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All About HGH Fitness And Anti Aging 
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A general article
concerning obesity ought to begin with a general definition of the concept in
question. For many lay people, the
concept seems so common place as not to need any further discussion, but knowing
exactly what we mean by obesity is important.
This is because our idea of obesity necessarily affects how we diagnose
and address it.
A very common idea of
obesity is that it simply means somebody who is very overweight.
Past a certain point, an overweight person is called obese.
There is some medical truth to this idea, but for purposes of this
discussion, we will be using a slightly different definition.
According to the
Medline Website (a creation of the United States National Library of Medicine),
to be obese is to have too much fat in your body. This is not exactly the same
as being overweight, as it is possible for a person to weigh too much because
they have a lot of muscle mass, rather than fat. A bodybuilder, for instance,
would be classed as overweight, even though he might weigh more than a slightly
obese person of similar height and build.
This is how we might understand the distinction between the two terms.
Diagnosing Obesity
For an example of the
use of BMI, consider the following: a BMI of 30 is considered the threshold for
people considering weight loss drugs.
Should the patient happen to have hypertension or other ailments
associated with obesity, the threshold is lowered to 27.
A person with a lower BMI than that is more likely to be told to adhere
to methods of diet and exercise, rather than being prescribed weight loss
medication.
Then again, despite
its popularity, BMI is not an infallible indicator.
For instance, it can be argued that the calculation does not make a
distinction between weight due to muscle and weight due to fat.
Therefore, the use of BMI alone might cause heavily-muscled people (like
professional athletes) to be categorized as obese, even though they are not.
Furthermore, the BMI calculation may have to be adjusted for people with
different ethnicities or inherited body types.
It has been recognized that prevalent body types in
Making a Fuss
In the last few
years, Western popular media has focused a great deal on cultural perceptions of
obesity. It is a curious fact that
while "real"people in the West and Westernized countries generally are becoming
fatter, the "ideal" body keeps shrinking.
For example, try comparing the very skinny, very young physique of
model-of-the-moment Karli Kloss with those of the glamazons of yesteryear, such
as Cindy Crawford. Speaking of young
models, obesity is also often associated with old age.
A slim figure can help a person appear younger.
Then again, one might go to extremes with this idea, slimming down to the
point that they look old and withered, instead of young and active.
To some, being either
slim or overweight seems merely a matter of vanity.
If your appearing thin does not matter much to you, why bother to lose
weight? Well, it cannot be denied
that obesity poses far graver problems in addition to feeling unattractive, or
being considered so by others.
As far as health
risks go, fat in the abdomen region is a matter of especially serious concern.
A fatty abdomen can speed up or intensify ailments of the vital
organs—though the nature of this mechanism is still being hotly debated within
the global medical community. Sadly,
the abdomen is also one of the toughest areas in which to effect a change in
body fat content--as opposed to, say, the face, where fat can be lost and gained
relatively quickly. A general rule
of thumb for assessing abdominal fat is that a man with a waistline of at least
40 inches and a woman with a waistline of 37 inches or more would be facing
significant health hazards.
The cardiovascular
organs are also very sensitive to high fat content in the body.
For instance, the accumulation of fatty tissues or deposits along the
insides of blood vessels can bring about atherosclerosis.
Here, blood cells will have to squeeze through much narrower pathways,
which means that more strain is placed on the heart.
If blood vessels become too rigid or blocked, one of the more extreme
consequences is gangrene, especially in the legs and feet.
The frequent remedy for gangrene is amputation.
Some types of cancer
also seem to be connected to obesity.
Once more, we must say that the reason for this connection has not quite
been explained. Still, one possible
explanation is that cancer cells can propagate faster if they have a lot of fat
and sugar to feed on. Another is
that bodily hormones can somehow react with fatty cells, thus bringing about the
onset of cancer. People with a high
incidence of cancer in their family tree had better pay particular attention to
their weight.
Not a Small World After All
Obesity varies in
prevalence throughout the world’s different ethnic and/or geographic
populations. Factors affecting
obesity levels in this regard include the levels of material wealth, food
culture, work atmosphere, etc. prevalent in a particular population.
According to many sources, the current "fattest nation" in the world is
the
Some research and
analysis has also gone into investigating why some ethnic groups seem to have a
larger tendency towards obesity.
