Weight gain dangers before pregnancy

August 26, 2016

Weight gain dangers before pregnancy can be addressed using healthy feeding practices

Weight gain dangers before pregnancy: Taking remedial action

I remember when the maker first created the earth, before man he made available healthy food to help man in developing the land for more production. That assignment of producing more has been done to the disadvantage of human life. All the healthy fresh healthy fruits and vegetables are now being passed through chemicals all in the name of adding value to them. The concept of value addition to our food items today is not working well to humanity. In fact all the processed foods are categorized as unhealthy food. This is not what the maker intended for his creation. With our own hands we have succeeded in creating for us more problems. It is no wonder our obese mothers continue to give birth to obese children or children with high risk of being obese in future. There is always great joy for parents to bring forth healthy children. And because of our actions, we have to make certain adjustment when planning to get pregnant if this joy is to become a reality. We are therefore obligated into understanding the effects of obesity before pregnancy for us to bring forth healthy children.

We are aware that the issue of weight gain is developing in a very high speed to the point that all the world health organizations are getting concern of the emerging trend of weight gain. Recently the world health organization (WHO) listed obesity as one of the serious global health problem in the twenty first century. This confirms the magnitude of the problem at hand and it means that time has come for us to be very aggressive and bring this problem to manageable levels. But before we enter into the discussion, let us bring us up to speed with what we are talking about. Obesity is a health condition in which an accumulation of excessive body fat work to impair health and increase morbidity and mortality.

The most commonly use method of measuring obesity is body mass index (BMI) where an individual will be considered to be overweight if their BMI is between 25 and 30 kg/m²while those with more than 30 kg/m²are considered to be obese. The effects of obesity can be very frustrating not just to the victim, but also to the people close to them. It is therefore very important that we have this problem addressed in good time so that our mothers and unborn children can be safe from all the health complications associated with being overweight or obese.

According to WHO the prevalence of obesity in pregnancy cut across 1.8 to 25.3% with effects of obesity before and during pregnancy constituting a major risk factor for both maternal and fetal complications. While appreciating that children born of obese mothers may become obese in their childhood and develops metabolic syndrome in their adulthood, it is possible to address some of the issues relating to obesity during pregnancy since at this time mothers will be more willing to accept certain changes in their lifestyle like a well-balanced diet and bit of indulgence in physical activities. It will take a lot of commitment for this to be successfully done since many people are not very keen on keeping fit. However with guidance and help from the experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under the able leadership of doctor Dalal Akoury this won’t be a problem. You can schedule for an appointment with her today and your life and that of the unborn child will be safe not just during the pregnancy period but even in their lifetime.

Weight gain dangers before pregnancy: Taking remedial action

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What really motivates you to Lose Weight?

November 10, 2014

What really motivates you to Lose Weight? – Healthy Weight Lose

What really motivates you to Lose Weight? I identifying the underlying effects of your weight is crucial for your effective weight lose program

In your struggle to loose what is the driving factor? Could it due to your favorite clothes have gotten a bit too close-fitting for comfort or you don’t cut quite the figure in your bathing suit as you did a few years ago. My dear friend do you really need to lose weight? Are you putting your health in danger or just carrying around a little harmless extra stuffing? Knowing the answers to these concerns should be motivating enough to loose but most importantly is that the standard answer is that you will be considered overweight if your body mass index (BMI) is 25 or higher and obese if your BMI is 30 or higher. I will give BMI guidelines as we progress with the discussion but in the meantime if your BMI is 30 and above then you’re obese and you need to work on your weight. This is not going to be an easy assignment by no means if you do not get the professional guidance.

Dr. Dalal Akoury, who is also the founder of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center, is offering her exclusive NER Recovery Treatment to everyone struggling with their health due to weight related complications and reaching out for her professional advice would be the starting point for your great journey of recovery. It must interest you that according to a study published in the April 20 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that people whose BMIs put them into the overweight category actually had a lower risk of death than people in the normal-weight group. (People who were considered obese still had an increased risk of death.)

