Some people are apple-shaped and some are described as being pear-shaped.  This relates to where the excess fat in your body is actually distributed.  Studies have shown that people who carry the majority of their excess weight on the abdomens are more prone to vascular deficiencies such as arthrosclerosis which is caused by a build-up of hardened fatty plaque from cholesterol deposits inside the arteries.  

To measure whether weight is within a healthy range or not the body mass index is measured.  More commonly known as your BMI, it gives an indication of how much overweight you are by a mathematical ratio comparing height in relation to weight. To make BMI reading easy, there are many BMI calculators you can use but, if you do not have access to a calculator, to work out your BMI, all you need to do is to divide your weight in kg by the square of your height in metres [height x height = square of height].  BMI within normal range is between 18.5kg/m2 and 25 kg/m2. A BMI of between 25 and 30 indicates overweight.  However, if your BMI is more than 30 you are considered to be Obese.  With a BMI higher than 40 you are regarded as morbidly Obese, sufficiently Obese to be cause for concern.

Obesity can cause all sorts of insidious medical and psychological problems, such as low self-esteem anxiety and depression.  It can lead to problems moving the Obese body around, so you are likely to have difficulties with walking and running is almost impossible with pain in the knees and small of the back.  You could have difficulties breathing and an increase in sweating.  Acne is more profound and, a bit more seriously, such things as gallstones are likely to occur as a direct result of obesity.  You could also suffer from an increased cholesterol level and high blood pressure and be at a much increased risk of cardiovascular disease such as a stroke or a heart attack.

There is a lot of professional help available if you really do want to lose weight and an initial check-up by your doctor is essential to make sure any health problems you might have are treated along with the obesity.  The doctor can either advise you about dieting and exercising but is more likely to refer you to a dietician if you fall within the Obese group.  With the help of a dietician you can agree on an eating plan that is suitable for you to follow long-term and get appropriate advice on an exercise programme.  If necessary a dietician can also refer you to a physiotherapist if they consider specialist help is needed to get a suitable exercise programme underway.

There are all sorts of self-help groups available, from slimming groups to informal groups of friends meeting just to provide support.  There are now many online slimming websites which can help you maintain a healthy eating pattern, with food plans suitable for most life-styles.  Most people want to lose weight too quickly and, when they don’t, they feel cheated and give up.  You can only lose weight at the speed your body metabolises food and, although there are ways to incrementally increase metabolism to burn calories faster, you need self-discipline and patience. Don’t focus on the whole problem as it is simply too big.  Look at just losing a few pounds before you focus on the next hurdle.  That way you are more likely to succeed.

Most drinks are made using two, three or four fruits - all of which contain their own sugars and their own calories, despite the fact they might be seen as ‘healthy’.  They still contribute to excess calories. If you think about a single banana which seems to be one of the main constituents of the smoothie, it contains around 100 calories. Add an apple at 50 calories, a pear at another 50 calories and, even without any other ingredients, you have a drink containing a whopping 200 calories - almost as much as a super-thick fast-food milkshake.  It doesn’t take many of these to blow any Weight Loss diet!

One of the biggest problems with fast food is that it is cheap and, to aim at the mass market and passing trade, fast food needs to be kept as cheap as possible.  Due to keeping the prices down, which is essential in the highly competitive world of feeding the masses quickly, extra size portions can be offered for very little more than an ordinary portion.  This is self-perpetuating in its own way because the public consider they are getting a bargain which is hard to resist.  This leads to the public being fed more calories per meal than is absolutely essential and, over a period of time, the pounds creep on - usually so slowly you don’t notice it until it is too late and you have gone up a clothes’ size.

The need to keep costs down also keeps food quality low and the cheapest possible foods all contain large quantities of saturated fats, one of the prime causes of body fat being laid down. It is also high in sugar and refined carbohydrates, all designed to provide satiety at the expense of nutrition.  Refined carbohydrates are not particularly good at making you feel full so, you finish your first burger and still feel hungry - so, of course, you go back to the counter and buy another one. Or, knowing you have done so in the past, you buy an extra size portion and ‘go large’ the first time around, piling on the calories with each visit and sousing your body in unhealthy saturated fats and sugary soft drinks.

All e-books describe the various types of obesity found in children. They will go into detail the many causes of this disease. Each describing the forms of obesity and thus the effects it has on our youths today. Such as fast food, poor diet, poor parenting, and lack of exercise in children. They even get into detail on how media programs our children. What we can expect from our child for the first course of obesity. The stages are always determined by the amount of poor foods the child eats, and the lack of exercise they obtain. This is due to TV, video games, or even movies entertainment for children leaving them indoors less active. Many campaigns have been set to battle obesity in our youths and many parents are nieve thinking they can not change the state of a child. In truth the e-books teach us the causes of obesity it is up to us to correct it.

