Search Weight Loss Topics:

Page 60«..1020..59606162..7080..»

Home » How to lose weight safely » Page 60

There are several hacks that can speed up your weight loss or get you past the weight loss plateau. Read on to know more.

Are you losing your mind as you are unable to lose weight? Then you should not worry as stress will only deteriorate your health and lead to weight gain. For many, losing weight aka fat can be a herculean task but there are certain things one should first understand like whether you have water weight or just bloated and not actually overweight. You also have to understand your body type so that you can determine your diet and exercise regime finally.

Weight watchers know that healthy eating and exercising are two best and safest ways to lose weight, however, there certain tricks and tips you can follow that will help to speed up your weight loss process. Today we are sharing one more smart and useful hack. In this hack, you have to incorporate a spoonful of certain rich and nutritious foods daily as they can help you to lose weight by boosting your metabolism and balance your sugar levels among others. Read on to know more.

1. 1 spoon of apple cider vinegar

We know that ACV is a great superfood but weight watchers especially, should incorporate 1 spoon of it every day. Why? ACV enhances the feeling of fullness, makes you less prone to eat between meals, and its raw viscose essence called the mother is full of probiotics which helps to get a better gut. And better gut indirectly leads to weight loss. The acetic acid content balances out the sugar levels in your body. You can drink ACV and warm water concoction every morning.

2. 1 spoon of ginger or ginger powder

Ginger is another superfood that you should any which ways add to your daily diet. Ginger has a thermogenic effect on the body which boosts your digestion in such a way that youll burn calories without much effort. You can enjoy ginger tea or add a spoonful of ginger powder or paste in your everyday meals.

3. 1 spoon of flaxseeds

The high fiber content keeps us full for good hours. It also helps to trigger metabolism, enhances your digestion, and regulates your bowel movements. And all these factors are related to weight loss. The best part is that adding flaxseeds aka alsi can be added in any dish as they have a mild and bland taste. You can add to your smoothies, shakes, yogurt, soups, salads and fruit juices among others.

4. 1 spoon of chia seeds

We all know how important is fiber for our bodies. Did you know 2 tablespoons of chia can give 40% of your necessary fiber intake? For the unversed, they keep us fuller for a long time, activates your metabolism, and regulates your bowel movements. They are also packed with protein which is again helpful to lose weight by boosting metabolism. Want to know some chia based recipes? Check out this link here.

5. 1 spoon of green tea

Yes, many of us know that green tea is a great weight loss tool but many hardly drink it because of its taste. It is chockfull of nutrients and anti-oxidants which will improve your health as well as help to get rid of extra stored fat. You should incorporate 1 cup of tea at least for better health and sustainable weight loss.

6. 1 spoon of turmeric

Just like ginger, turmeric also has thermogenic properties, it increases your body temperature and boosts your metabolism. And better metabolism helps to mobilize the fat which was accumulated in parts of your body. Turmeric also prevents fat accumulation in your body. You can add in several dishes or just dissolve it in a glass of water and drink it.

Bottom line

Eat moderately and healthy, workout daily and make sure to include 1 spoon of these weight loss superfoods every day.

ALSO READ: Weight Loss: Nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar REVEALS the right way to shed fat

x Your comment has been submitted to the moderation queue

Read the original:
Weight Loss: Try these 1 spoon hacks and lose extra fat - PINKVILLA

Some things should go without saying, but unfortunately, they still need to be said.

Nobody is perfect is one of those things.

I shouldnt have to say it, but here we are.

Were all flawed people. Some of us are impatient. Some of us are lazy. Some of us are rude. And some of us like pineapple on pizza.

Id like to talk about two of my imperfections and hopefully make a point that will help someone with theirs.

My first flaw is that Im fat, unnecessarily so.

To clarify, I have a weight issue due to a lack of trying. Im not one of those people who exercises, eats healthily, and just cant manage to lose weight.

Thats just not the reality of my situation.

Ive made some small changes and continue making small changes, but ultimately Id have to put more effort into weight loss to see any meaningful change. And unfortunately, I still prefer tacos to carrots.

I bring up these specific issues to bring up a point.

