of Juicing ebook. Use these books together to accelerate and maintain your weight loss.
References
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Help Us and You Help the World!
From the Author of "Death to Diabetes":
The pharmaceutical companies are laughing at us! Let's take that smirky smile off their faces. Please help us (and you help the world!) in the fight against diabetes and the drug companies by becoming a Fan of Death to Diabetes and by joining us on Facebook. And, feel free to post and re-post our messages and web pages.
And, bring your friends and family to our Death to Diabetes Facebook Page.
Note: For every 10 friends you bring that select the "Like" button, we will send you a free wellness guide of your choice from our online store.Use other aspects of Facebook and other vehicles such as Amazon.com (to write a book review) and YouTube (to comment on my videos) to spread our message of hope and well-being. We need to start a "Death to Diabetes" grass roots movement in this country and around the world!
It's not about more book sales! It's about spreading a message by getting more people aware that they have the power to defeat this disease! That's one of the reasons why I've placed my program on my website! So that you can tell more and more people to try the program -- it's free! What have they got to lose?? No other website lays out the solution for you without you having to buy their book or sign up for their program.
And, no other program works as quickly and as easily as the Death to diabetes program!
Please go to this web page and learn how you can help me in my fight against the pharmaceutical companies who are keeping me off the air.
Feel free to forward the following web links to your family and friends -- they will thank you for it.
http://www.deathtodiabetes.com/YouTube_Diabetes_Videos.html
http://www.deathtodiabetes.com/Ex-Diabetic_Engineer.php
http://www.deathtodiabetes.com/Depression_and_McCulley.html
http://www.deathtodiabetes.com/Diabetes_-_Pathology.html
http://www.deathtodiabetes.com/Steps_to_Beat_Diabetes.html
http://www.deathtodiabetes.com/Diet__for_Diabetics.html
http://www.deathtodiabetes.com/Wellness_Model-6_Stages.html
http://www.deathtodiabetes.com/Uniqueness_of_Program.html
http://www.deathtodiabetes.com/Science_Behind_Program.html
http://www.deathtodiabetes.com/Wake_Up_People_.html