This should not be interpreted as racial prejudice or bigotry on the part of the
scientists. Actually, it just means
that, in settings where people of various ethnic backgrounds have similar
lifestyles (as in multi-racial societies wherein racial equality is relatively
high and segregation is low), individuals from certain ethnic groups have a
higher likelihood of developing obesity.
As of now, some researchers say that people of African, Southeast Asian,
or Pacific Islander extraction have stronger tendency to become obese.
This is probably because such populations, over many thousands of years,
developed a "thrifty gene" since food was (and often still is) hard to come by
in such parts of the world. The gene
caused its possessors to store up a lot of fat, despite eating relatively
little. However, once a person with
the gene finds himself/herself in circumstances where it is easy to get a lot of
food, obesity can be the result. It
should also be noted that not everybody from the abovementioned populations has
the gene.
Interestingly, people
from the
The idea that there
is a connection between ethnicity and obesity should not be taken as a
disparagement to any particular race or culture.
Rather, it is simply a reflection of the fact that populations in
different parts of the world have diverged genetically. Different environments
have favored the prevalence of different heritable characteristics.
It just so happens that many people with the thrifty gene now live in
places or situations where food is much more easily procured, and therefore, the
gene no longer has its former effect.
Instead of storing enough fat to last through hard times, people who have
the activated gene end up storing too much fat and suffering the resultant
ailments. Again, this does not mean
that certain groups have “better” genes than others.
It simply means that different genes are suited to different settings.
Nutrition and Weight
The fundamentals of
nutrition have been getting so much media and academic focus that, in a way,
they have become common knowledge.
Actually, we might say that there is an overload of information on this subject,
some of it rather questionable. This
section of the article aims to clear up some of the confusion by stating the
real basics of lean nutrition.
Much of the time,
consumption of excess refined carbohydrates plays a major part in determining
obesity. Foods like white rice,
white bread, and white pasta facilitate the onset of obesity, and can lead to
diabetes, to boot--especially among populations that have these as their staple
foods. It is also important to pay
attention to the manner in which food is cooked.
After all, even if the ingredients you use are very healthy and
nutritious, you can still ruin your health if you constantly smother them in
fat, processed sugar, etc.
Of course, you will
find no shortage of fad diets claiming to be the answer to your weight loss
prayers. The Atkins and
Various "fad diets"
such as the Atkins or
For many people, the
ideal approach is one of gradualism and moderation.
Rather than adopting drastic diets in order to lose weight quickly, it
might be best to begin looking after your nutrition while you are still young.
You might not be noticing any problems with fat and nutrition at this stage, but
it is best to accustom your body to good nutrition early, and also to avoid the
“delayed action” effects of a (nutritionally) misspent youth.
Then again, simply
dieting is not a healthy way to lose weight in the long term.
Dieting without exercise is likely to make you lose muscle mass as well
as fat, and any weight you regain is likely to be in the form of fat.
In other words, you could eventually end up with a body that has a higher
fat content than the one you started with before your weight loss program.
Exercise is essential to maintaining appropriate muscle mass as you lose
weight.
Physical Exercise
Physical exercise is
an integral aspect of an effective weight-loss regimen.
Unfortunately, contemporary life--particularly during economic
downturns--is by nature rather hectic, so many people who would like to exercise
simply find a conventional exercise program unfeasible.
This is a major for people with families, for instance.
However, as we have already stated, trying to lose weight through diet
alone can actually ultimately worsen one’s situation.
It is an unfortunate
reality that certain dishonest salespeople try to take advantage of the
widespread (and sometimes rather desperate) desire to avoid obesity.
These salespeople try to advertise ineffective or downright dangerous
products that supposedly help you lose weight quickly.
This disturbing trend has given rise to many entertaining tall tales.
One of them concerns a woman who orders a mysterious weight loss pill.
She downs the single tablet she receives in the mail, and is pleasantly
surprised to find that she is quickly losing weight.
Unfortunately, she starts to lose too much weight and becomes anxious.
Eventually, a tapeworm falls out of her nose while she sleeps.
In other words, the pill contained a tapeworm egg, and the worm “helped”
her lose weight by feeding off her digestive system.
Severely obese people
might be demoralized or daunted at the prospect of starting up an exercise
regime. After all, they appear to have a much longer way to go than most people.