Should I lose some weight? Yes. Do I have the right to be fat? For sure. Does having this right mean I shouldnt try to lose weight? No. Does being fat mean Im a bad person? No. Does it mean Im out to terrorize your family with Oreos? No. Can I be a good husband, son, father, neighbor, friend and community member while still fat? 100%.

Could being fat cause problems for others? In a way, yeah. Unnecessary weight is commonly connected to a variety of health issues. An avoidable heart attack could very well place a burden on friends, family and possibly others.

Which brings me to my second flaw.

Harvard University has a set of exams that you can take online for free. Theyre called their Implicit Association Tests or IATs. These tests contain a series of questions and exercises that measure if you have an implicit preference toward one group of people or another. They test every kind of preference from race to political persuasions to disabilities to gender to sexuality.

This week, I took on that measured implicit preferences between white people (European American) and black people (African American.)

I answered the questions as best as I could and made an honest-to-God attempt to complete the exercises to the best of my abilities.

The results of my test were that I had a strong automatic preference to European Americans over African Americans.

There are five levels of preference between no preference and extreme preference, and if no preference was at the bottom then strong was fourth from the top.

I dont want to give away how the test works because I hope some of you will Google Harvard IAT and take the test for yourself, and explaining the test beforehand will make it much easier to game the results in your favor.

And I dont want to dismiss what I think the shortcomings of the test were. And I dont think anyone would claim that an easy-to-game test is the end-all-be-all to whether you have racist tendencies or not.

But Id rather focus on what it made me do.

It made me think about myself and the world view I hold.

Should I work on my racist tendencies? Yes. Do I have the right to be racist? For sure. Does having this right mean I shouldnt try to hold racist views? No. Does being racist mean Im a bad person? In some ways yes, and in some ways no. Does it mean Im out to terrorize your family with bedsheets and burning crosses? No. Can I be a good husband, son, father, neighbor, friend and community member while still having these tendencies? Most of the time, probably.

But does holding a racist view affect others? It sure can. If those views make me intentionally or unintentionally prejudiced against someone or if those views blind me to the need for reforms, a racist belief will hurt people.

I thought about what the results meant and instances when I had racist ideas and thoughts.

I thought about a time where I was surprised to find out a singer I really like was black because she didnt sound like it. I thought of times in school where I heard a black peers name and thought, That was kind of weird. I thought about the first time I met a middle school friend of Chinese heritage, and the first thing I noticed was that he didnt have an accent.

Racism, like unhealthy weight gain, is an issue that exists on a spectrum. Some people are a little fat and some people are really fat. Some people are a little racist and others are really racist.

You can dress for your body type, but everyone can see how big you are. You can explain away racist actions all day long, but people still see them.

Its one thing not to realize you have a flaw. Its another thing to hide your flaws instead of actively working to fix them.

Its not enough to pretend that we dont have imperfections. Its not enough to hear criticisms and dismiss them based on a small group of rioters. Its not even enough to own our flaws.

We must own them, and take the steps to fix them.

Anything less is lip service at best and willful support of racist thoughts, words and actions at worst. And lets not forget, racism makes it impossible for some to breathe, whether its conscious racism or not.

Read this article:
Jelalian: On weight loss and racism - Daily Herald

Special Report

Hristina Byrnes

June 5, 2020 6:07 pm

Last Updated: June 5, 2020 6:07 pm

The coronavirus pandemic is slowly releasing its grip on peoples lives as states have been reopening and a few are even allowing employees to return to the office. People are still, however, strongly encouraged to work remotely. So, working from home is here to say, at least for a few more weeks.

That may be bad news for people who hoped to resume their old routine and finally shed the extra pounds they packed on during the lockdown. While there is really just one way to slim down eating less and moving more there are several tips to try to not gain any weight while working from home.

Theres no denying that resisting the urge to snack when the kitchen is at your disposal 24/7 is hard work. Eating a balanced diet is key to keeping the weight off, but not all foods and drinks are created equal these are some healthy foods that are actually ruining your diet.

Click here for 17 tips for how not to gain (more) weight while working from home.

More here:
17 Tips to Not Gain (More) Weight While Working From Home - 24/7 Wall St.

Aaron Allen-Murdock wont let a little knee injury discourage his hoop dreams.

The 19-year-old Marion native was all ready to run the fast break right into the Old Rochester Regional High School gymnasium to retrieve his Class of 2020 yearbook when he was whistled for a three-second lane violation.