We as Parents and role models can change a child’s program way of seeing life. We can teach them by giving them simple choices and alternatives in the diet we provide for them. If they do not eat there veggies and only want the fast food chicken nuggets. Then you have to change up your preparation routine with vegetables. This can be done and learned through prevention causing obesity in most e-books. All you have to do is follow the guidelines and start programming your child to a better healthier one. We only need to start the rest will follow, the teaching of not going to fast food dinners is a start. The ability to say no to high carb, cholesterol foods, and preservatives in foods is another. In truth if we watch the sugar and sodium they consume you will see a better decrease in weight in less then a month for starters. Can we make a difference in our children’s lives? Yes because we can get the information to do so on-line in truth we do not have an excuse?

How many times have you watched a child movie and you see an over Obese child or cartoon like Buzz Light Year in toy story. These characters become a subliminal message how cool these characters are and it’s okay to be over weight. These are geared towards constant study by film Productions to know how to promote certain food products from sponsors. They use the movies characters to help sell them in the real world like the movie “The Goonies” the Obese child wanting ice cream. Pepsi use to sponsor major films along with Doritos, and Lays chips all junk high carb sugar foods. Programming early children is so simple because they learn from what they see and hear. Take measures to watch what they consume and then and only then give them options to an alternative of what was sponsored on the movie. Start by reprogram them before you leave the movie. By doing so you help your child to over come the need of wanting to eat none healthy foods.

Fast food companies will use any means necessary to ensure the youths of today will waste their money on food they produce. This is why majority of the states have such a problem with child Obesity. If youths are made more aware of what goes into their system then perhaps they will use caution when choosing where to eat. But alas it is a battle with these corporations everyday. As they are always finding new ways to get more and more kids to eat and purchase the food they sell. If more people get involved in helping to stop child obesity then perhaps fast food corporations will listen. Fast food companies need to be more self aware of the effects they have on today’s youth. But statistics show that keeping the youth of today away from fast food places is a bigger task then one expected. None the less if parents and others continue to caution their children on the choices they make. Then hopefully they might get into their heads to eat healthier.

Get children involved into extra recreational activities become a volunteer at youth clubs or sporting events. Get the children of today to be more comfortable with the aspects of having fun. Become a big Brother or Sister and get them active. Help people you know with children choose the proper things in the stores that are rich and natural. Get them away from high carbs and sugar packed content or fast food items cured in sodium. Is it enough? Will this help can it make a difference? In truth yes, the entire world can do away with the extras. We have so little time now days.  It is easy to stop and have a burger at a local food chain. Or pop a frozen dinner into the micro wave. We forget how it harms our bodies and teach our children to do the same. We have set the example and show them that we can produce natural foods that are richer with nutrients vitamins and minerals we need. Not high carbs grease sugar and cholesterol.

We all need to take some exercise to stay healthy, no matter how busy we are.  All of us are busy people and live very busy 21st century lives so being able to fit ordinary ‘lifestyle’ exercise into your working day really is good news.  Exercise such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator, or parking your car at the far side of the car park rather than as close as you can, or getting off the bus a couple of stops sooner than you really need.  You might even walk instead of taking the bus.

The basic theory of losing fat is more calories are being used up than are taken into the body through nutrition. In other words, you lose more weight if you do exercise than you do if you don’t exercise.  Another benefit of exercise when following a Weight Loss programme is encouraging the release of endorphins from the brain, the body’s ‘feel good’ factor which prevents depression and gives you a happy feeling.

Just 12 minutes of exercise will provide the benefits of endorphins being released. Serotonin is also produced in the brain.  This chemical deters depression and also helps maintain better sleep patterns, giving you a better sleep at night.  As you begin to lose weight you will start to feel better and, undergoing a course of exercise will enhance that feeling of well being.  As you become fitter you will notice you have far more overall energy which, in turn, will result in your mood being improved.

The concept behind Ayurveda treatments for obesity is fatty tissue [medho dhatu] becomes deposited amongst other tissue in the body.  In obesity, it is thought that medho dhatu is the only parts that receive nourishment, causing general malaise, increased sweating, fatique, and an increase in appetite.  This, coupled with not wanting to exercise has been attributed to the fatty tissue being deposited at various tissue levels. To mobilise the fatty tissue by liquefying it is the focus of Ayurvedic massage.  Known as Udwartana, this involves coarse powder being massaged into the body from the feet to the head.

For a whole course of treatment, the first consultation assesses your body composition [Prakriti] and your vital signs will be recorded. From Udwartana to complete rest and relaxation, necessary after a session of Pancha karma which makes you feel exhausted. You will be dieted in accordance with the recommendations of the doctor caring for you during your Ayurvedic treatment. You will be given steam baths and yoga, and plenty of massage. At the end of the designated period of treatment you will be weighed and measured and have all your vital signs again recorded.  Hopefully, after all the pleasurable hard work your metabolism will have been stimulated sufficiently for you to carry on losing weight by yourself once all the pampering and attention has been finished.