06/25/2024

Costas Andreou P., Clinical Exercise Physiologist and Degree in Physical Education

The main motivation for most people who want to lose weight is to improve their appearance. However, there are equally and even more important benefits from proper diet and regular exercise.

Body weight management through the reduction of subcutaneous fat plays an important role in maintaining ones good health and strengthening the immune system. The fact is that most medical research on the subject showed that obesity is an important risk factor for health and longevity. Generally, for men a percentage of body fat greater than 25% defines obesityand for women greater than 32%.

Obesity has been linked to severe illnesses such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes. In developed countries such as the U.S., three out of four deaths are due to heart disease or cancer and according to surveys, 80% of these deaths are linked to bad habits, including sedentary lifestyle. For example, people who are obese need more energy for respiration because the heart must make more effort to send blood to the lungs and excess fat to the body. This increased effort may create an enlarged heart (increased heart size) and consequently cause hypertension and arrhythmias.

People suffering from obesity usually have high cholesterol levels, which makes them candidates for atherosclerosis (narrowing of arteries due to atherosclerotic plaque stocks). This is dangerous because when the blood vessels narrow in a high degree or are completely occluded, then vital organs such as brain, heart or kidneys are deprived of blood supply. Simultaneously, the narrowing of the arteries causes the heart to contract with a greater force and raises the blood pressure. Hypertension may lead to a heart attack, kidney disease and stroke. Approximately 25% of cardiovascular problems are associated with obesity. Several clinical studies have demonstrated the link between obesity and cancer. Carcinogens seem to be stored in the fat deposits of both men and women. In women, excess body fat has been linked with higher percentage of breast and uterus cancer, and in men with thick bowel and prostate cancer.

Also, fat has a fine relationship with blood sugar and insulin. Excess blood sugar is stored in the liver and other organs and when the organs "fill", the excess sugar is converted into fat. When fat cells also "fill” with excess sugar, then they tend to remove less sugar from the blood and in some cases the pancreas is forced to produce more insulin to lower blood sugar. Then, the body is overloaded and diabetes is created. Diabetes, in turn, is associated with heart disease, kidney failure, blindness, amputation, osteoarthritis, sexual dysfunction and stroke.

Reduction of subcutaneous fat = Reduction of risk factors
At the University of Pittsburgh a research was conducted with a sample of 159 people in order to study whether the reduction of body fat helps reduce diseases. The sample was composed by people who were aged under 45 years old and had 14-32 kg excess weight. All individuals entered a program of exercise and healthy eating, and those who managed to lose 10-15% of their weight and maintain it for 18 months, had improved their levels of HDL (good cholesterol) and triglycerides, the ratio between their waist and perimeter and their blood pressure. According to it the medical journal “New England Journal of Medicine”, the reduction of subcutaneous fat is a more effective method to treat heart disease than medication.

People with hereditary heart disease, can delay or halt the development of the disease when they are active and exercise regularly. The results are even more encouraging when the exercise is accompanied by a healthy diet and stress management, according to the renowned cardiologist Dr. Dean Ornish. There are multiple reasons why a rapid weight gain and fat increase is observed in many adults: After the age of 25-30 the metabolism lowers, which when combined with a sedentary lifestyle and loss of 1kg muscle mass every two years, it reduces the body's ability to burn fat and increases the chances of injury.

The solution is exercise and healthy eating
The reduction in weight / fat along with exercise and healthy diet has been shown to reduce the health risk in 90% of obese individuals. People with a good physical condition have 8 times less possibility to die from heart disease.

Long-term effort and perseverance is necessary. The most difficult obstacle is to make the decision to change various habits. The whole effort may seem extremely difficult but it is important to make exercise and healthy eating a way of life.

Costas P. Andreou, B.A., M.Sc.,
Clinical Physiologist and Degree in Physical Education