Haddenham.net Logo Link
 

Maintaining a Healthy Weight

by David Lindsey – 29th June 2018
Back home » News » Maintaining a Healthy Weight
weight height chartfat belly 04fat belly 01

The news these days is full of horror stories about the "National Obesity Crisis" and those stories have every right to be there. If something isn't done about it then, in a relatively few years, the NHS will collapse.

By 2030 the number of people with all types of Diabetes is projected to rise to 4.6 million or 9.5% of the population. Treating obesity and its associated diseases and conditions such as Type 2 Diabetes is costing the Country, i.e. us through our taxes, roughly fifteen thousand million pounds a year and this is steadily rising.

Type 2 Diabetes is a condition which is not widely understood. There are an estimated number of 600,000 people in this country who don't even realise that they've got it, and yet it is a killer. In the UK over 7300 leg amputations a year are carried out on people with the condition.

  • It can lead to blindness.
  • Ten per cent of Diabetics are on blood pressure pills.
  • Diabetes doubles your risk of dementia and is the number one cause of impotence.
  • Most people on dialysis are Diabetics.

Now you may think that I am just trying to frighten you, and if you think that.......

You are damned right! and I make no apologies for it.

So what can you do about it?

The first thing to do is to find out if you are one of the overweight or indeed obese people. Nine out of ten adults with Type 2 diabetes are overweight or obese.

If you are overweight to any degree then you are probably already aware of it, but if you really want to find out how you stand then there are two ways to do so.

The first is the way in which to find out your personal BMR or Basal Metabolic Rate. If you get up in the morning and do absolutely nothing all day apart from eating and just sitting watching the telly, or reading or playing computer games then you will be burning your basal metabolic number of calories.
In round terms, the average BMR for a man is 2,000 calories and for a woman it is 1,500.

So click here for a basal metabolic rate calculator. It will ask you your sex, your height, your age and your weight. Within seconds it will give you your own personal BMR.

You may wonder why that is important (mine is 1644). If you take in more calories than your BMR then you will put on weight. If you take in less than the figure then you will lose weight. It's that simple. If you are young and have a significantly greater muscle mass, your figure will be higher.

If you want to know if you are normal weight, take a look at the chart (click on the image to view an enlarged version).

The graph indicates your weight along one axis and your height on the other, both in pounds and in kilos, in feet and inches and in metres. Go up one line and across on the other and be prepared for a shock!

At least you will now know where you stand and it's up to you to decide whether or not you want to do anything about it!

For the last four years I have been running the Tyrefighters Weight Loss Group at the Haddenham Medical Centre and we meet on the Saturday mornings when the Centre is open anyway. Our meetings start at 9.00am and go on for about an hour. We are a very friendly group and our weight loss record has been excellent. Membership of the Group is totally free of charge and you will be under no obligation whatsoever.

Our philosophy is essentially simple. There are three reasons why people put on weight:

  • We eat too much
  • We eat the wrong stuff
  • We don't take enough exercise

It's that simple and all the fancy diets in the world won't change that.

Over the next few weeks I hope to write an article on each one of those statements, but please remember that reading a book on flying won't make you a pilot! We believe in the mutual support that happens when we meet, and we will back you if you sincerely want to do something about the excess pounds you are carrying.

Our next meeting will be on Saturday 7th July and I invite you to come along to see what goes on.

Incidentally, my name is David and if you want to send me an Email you will find me on Tyrefighters@outlook.com.

© 2012 – 2024 Haddenham.net