Antiaging

Eating too much fast food and junk food, drinking too many sodas, and spending too much time in front of the television and the computer are often cited as primary reasons for an increase in teen overweight and obesity. Just as with other health conditions, there are many factors that can contribute to obesity. Some of these factors are genetic, environmental, hereditary, and metabolic. Eating disorders, such as night eating or bulimia, can be related to obesity, as can the use of certain medications, such as steroids or cancer hemotherapy. Cultural factors also can contribute to obesity. In fact, the causes for obesity, or for being at risk for obesity, are complex, and largely dependent on the culture and environment in which a person lives.

A key component in losing weight and maintaining a healthy level is to ensure that dietary advice is tailored for the individual. Low-carbohydrate protein rich diets are being increasingly recommended for the management of obesity and insulin resistance17, and have been shown to be superior to other regimes at 6 months and at least as good after one year. Other risk factors such as blood pressure and lipid profile also improve significantly. It is important to combine low carbohydrate with low fat, rather than deliberately increasing fat consumption as some commercial initiatives have done, and also to ensure a healthy level of fruit and vegetable intake.

Protein-rich formulas manufactured from milk or soy as diet is one of the best option for weight loss. Meat is a main source of protein and, although associated with fat, the fat content of meat has dramatically reduced in lean meat over recent years. Dairy products can be a good source of protein but again there is an element of fat. Beans, nuts and cereal grains are also a good protein source and associated fats are generally lower and seldom saturated. In developed nations, a higher proportion of protein in the diet comes from meat and dairy products, where it is combined with fat. This contrasts with less developed nations, where the main source of protein is plants.

The ready availability of highly palatable, energy-dense foods has, together with major lifestyle changes, resulted in a population that is increasingly overweight or obese. In response to this trend and in consideration of the health risks of being overweight, weight-loss drugs are in great demand.

Weight-loss drugs are intended to enable patients to lose weight more effectively than diet or exercise alone by suppressing appetite, inhibiting the absorption of fat, or in some cases, increasing the metabolism slightly. Maximum weight loss as a direct result of the drugs will generally show results within the first six months. A patient could also lose weight due to the drugs after the first six months, but it will be a moderate weight loss. The length of time during which a person will continue to lose weight as a direct result of the weight-loss drug depends on how long it takes his or her body to adjust to the medication.

Most of the current weight-loss drugs approved by the FDA are appetite suppressants. The currently FDA-approved appetite suppressants belong to a group of drugs called phenethylamines, which are similar to amphetamines. Phentermine is an appetite suppressant that was approved by the FDA in 1959 for short-term treatment of obesity.Phendimetrazine was approved by the FDA in 1976 and is meant for the first few weeks of a diet and exercise program for the obese. The FDA approved diethylpropion in 1959 for the short-term treatment of obesity, usually for just a few weeks because it can become habit forming.The FDA approved sibutramine, one of the more popular appetite suppressants made by Abbott Laboratories, in 1997. The brand names include Meridia in North America and Reductil in other countries.5-Hydroxytryptophan, known as 5-HTP, is used as a supplement to control appetite. Since the 1970s, products that contain phenylpropanolamine, also known as PPA, have been available over the counter to control appetite under brand names such as Dexatrim and Acutrim.Like any drug, these weight-loss aids present varying degrees of risk. This risk was grossly miscalculated, however, with drugs such as Redux and Fen-phen, which caused some consumers permanent heart and lung damage.

Exercise is an excellent way to control weight. Exercise burns calo-ries, so it helps get rid of extra pounds. Even at rest a fit body hasmore muscle, which burns more basal metabolic energy than fat. Soa fit person sleeping uses more calories than a fat person does.A little arithmetic tells you that if you exercise at about 300 calo-ries per day and watch your diet, you’ll control about one poundevery twelve days.

That means that if you burn an additional 300 calories through exercise daily, five days a week, and cut out an equal number of food calories, you could lose a pound or more every week. So a 10-pound target loss would take ten weeks.

However, if you exercise regularly, your 10-pound target will realistically reduce to 8 pounds because you’ll be building muscle and eliminating body fat, and muscle is heavier than fat. Muscle looks better, however, takes up less space, and improves body size and shape.