Allen-Murdocks momentary miscue amused the faculty and staff charged with managing the arrival of up to 175 graduating seniors who on May 27 participated in an organized campus drive-through arranged by homeroom for safe-spacing purposes.

A big reason for the smiles and laughter was the positive energy exuded by a student whose goals have dimensionally expanded thanks to a dramatic loss of weight from 250 to 170 pounds. Eager to make his mentors proud, the 5-foot-7 guard is essentially paying forward the support he received from classmates who noticed he was on a mission.

Ive been losing weight since the beginning of last (school) year. I started lifting (weights), going to the gym and I started boosting everything. And they noticed it, said Allen-Murdock, who had his heart set on playing varsity basketball for ORR when he tore the anterior-cruciate ligament in his right knee while playing basketball last fall at the Gleason Family YMCA in Wareham.

During recovery, he gained back 15-20 of the 60 pounds he had lost from habits and the injury part because I was down. The thing is, when youre down, you want to eat because you feel bad so you just do it, he explained. The thing is I wanted to work out, and youve got to remember I just lost 50-something pounds, and Im injured and I cant go to the gym at all now. It was hard on me.

Along the way back to full mobility, Allen-Murdock righted his ship, resumed what he calls the 16-8 diet (i.e. 16 hours of fasting and an eight-hour window to eat) and got his weight down to 170 pounds. Now he wants to add muscle mass while continuing to lose fat.

My goal is to get in the best shape of my life, he said. I think Im capable of walking on. At a very healthy weight with muscle mass, I think I am capable of playing for a (Division III) college basketball team.

Allen-Murdock plans to attend Cape Cod Community College for the next two academic years before transferring.

His dream job is to someday call play-by-play for an NBA team. To that end, he studied in Mike Besons sports-media class. Allen-Murdock has an Instagram page on which he posts Celtics analysis and NBA-related notes.

Beson says Allen-Murdock was always a hard worker in high school. Anything that sports came into it, he was so excited about it.

The value in a sports-media class, says Beson, is in exposing students to what really goes on and whats required on a daily basis.

To have to write and do something for hours at a time and not just love it when youre watching it, is a true test, one that Beson said Allen-Murdock passes with flying colors. Aaron loves doing anything and everything with sports. (For him its) pure excitement.

Allen-Murdock participated in his high schools fledgling Unified sports program, impressing former ORR basketball player and future superintendent Mike Nelson, who was on hand for the May 27 graduation-related event.

His personality and the way he went about it, in terms of the care he brought and the attitude to make everyone feel included; it was contagious, said Nelson. I feel that anyone who would watch any of the games would be proud of him I think he really set the stage for future years.

Led by Principal Mike Devoll who was at curbside with clipboard in hand, several members of the ORR faculty and staff gave the arriving seniors in their cars a memorable sendoff. Students returned textbooks and received COVID-19 kits and a Bulldog Quarantine long-sleeve t-shirt.

The first to arrive was Rochester native Abby Aldworth, 18. A former Old Colony Regional Vocational-Technical High School student, Aldworth changed course and attended ORR for her senior year. She plans a gap year for 2020-21 and will take online courses at Bristol Community College while plotting a new direction.

I wanted to be a nurse initially, and then I kind of figured out that that wasnt the path I wanted to take, said Aldworth, who did become a certified nursing assistant and works at Sippican School.

Aldworth, who drove up with her mother Donna, graduates the same year as older sister Lindsay Aldworth, a Bristol Aggie alumna who just graduated with Bridgewater State Universitys Class of 2020.