However, the "silver lining" to this situation is that, given the same
intensity and duration of exercise, a very obese person will experience greater
weight loss than a slimmer person. A
very obese person has to work harder to do the same exercises, which means that
he/she actually burns more calories.
Still, there are also
alternatives to conventional exercise regimens (i.e. the sort involving trips to
an expensive gym), which may be too costly or too strenuous for certain
patients. One option is to
incorporate physical exercise into everyday activities.
Simple adjustments such as fetching things for yourself or arranging your
home to be slightly less physically convenient can be rather significant.
Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
In spare hours, take walks instead of playing computer games.
In short, a very small increase in your daily level of physical activity
can do wonders, if you practice these tiny adjustments over a long period of
time. As with a healthy diet,
exercise habits work best if you begin to use them early.
Prescription Drugs for Weight Loss
This section of the
article concentrates on Xenical and Meridia, two widely-prescribed weight loss
drugs. We will cover both their
intended affects and their side effects.
Xenical is
interesting in that it is both a prescription drug and an over-the-counter
product. Weaker versions of the
prescription medication can be purchased without doctors’ orders in certain
parts of the world. Still, even if
you plan to buy the over-the-counter pill, you should make sure that you will
not suffer adverse effects from Orlistat, which is the drug’s active ingredient.
Your doctor should be notified if you have issues with diabetes, your
pancreas, or your thyroid glands.
Basically, Xenical works by blocking the absorption of fat from the food you
consume. You can eat more while not
gaining much weight. However,
over-use can damage the digestive system.
Meridia, on the other
hand, targets the brain instead of the digestive system.
Namely, its target is what we call the "satiety center" of the brain, the
part that tells you when you are full.
As such, Meridia is an appetite suppressant.
You are supposed to find that you simply do not want to eat as much as
you usually did. This suppressant
effect is combined with the function of increasing your metabolic rate, helping
you "burn" fat faster. If you have
cardiovascular ailments or mental disorders, it is recommended that you not take
this medication. Also, make sure to
tell your doctor about any medicines or supplements you took over the past two
weeks, as Meridia can combine with the remnants of many other drugs to produce
adverse effects.
We can wrap up this
section with some general warnings, which apply not only to Xenical and
Orlistat, but to the class of weight loss medicines as a whole.
These medicines are usually not prescribed unless obesity is quite
serious, and the patient has already made game attempts at weight loss via the
normal means of diet and exercise.
Furthermore, if you do get a prescription for them, make sure you do not share
your medicines with others. If there
is a danger that a person with an eating disorder can access your medicines, you
might consider locking them up.
Furthermore, you should be aware that prescription weight loss drugs are not
meant to just make the pounds melt right off.
You are likely to lose only about 5% of your weight after a year’s use.
It might seem like very little, but this is often enough to significantly
improve your health. However, you
should also be warned that the use of such medication is often long-term, or for
the rest of a person’s life.
Notes on Herbal Supplements
Supplements play a
huge role in the weight loss industry, particularly online.
These concentrated herbal substances can often be procured without a
prescription. Here is some
information on the most popular ones.
Hoodia gordonii is a
type of cactus found in the
Acai berry
supplements are arguably much more high-profile compared to Hoodia Gordonii.
The grapelike berry has received a lot of media attention.
It supposedly contains very strong antioxidants.
The berry apparently can speed up metabolism, as well as preventing the
onset of some cancers. On the other
hand, the product’s popularity has proven to be a double-edged sword, since many
con men/women have decided to try to ride the Acai Berry gravy train.
Resveratrol is yet
another supplement that has been getting some buzz recently.
Found in small amounts in red wine, it is claimed as the explanation to
why the French, in general, do not suffer the negative health results that one
might expect from their less-than-lean diet.
However, it can also be argued that red wine does not actually contain
enough
Resveratrol to make a big difference, so the explanation does not quite
hold.
Either way,
resveratrol is being touted as a supplement with multiple good effects.
Aside from helping people shed pounds, it is supposed to keep blood sugar
levels to an acceptable level and strengthen one’s general immune system.
It is being strongly marketed to more mature potential buyers, since
diabetes and weakened immunity are major concerns of old age.
