There are many ways to lose weight including surgery, weight loss drugs, fasting, dieting, but the idea is that many people want to reduce their body weight. New research suggests that including waist circumference in the classification of obesity would mean a jump from 40% to 70% of adults in the U.S. that would now be considered overweight or obese.
This sudden increase comes with a proposed new classification system that includes waist circumference and body fat, not just BMI. Waist circumference and abdominal fat increase the risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and mortality. It is a health risk.
What should your waist circumference be? You can learn more in the link below.
Marketing for weight loss makes weight loss seem like an impossible task – it is not – it is not even that complicated. (I never said it was easy, just not complicated.)
Do you want to lose weight or lose fat?
This makes all the difference.
As we age muscle becomes more important and harder to build. Preventing muscle loss is a better strategy than trying to regain muscle. Changing your weight is possible. How you go about it will depend on if you are interested in the number on the scale or improving your health.
If you are trying to change your weight, or more importantly your body composition, it is possible without medical interventions. It takes longer and the results vary, but you might be more inclined to make lifestyle changes if you understood how important maintaining muscle is to your health.
Weight loss drugs
These popular and prevalent drugs may seem like a miracle cure for every condition from dementia, cardiovascular disease and substance abuse. However, there is a downside. Not only the side-effects of nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but there are more serious ones like pancreatitis and kidney problems.
That is not all.
The loss of muscle tissue with these drugs is higher than normal age-related muscle loss which is between 0-8% per year based on the estimated age-related weight loss of 8% per decade between the ages of 40-70. Muscle mass loss with dieting alone results in a 10-30% loss of muscle mass. Muscle mass loss with the GLP-1 weight loss injections is between 25-40% of the weight loss.
This is a problem.
A problem that is not being recognized by most physicians. Muscle loss is a serious health risk. More muscle means remaining independent and healthier longer.
Whether you choose to use weight loss drugs or not, the fine print is still the same. You still need to change your eating habits and exercise routine. Maybe even more importantly, because when people stop using the drugs weight regain is faster then after traditional diets.
With the new classification system being proposed by researchers at Mass General Brigham that includes BMI, waist and body fat measurements as well as weight, and the corresponding increase in the number of adults who would meet the overweight and obesity criteria it is important to understand the options. Co-first author Lindsay Fourman, MD, an endocrinologist in the Metabolism Unit in the Endocrinology Division of the Mass General Brigham Department of Medicine states,
“Body composition matters — it’s not just pounds on a scale.”
That is it.
Body composition does matter and that means a healthy diet and exercise. Every time. Whether you chose to use medications or lifestyle modifications. Experts agree, eat real food, mostly plants and exercise daily.
Change your mind, change your health,
Shayla
Eat better, live better and feel better.
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