By Mick Colageo

Continue reading here:
Hardwood Has Not Heard the Last of Allen-Murdock - Wanderer

Mustard Seed (Photo Credits: Pixabay)

If you are thinking of weight loss, you should try to include ingredients, which can help you reduce some kilos, in your daily meals.One such ingredient ismustard seeds, which possess numerous health benefits and can also aid in the weight loss process. Mustard seeds are low in calories and also come along with antibacterial and antiseptic qualities. In this week's weight loss tip, webring you the properties of mustard seeds that can help you reduce weight.Peanut Butter Oatmeal For Weight Loss: Heres The Protein-Rich Breakfast Recipe For Vegans & Vegetarians (Watch Video)

Mustard seeds are quite an old ingredient and have been around for 5,000 years. They are available in different varieties -black mustard, white mustard and brown Indian mustard in whole as well as in powdered form. They are easily available in all grocery stores.Mustard seeds are rich in calcium, manganese, magnesium, omega 3 fatty acids, iron, zinc, protein and dietary fibre.Weight Loss Tip of the Week: How to Use Celery to Lose Weight (Watch Video)

Mustard Seeds For Weight Loss

The fibres of mustard seeds are hard to digest, thus, requiring more energy and burning more calories in the process. The presence of dietary fibre also creates a feeling of fullness for a longer period of time andhelps prevent over-eating.As per a study carried out by the scientists at England's Oxford Polytechnic Institute, eating 1 tablespoon of mustard seeds can boost the metabolic rate by up to 25 percent for the nextthree to four hours.

Mustard seeds not only help in weight loss but can also lower blood pressure as they contain magnesium. Therefore, add these tiny seedsto your food for a good flavour and good health. However, it must also be noted that for an overall good healthy body, it is necessary to follow a standard diet and exercise regularly.

(This article is written for an informative purpose and should not be substituted for medical advice. Kindly consult your doctor before trying any tips.)

Read more from the original source:
Weight Loss Tip of the Week: How to Use Mustard Seeds to Lose Weight - LatestLY

From a while ago, obesity is a problem in the Spanish society. The time spent in confinement has also not helped and, according to the experts, each spaniard has gained an average of four kilos, you many want to take off now that the summer is approaching and the quarantine comes to an end. One of the main things to keep in mind is that you can not get the desired body in a week, because the body needs time to pick up the pace.

It is not enough to kill you to do sport, the main thing is to take care of the food and to do this there are many options in the form of diets. Of this know a lot of the celebrities, that live in your body and your image, spend time and effort to be great. While many of them are inclined to healthy menus, as Gigi Hadid, who eats less sweets, or Drew Barrymore, who is vegan, there are many other celebrities who often jump to the headlines follow diets contentious little encouragement.

The IMEO (Medical institute European of Obesity) was collected a few weeks ago a list of the best and worst diets for weight loss, backed up with medical endocrinologists, nutritionists, physical trainers, psychologists and bariatric surgeons, that is to say, experts that know a lot of the subject matter and that are worth taking into account. All of them suggest a moderate loss of weight, a maximum of 1.5 pounds a week and not more than 6, which will do not have rebound effect.

Visit link:
Diets: these are the best to lose weight - OI Canadian

The chin up vs pull up question may never go away but the truth is, they are both excellent compound exercises, albeit not easy to perform correctly. Although similar to some degree, chin ups and pull ups work different muscles, or at least work similar muscles differently. Choosing one over another very much comes down to what muscle groups you would like to focus on more in your workout routine.

There are many different ways to build muscle and lucky for you, we have many great workout options here at T3: have a look at the best full body workout routine, this two-day push-pull workout, we also have a two-day push-pull upper body workout as well as the best beginners calisthenics workout too, just to mention a few.

Make sure the pull up bar is drilled in properly at home

(Image credit: mirafit)

Especially is you are trying to perform chin ups or pull ups at home, make sure that the pull up bar you're using is safe to use before you apply your weight onto it. These exercises might not seem too dangerous at first but your bodyweight provides plenty of resistance and if you fall off the bars for any reason, you can hurt yourself, pretty badly.

Before you even attempt to do either chin ups or pull ups, improve your grip strength by just hanging from the bar, resting your legs on the floor or on an elevated surface like a chair or aerobic step. When hanging, try not to drop your shoulders and engage your core as well.

Doing multiple sets of chin ups/pull ups require a lot of strength so don't try to rush progress and hurt yourself in the process.

Important: if you are new to exercising or haven't done much exercising in the past, try easing your body and mind into working out rather than going too strong at the beginning. If you have some excess body fat, we have a few handy tips on how to lose weight fast (relatively) as well as many articles on different diet methods (link to these are in the article above). Just be sensible.