Mature consumers
might find human growth hormone
(HGH) supplements even more interesting than
Resveratrol. HGH is a natural
hormone produced by the body. Though
you might not think so, given the hormone’s name, it actually governs much more
than growth. Higher levels of HGH
are connected to more youthful-looking hair and skin, more physical energy,
better immunity, and even more positive effects.
As such, it is being sold as an anti-aging product, as well as a weight
loss supplement. This supplement
might just be a great solution for people with multiple ailments.
Instead of taking several supplements that might interact badly with each
other, they can take a single product.
If you prefer not to
take pills or syrups, you might wish to make green tea part of your regular
diet. Green tea can slightly raise
your body's metabolic rate, and can work as a weight loss aid, in addition to
diet and exercise. You might also
try to look for green tea-based drinks (without too much added Starbucks-style
cream and sugar) that include the ground-up leaves, which are an excellent
source of fiber.
Weight Loss Operations
It is not news that
some people end up turning to surgery in order to lose weight.
Two of the best-known are ones are common plastic/cosmetic surgery
procedures: liposuction and lipectomy.
A liposuction is when fat is sucked out of the body via a cannula, a
special tube. The ideal candidate
for liposuction has no diabetes, inelastic skin, or reduced immunity.
Sometimes, liposuction is only part of a package of surgical procedures
performed at a single session in a plastic surgery clinic.
With a lipectomy, on the other hand, the fatty tissue is cut rather than
sucked away. A liposuction, in
particular, is one of the less serious procedures available in many plastic
surgery facilities. However, it is
still possible for complications or outright malpractice to occur, and patients
do occasionally die on the table.
Other types of weight
loss surgery are directed at the digestive tract.
As a whole, these procedures are called bariatric surgery.
This type of surgery is divided into two major categories: malabsorptive
and restrictive. The first reduces
your body’s ability to absorb calories, and includes the gastric bypass.
The latter makes your stomach--or at least its active portion--smaller,
which means that you feel full after eating less.
Gastric stapling is an example of restrictive surgery.
Of course, going
under the knife should only be a final recourse, after you have tried different
types of diet and exercise, and particularly if your weight causes health
complications.
Beware of Quackery
So high and
widespread is the demand for weight loss aids that this market has attracted a
large number of questionable or downright hazardous operators.
The desperation of some buyers and the sheer effrontery of some sellers
have served as midwives to the birth of several urban legends about weight loss
products. One of these involves a
woman who buys and swallows a weight loss pill that, unbeknownst to her, was
made to contain a single tapeworm egg.
The tapeworm, which feeds off her digestive system, is indeed effective,
but horrifies the woman when it slips out of her nostril one night while she
sleeps.
Conclusively
confirming or denying the abovementioned urban legend is next to impossible, but
the realities of the weight loss market are more than disturbing enough.
In the following sections, we will investigate one of the most notorious
weight-loss products, plus look through some general guidelines about how to
avoid quackery.
The Bangkok Pill is a
notorious example of what not to buy.
The Bangkok Pill is a tablet with two functions: firstly, lowering the
cathecolamine and serotonin in one’s blood (thus suppressing appetite), and
secondly, speeding up metabolism.
When these two functions combine, many consumers find that the pill really does
help them lose weight quickly. In
other words, the problem with this pill is certainly not any lack of
effectiveness. Rather, health
authorities believe that its dangerous side effects far outweigh its potential
benefits. Indeed, the pill has been
banned in many countries, such as the
One of the active
ingredients in Bangkok Pills is Lasix.
Unfortunately, besides helping in weight loss, this chemical also
increases urination to the extent that a person might become dehydrated.
Other, scarier side effects include angina and other heart problems,
stroke, vomiting, and death. It is
also alleged that at least some of these pills (there are multiple
manufacturers, some more questionable than others) contain the street drug
shabu. You might also be surprised to find questionable weight loss methods in (supposedly) more legitimate establishments. We speak here of methods such as body sculpting by special massage machines. Some scientists say that these expensive procedures are not actually effective, even though they are offered by professional clinics. Unlike Bangkok Pills, body sculpting is not hazardous to your health, but it might be a heinous waste of your cash.
In general, you are advised to stay away from products that advertise unbelievable results, or claim to work well without additional diet adjustments and exercise. Such claims are signs that the products are being presented to you by entities that either do not know about the workings of the body or are hoping to prey on consumer ignorance. Also, be careful about customer reviews or testimonies--you do not know how authentic these are.
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