Health & Life® MedixNet® • Health and Medical Publications, November 8th, 2006
For some of us it would be a body weight, at which we would feel comfortable, a body weight at which we could carry out our daily activities without much effort. Also, a body weight at which we would find that last year's clothes somehow still fit... even with those few extra pounds that we have managed to live with: Is this the Ideal weight?... Well, maybe, but many of us would feel that it is acceptable.
As we continue our search, we realize that even when the answers we get are not scientific, they are still valid and that we may learn something from them. Consider a young bodybuilder: twenty-four years old, 6 feet 2 inches tall, 205 pounds, convinced that he is not big enough, that his weight is far from being close to ideal, as he trains for an upcoming competition. Then we compare his response to the one offered by a department store salesman of the same age, height and weight. This young man rarely exercises; he believes that his weight is too high and that he should be doing something about it.
Now we realize that all these answers are not only about body weight but also about body composition. 'Big bones,' muscles and fat are part of them, as are occupation, eating habits and physical activity. All these elements should be part of the answer we are looking for, particularly the amount of fat tissue contributing to total body weight. After years of research we learned that by age 18 the percentage of body fat considered normal is approximately sixteen percent for men and twenty-two percent for women, with a variation of two or three percentage points for both.
With this range in mind the upper limit would be nineteen for men and twenty-five for women. Above this point and up to twenty-five in men and thirty percent in women, we are in the overweight range. Beyond this point we are medically defined as obese.
There are other categories such as muscular overweight, when the extra body weight is due to increase of muscle and bone tissues, as opposed to fat tissue. As muscles develop with frequent exercise, weight lifting, etc., the bones become stronger and heavier. In our earlier examples, the young bodybuilder would probably fit in this category.
Studies conducted at the National Institutes of Health, evaluating height, body surface and amount of body fat tissue, defined obesity as ‘body weight above twenty percent of normal values’ adjusted for age and sex. Results of these and other studies are used daily by insurance companies to assess risk for underwriting purposes.
The frequency and complexity of medical conditions usually correlate with the percentage of body fat. The distribution of fat tissue is also important: in men, excess fat tissue tends to accumulate in the abdomen and in women in either the upper body or on hips, thighs and legs. When the accumulation is greater around the waistline the frequency of heart disorders increases, mainly coronary artery disease.
Thickening deposits of fat and calcium cause narrowing of the blood vessels supplying oxygen and nutrients to the heart muscle. As time passes, the blood flow to the heart diminishes and symptoms may appear only during intense physical activity such as playing tennis, clearing snow, climbing stairs, heavy lifting, etc.
Having a stress test [walking on a treadmill or riding a stationary bicycle] may also precipitate symptoms. As the blood supply to the heart drops even more, these symptoms appear even during minimal physical activity. They vary from a feeling of discomfort or tightness to very intense pain on the upper abdomen, chest or back, between the shoulder blades, neck, jaw, left shoulder and arm. Changes in sensation or a feeling of 'heaviness' on the left arm and hand may also appear before or simultaneously with the other symptoms. Shortness of breath, palpitations or even loss of consciousness may also be added to this list.
The same symptoms due to the same causes may be experienced by individuals with normal weight and in apparently good physical fitness. In these situations the fat deposits in blood vessels are most frequently due to a rich diet plus a metabolic imbalance that hastens their formation. Recent studies suggest the possibility that lesions caused by certain viruses to the cells lining blood vessels may initiate this process. The accumulation of fat deposits occurs in all blood vessels to a different degree and the decrease in blood flow would eventually be the cause of lower leg pains, strokes, etc. The incidence of high blood pressure and diabetes also increases.
Statistics show that obesity is more common in developed countries. It is also higher in Canada and the United States than in Western Europe. The percentage of the population with obesity has been increasing steadily in the past twenty years. These figures also show that the frequency of obesity and severe obesity is higher in women than it is in men. At present, overweight and obesity are above fifty percent of the population in the US.
What is the cause of excessive accumulation of fat tissue in the body? Diets rich in fat and sugar, and lack of physical activity top the list of causes, followed by diseases of the endocrine system, central nervous system disorders, family history, medications and genetic diseases.
If we do not consider diseases as a cause of obesity, we find that a large number, approximately sixty percent, of the obese adults were not so while growing up. For men, a diet rich in fat and sweets or a lack of proper physical activity, usually both, are the main causes. For women the precipitating event could be the extra weight gained during the first pregnancy; weight that is not lost afterwards. Rich foods and little exercise are prominent factors in women too.
When excessive weight is put on during the early school years and up to the age of twelve or thirteen, it frequently becomes a long-lasting problem. This is because the total number of cells in fat tissue that we have during those years will remain stable for the rest of our lives. We can reduce the amount of fat in those cells, and their size, with a sensible diet and enough exercise, but not their number... However, this could be accomplished by surgically removing them from our bodies: articles on Plastic surgery and ‘Liposuction’ [Lipectomy] will be published on our sites in the future.