Chin should go over the bar at the top

(Image credit: Future)

Best for: sculpting big arms, especially the biceps and strengthening the lats

Muscle worked: biceps, lats, forearm, shoulders, core

Chin ups are probably a tad bit easier to perform than pull ups, mainly because in the case of chin ups, your arm muscles especially your biceps can be utilised more during the movement. For the same reason, chin ups are better to build arm definition and to really make the biceps pop.

To perform a chin up, grab the bar with an underhand grip (palms facing you), hands being shoulder apart. Even in the lowermost position, you should drop your shoulders completely and engage your core too. This will help you stabilise your body, especially on your descent.

At halfway point, your chin should be over the bar. otherwise it's only a half-rep and you don't want to half-rep. It is not only less effective but also promotes bad form as well.

SIXPAD Electric Muscle Stimulation Training Gear | Prices from 175 at AmazonSIXPAD training gear won't replace hard work but it can make it more effective. These cordless pads can effectively enhance muscle stimulation and can "help users achieve an 8% improvement in abdominal muscle size after 4 weeks alongside a balanced diet and exercise" or so does SIXPAD claim. The percentage goes up to 12% after 8 weeks and many SIXPAD products can be used in other areas than just your abs.View Deal

Hands wide apart for a nice V-shape

(Image credit: Future)

Best for: achieving the coveted V-shape, building a strong upper back

Muscles worked: lats, teres major, rhomboids, biceps, core

Being able to perform pull ups correctly is the ultimate power move in a gym. Many people who can powerlift twice their bodyweight would struggle to do eight clean reps of pull ups.

Pull ups are challenging because you need to be agile as well as strong to be able to do the pull ups, not to mention shoulder mobility, something a lot of people ignore and just assume they have because "they use to rule the monkey bars in primary school".

To perform a pull up, hold the bar with an overhand grip (palms facing away from you) and hands being wide apart. A nice wide grip will help activate the lats even more and will help you shape that back-V sooner.

The same rules apply to pull ups as for chin ups: core engaged, not dropping shoulders, being mindful of the descent. As with any exercise, the slower you can perform it within reason the longer you activate the muscles and the quicker you are going to see results.

Munch on the right snacks

(Image credit: Grenade)

To avoid any injuries and to help recovery, keep an eye out on your protein intake and always stretch after your exercising sessions. And make sure you drink plenty of water as well. A decent gym water bottle doesn't cost all that much.

Supplement-wise, you only really need two: protein powder and creatine. The former will help in the muscle repair process and latter will boost performance. Both are safe to use and there is a wide variety of offerings so you can choose a flavour you prefer.

With creatine, we recommend you get the unflavoured variety because it mixes well with any liquid and you only need a small amount to keep your creatine levels saturated. This means you can mix your 3-5 grams of creatine with anything in the morning (water, juice, even coffee) without having to worry about an aftertaste.

If you feel like you need a nibble throughout the day, opt in for low-sugar protein bars and snacks as opposed to Mars bars.

Today's best fitness gear and supplement deals

Bowflex SelectTech 560 Stand

Harbinger BioForm Wristwrap...

See the original post:
Chin up vs pull up: what's the difference, which muscles are worked and most importantly, WHAT IS THE BEST ONE? - T3

In these days of COVID-19 pandemic when everyone has been forced to stay at home due to lockdown, maintaining ideal weight as well as boosting immunity is a top priority. So how can you lose weight and continue to boost immunity level? Here are the top 5 weight loss foods that are incredibly good at fulfilling both these purposes.

1. Oranges

Oranges are juicy and are good for curbing your craving for sweets. It is rich in fiber and fills your stomach and hence highly recommended for weight loss. Apart from that, it is enriched with electrolytes and vitamin C which are both good for increasing the immune system. Incidentally, vitamin C has been an integral part of the treatment offered to the corona patients as it helps to eliminate cough and cold symptoms.

2. Yoghurt

Rich in probiotics Yogurt is gut-friendly and helps in improving digestion. It is high in protein thereby contributing to muscle-development. Yoghurt reduces hunger pangs keeping your fuller for a long time. Importantly, it helps in maintaining the right acidic and alkaline level in the stomach thereby restricting the growth of microorganisms such as viruses in the body.

