healthy youc
WEIGHT LOSS
A QUICK GUIDE TO
Amping up Activity
According to a Harvard study,
you gain 2 extra hours of life
expectancy for every hour of
regular exercise. What a deal.
You don’t always have to wear
spandex and sweat in a gym
to get exercise. Housework
and gardening are also valid
forms of activity. Look for
reasons to head up the stairs
to fetch things. Instead of
asking your spouse to get
you a glass of water, get it
yourself. Volunteer to head
back into the house to grab
a forgotten checkbook.
Every tiny little bit of extra
movement matters.
This is kind of a kissing
cousin to the previous tip.
Look for ways to increase
the distance between you
and where you’re going.
When you have to use the
restroom, use one on a
different floor. Walk to a
coworker’s desk instead
of using e-mail. And park
farther away in mall and
supermarket parking lots.
You’ll have fewer dings in
your doors and more steps
under your feet.
Regular exercise is a
requirement for successful
long-term weight loss, so
you have to find a way to like
it. Try this for starters:
Listening to audio books as
you work out takes a lot of
the drudgery out of it.
Because you really have to
concentrate on what’s being
said, time flies right by.
Search high and low for a type
of physical activity that you
enjoy. Otherwise, you’re unlikely
to stick with it for the long term.
The problem with using just height and weight as
measures is that people come in all sorts of shapes and
sizes. Bodybuilders, who weigh a lot because of all that
muscle, are considered overweight or even obese by BMI
charts. People who are big-boned (yes, you really can be
big-boned) also appear fatter on paper than they really are.
It goes the other way too. Mayo Clinic research
recently showed that seemingly normal-weight people
may actually be overweight or even obese. When
researchers looked at more than 2,000 people who had
BMIs within the normal range, they found that 61
percent of them actually had excess body fat that put
them at higher risk for heart disease and other problems.
Diminished bone mass and lower amounts of muscle
made it appear these people were at a healthy weight
when in reality they weren’t. Researchers termed the
phenomenon “normal-weight obesity'.”
So if BMI isn’t the best answer, what is? Actually, there
are two answers. The first was noted by the same Mayo
researchers who studied normal-weight obesity. They
recommended determining your body fat percentage,
which is exactly what it sounds like: the percentage of your
body weight that is made up of fat.
In women, you’re generally considered fit if your fat
stores are between 21 and 24 percent of your overall
weight. If your body has over 32 percent fat, you enter the
realm of obesity.
A fit man, on the other hand, should maintain a body
fat percentage between 14 and 17. Men are considered
obese once their body fat reaches 25 percent or higher.
Fortunately, it’s easier than ever to measure body fat.
Many companies make scales that also incorporate a
body fat analyzer (see “Getting Started
,”page 120).
The
analyzer passes an imperceptible current through your
body. Because fat conducts electricity differently than
muscle, these devices can tell what you’re made of.
The second answer to how much you should weigh
rests right around your middle. Scientists now know that
if your waist circumference is more than 35 inches for
women (40 inches for men) you are at greatly increased
risk for type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood
pressure, and all the other trappings of being too heavy.
1l6
JANUARY
2009
BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS
P H O T O : VEER