3. Garlic

Garlic boosts energy levels thereby keeping you stronger even when you are feeling low due to bad health. It helps in burning extra calories, boosts metabolism, suppresses appetite, and thus prevents you from overeating. Eating raw garlic with honey helps weight loss and also restricts the growth of unwanted bacterias in the body thereby keeping you away from occasional bouts of seasonal fevers and health issues.

4. Chicken Soup

A hot broth is what you need to keep the coronavirus from reaching your lungs and taking control of your body. Health experts have been advising people to increase their intake of hot water to ensure that the virus if somehow reaches you should directly go to the stomach and its spread can be prevented. Chicken broth helps to ease down the congestion in the chest and nose and its rich protein content heals you slowly.It is a low-fat recipe good for those who do not want to add extra calories while increasing their immunity level.

5. Honey And Tea

Honey has remarkable health-benefitting properties. It is rich in antioxidants and a great healer. Whenever you are sick a concoction of hot and steamy foods or herbs with a dash of honey can always work wonders. It soothes your sore throats (which is one of the symptoms of COVID-19) and boosts immunity. You can add different herbs like basil leaves or chamomile to make an herbal tea with honey and a dash of lime that is perfect for weight loss as well as boosting immunity levels.

Read More:

New Study Says Homemade Cloth Masks Can Reduce COVID-19 Spread

High Blood Pressure Patients More Likely To Die From COVID-19

Excerpt from:
Top 5 Weight Loss Foods That Can Improve Immunity During COVID-19 Crisis - OdishaTV

People who weigh themselves regularly are more successful at losing weight and keeping it off. But standing on a scale, in itself, doesnt help people to magically lose weight. Rather, standing on a bathroom scale every day may encourage some people to think about their eating and exercise habits, plan ways to lose weight, and help them resist temptation. In other words, the bathroom scale might help people self-regulate.

To find out whether this is true, we asked 24 people to record their thoughts during daily weighing for eight weeks. We found that most people didnt use self-regulation, but those who did were more likely to lose weight. This led us to wonder whether we could teach people self-regulation skills to make weighing more useful.

We developed a programme called PREVAIL that aims to guide people who want to lose weight through the process of self-regulation. Participants were instructed to weigh themselves daily and record it on an app. We developed a list of 53 weight loss actions, such as snacking only on vegetables, cutting out alcohol or walking 10,000 steps. We asked people to try out all the actions they felt were relevant to them and to use their weight change over time to learn which behaviours worked.

We asked them to do this based on their weekly weight trends, as weight can change from one day to another for reasons that arent linked to fat loss or gain. We then encouraged people to continue with the strategies that worked well for them, building their personal set of effective weight loss tools.

We tested this programme in an eight-week randomised controlled trial with 100 people. The participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups. Half the participants followed the PREVAIL programme and the other half were instructed to weigh themselves without further support (the control group).

People who used the PREVAIL programme lost on average 3.2kg (half a stone) more than people in the control group. The feedback we received from participants following the PREVAIL programme was overwhelmingly positive, with many saying that the programme let them take control of their weight loss and flexibly manage their weight alongside their busy lives.

We were quite surprised by the amount of weight people lost because none of the 53 weight loss strategies we had come up with were revolutionary, and each one would probably have had only a modest effect. By combining these actions and putting them into context with weight data, people were able to gain insights into how their diet and physical activity affected their weight. The process of self-regulation and experimentation allowed them to develop their own highly personalised weight loss plan.

Some people experience negative emotions when they weigh themselves. We hoped that guiding people through a process to help make use of their weight measurements would help them overcome this. Responses from the participants showed that they were indeed able to use the daily weighing positively, as constructive feedback. If something didnt work, they could move on to a different strategy rather than becoming frustrated with the lack of progress. It seemed as though our participants found a way to use their scales as a helpful tool to work towards their goals.

Our trial showed promising results for the first eight weeks, but it often takes a bit longer than that for people to reach their goal weight. Also, people may struggle to keep weight off after losing weight. We hope to test this programme in a bigger and longer trial, to see how people do in the long term.

In the meantime, with many people finding it hard to manage their weight during lockdown, our list of weight loss actions may come in handy. You can find them here.

See the original post here:
How to use your bathroom scale to find the right weight loss strategy - The Conversation UK

Less than a year ago, Boris Johnson was taking a stand. Milkshakes, he said, should not be taxed.

If we want people to lose weight and live healthier lifestyles, we should encourage people to walk, cycle and generally do more exercise. Rather than just taxing people more, we should look at how effective the so-called sin taxes really are, and if they actually change behaviour.

Since then, the world has been hit by a coronavirus pandemic, with the prime minister one of those infected. And Johnson, at least on the face of it, has changed his mind.

Obesity was a problem before Covid-19, but this is an infectious disease that hits obese people disproportionately hard, no matter their income.

Countries with high obesity rates from western Europe to the US are struggling to keep people alive in intensive care units. Britain, long described as the fat man of Europe also has the highest number of Covid-19 deaths in Europe. Almost 30% of adults in the UK are classed as obese. The figure is nearly 40% in the US, where Covid deaths have topped 100,000.

It is striking, experts say, that wealthy countries appear to have higher mortality rates than impoverished ones. Africa so far has not experienced the explosion of deaths that Europe has. There will be many factors, and absence of good data collection will be one. But low rates of obesity, type 2 diabetes and the chronic disease of the heart and other organs are likely to play a part.

Epidemics of infectious diseases behave in different ways but the1918 influenza pandemicthat killed more than 50 million people is regarded as a key example of a pandemic that occurred in multiple waves, with the latter more severe than the first. It has been replicated albeit more mildly in subsequent flu pandemics.

How and why multiple-wave outbreaks occur, and how subsequent waves of infection can be prevented, has become a staple of epidemiological modelling studies and pandemic preparation, which have looked at everything from social behaviour and health policy to vaccination and the buildup of community immunity, also known as herd immunity.

Is there evidence of coronavirus coming back in a second wave?

This is being watched very carefully. Without a vaccine, and with no widespread immunity to the new disease, one alarm is being sounded by the experience of Singapore, which has seen a suddenresurgence in infectionsdespite being lauded for its early handling of the outbreak.

Although Singapore instituted a strong contact tracing system for its general population, the disease re-emerged incramped dormitory accommodationused by thousands of foreign workers with inadequate hygiene facilities and shared canteens.

Singapores experience, although very specific, has demonstrated the ability of the disease to come back strongly in places where people are in close proximity and its ability to exploit any weakness in public health regimes set up to counter it.

What are experts worried about?

Conventional wisdom among scientists suggests second waves of resistant infections occur after the capacity for treatment and isolation becomes exhausted. In this case the concern is that the social and political consensus supporting lockdowns is being overtaken by public frustration and the urgent need to reopen economies.

The threat declines when susceptibility of the population to the disease falls below a certain threshold or when widespread vaccination becomes available.

In general terms the ratio of susceptible and immune individuals in a population at the end of one wave determines the potential magnitude of a subsequent wave. The worry right now is that witha vaccine still months away, and the real rate of infection only being guessed at, populations worldwide remain highly vulnerable to both resurgence and subsequent waves.

Peter Beaumont

Prof Barry Popkin, a professor of nutrition at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health in the US, says obesity weakens greatly our immune system.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control says 73% of critically ill patients with Covid-19 in Italy, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the Netherlands are obese.

In the UK, according to Prof John Wilding, the president of the World Obesity Federation, obesity doubles the chances of death.

The non-profit organisation is publishing a dossier of evidence and guidance about obesity in Covid-19 on its website on Wednesday, setting out what has been established so far.

According to a yet to be peer-reviewed study of the electronic health records of 17 million adult NHS patients, the risk of a coronavirus-related hospital death increases from between 1.5 to 2 times for people with a body mass index of 30, which is the lowest level of obesity, to more than 2 for those with a BMI of 40 or more. It is a very significant increase, says Wilding . And the reasons for that are probably pretty complicated.

Although not an intensive care doctor, Wilding says one of the reasons is the difficulty ventilating somebody who is obese.

Its much harder to ventilate you effectively if you have a higher bodyweight. The lung capacity for the body size is lower, so theres less reserve in the system. So of course, if you do have a severe respiratory infection, that affects the ability of the lungs to help get oxygen into the blood. The system is going to have to work a lot harder for you than it is for somebody who is much lighter and much smaller.

It could make sense to advise everyone who is morbidly obese to shield but GPs do not always put people on the scales or keep a record. So there is no register of who they are.

When Johnson was admitted to St Thomas hospital in London with Covid-19, he was reported to have weighed 17-and-a-half stone (111kg), which would have given him a BMI of about 36. BMI is a ratio of weight to height: 18.5 to 25 is normal and 30 is obese.

Over 40 is morbid obesity and the point at which people can be referred to specialist care and may be eligible for bariatric surgery to reduce their stomach size. Johnson was vulnerable when he was infected and he appears to have recognised his weight was a factor.

Ive changed my mind on this. We need to be much more interventionist, he told senior ministers and advisers, according to the Spectators political editor, James Forsyth.

This is exactly what doctors at the British Obesity and Metabolic Surgery Society (BOMSS) have been waiting to hear; they have long feared that the UK is not taking the condition seriously.

Hospitals deal with the consequences of obesity such as soaring rates of type 2 diabetes, blindness and amputations and the cost to the NHS is high. But the UK offers only a tenth of the stomach-reducing surgery that France does: 6,000 operations a year compared with 60,000.

Prof David Kerrigan, the president of BOMSS, and colleagues wrote an open letter to the prime minister to draw his attention to last years call by the Royal College of Physicians for obesity to be recognised as a disease not a lifestyle choice.

There has been a curious reluctance on the part of the NHS to grasp this particular nettle, they said, adding that bariatric surgery to shrink the stomach and reduce appetite was often regarded as a quick fix.

But a quick fix is precisely what is needed if we are to avoid needless suffering, ICU admission and death in patients with obesity who subsequently become infected with Sars-CoV-2, they wrote to Johnson.

Like so much of Covid-19, it is unclear why people who are obese are at higher risk of severe illness.

Shaw Somers, a consultant bariatric surgeon and a former BOMSS president, says people who are overweight have what is known as a pro-inflammatory state.

Excess fatty tissue, when it reaches a certain point, starts to secrete certain hormones which make your body think that its inflamed. When it becomes extremely severe, at very, very heavy weight, it is the thing that drives the damage to all their organs. Their body thinks its chronically inflamed and this just basically trashes a lot of their essential systems like the kidneys, the lungs, the heart, etc, Somers says.

With severe obesity, your immune system is working overtime. What we know from Covid is, those who do badly have an exaggerated inflammatory response that comes on after seven to 10 days. Their immune system goes berserk and kills them. And we think that obesity just amplifies it and just makes it much worse.

People who are obese also fare worse if they get Sars, flu or pneumonia. The highest risk is with the highest BMI, but it is a sliding scale. Even those who are overweight, with a BMI of 25, are running health risks.

If you look at the prime minister, for instance, his BMI is 36. So its not far from 40, where hed be eligible for NHS treatment, says Somers. If his BMI is 36 and he got another illness like blood pressure or diabetes, he would be eligible for NHS treatment for his obesity.

Even someone who is maybe a couple of stone overweight will have a degree of impairment of the body function and the degree of impairment of the resilience of their body. Because of that obesity, they may not be aware of it until they get serious illness like Covid-19, such as bad influenza. Then it will hit them.

Somers says the UK should be treating far more people who cannot reduce their weight by themselves. It does not have to involve surgery. He talks about the gastric balloon, for example, which is swallowed in a deflated state and then inflated to the size of a grapefruit in the stomach. Four months later, it effectively disintegrates and is passed in the normal fashion.

Wilding hopes that people will be thinking of living healthier lifestyles as we come out of lockdown.

We would encourage people to try and eat a healthier range of foods, fresh foods, and try and make sure the constraints weve all had to go through are not actually putting us at even higher risk of developing severe infection or severe illness from coronavirus because we put on weight while sitting at home worrying about it, he says.

In the aftermath of Covid-19, it is likely that more people will cycle and walk in order to avoid crowded trains, tubes and buses. More dedicated cycle lanes may be built.

The link between obesity and Covid-19 may encourage better nutrition, curbs on junk food and better access to obesity treatment for far more people when they need it.

There are some positive things that can come out of this, Wilding says.

Go here to read the rest:
Obesity and coronavirus: how can a higher BMI increase your risk? - The Guardian

Page 60«..1020..59606162..7080..»

Home » How to lose weight safely » Page 60