When we looked at the overweight group we found that group was associated with fewer than the expected number of deaths. Does that mean that if you’re overweight, but not obese, you should quit worrying about dropping the extra pounds? From the experts view it is important for you to consider the following questionnaire:

What is your lifestyle? – Regular physical activity and healthy eating are important, no matter what your weight or your BMI.
What is your family history? – If a close relative has a history of high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, or other weight-related ailment, it’s crucial to be mindful of your weight.
What is your weight history? – People who have consistently gained weight over the years need to be careful. Experts say your BMI should not increase dramatically, even as you age. Even moderate weight gain in adulthood can increase your risk of diabetes.
How is your weight distributed? – Weight gained above the hips commonly called “apple” shape can be problematic. In both men and women, bigger abdomens can signal trouble.
What is your waist size? – The National Institutes of Health has determined that a waist circumference of over 40 inches in men and over 35 inches in women signifies a health risk, particularly in people with BMIs of 25-34.9 (the overweight category). It is however very important that you understand that clothing size is not a good indicator of weight or health, since sizes vary with different manufacturers.
What is your health profile? – If your cholesterol and blood pressure levels are high and your BMI falls into the overweight or obese category, it’s important to lose weight. If your BMI is in the high end of healthy or in the low overweight range, it’s a good idea to talk to your physician about whether weight loss is right for you.
How do you feel? – Seriously consider weight loss if you are overweight and have joint problems, shortness of breath, or other health troubles that limit your day-to-day living.

The Body Mass Index

To understand the issue of weight and wellness, you first need to know your BMI, the common measure of fatness that is at the heart of the debate. Therefore to find your BMI the following guidelines will be helpful:

18.5 or less is considered underweight
18.5-24.9 is considered ideal weight
25-29.9 is considered overweight
30 or higher is considered obese

Many doctors and researchers recommend that the BMI is a useful tool to determine whether one is overweight or obese, and at the same time they concede that it has limitations.

How much weight do you need to lose to get healthier?

First thing first, it is important for everyone to know that you do not have to lose weight if you are not genuinely overweight because this may lead to you being underweight which is also not healthy. And even if you are, weight is not the only important issue, either. What is actually most fundamental is the amount of fat in your body, and where they are built up. Muscle, for example, is quite heavy therefore in the event that you’re gaining weight because you have increased your muscle bulk; then the extra bit of weight is no problem at all. There are two approaches which are commonly used to determine if one is overweight:

The body mass index (BMI) which helps to determine what you weigh in relation to your height.
Waist measurement: this will give you an idea of how fat is distributed in your body.

The BMI is the most common way to try to work out if people are overweight or very overweight (obese). It measures the relationship between weight and height. People who have a BMI over 30 are considered to be obese. Being obese is a greater risk to health than being overweight. People who have a BMI between 25 and 30 are usually considered to be overweight. However being overweight alone does not necessarily cause health problems, but the problem comes normally when the person already has certain illnesses, such as type 2 diabetes.

The BMI scale cannot always be used in this way because, for example, a certain BMI is associated with different health risks in people from South Asia compared to people from Europe. The same is true for waist measurements. A waist measurement of 88 cm or more could put European women at a higher risk of health problems, while for European men, more than 102 cm could be a sign of increased health risks. This is also true even if their weight is within the normal range.

You can get a better idea of how fat is distributed in your body by looking at the relationship between your waist and your hips. If you have a relatively big amount of belly fat, your risk of disease is higher. A more “apple-shaped” person with a “beer belly” and narrow hips faces higher health risks than someone who does not have much fat stored around their belly. Abdominal (belly) fat in particular increases your risk of heart disease. If your body fat tends to be stored around your legs, hips and bottom rather than your belly, then it is less likely to be a health problem. This is often called being “pear-shaped”, because you are smaller on the top and rounder lower down.

Finally being too worried about your weight can itself become a problem and therefore reaching out for the expert opinion from AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under doctor Akoury would be the starting point. Call her today for a healthy life thereafter.

What really motivates you to Lose Weight? – Healthy Weight Lose

Stress and Obesity the Missing Link!!!

February 13, 2014

Stress and Obesity-Not a Union

Research has found that stress leads to specific reactions in the body that cause induced cravings and lead to obesity

Obesity is a burgeoning problem in the developed world, and certain behaviors, such as increased portion sizes and reduced physical activity, can help explain why the obesity epidemic is spreading. Job strain might also contribute to the prevalence of obesity, and the current study addresses this issue in a cohort of civil servants followed over time. Obesity continues to be one of the largest public health concerns of the developed world. Analysis of data from the 2001-2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) found that the prevalence rates of overweight and obesity among US adults were 31.5% and 30.5%, respectively. The prevalence of overweight in children was 16.5%. Compared to the previous NHANES survey (1988-1994), the body mass index (BMI) greater than 30 among adults had doubled. (Of note, the prevalence of overweight and obesity were fairly stable between the 1999-2000 and 2001-2002 examination periods.)

Stress and Obesity-Understanding obesity

While the problem of obesity has been well publicized, clinicians should also understand that societal factors play a prominent role in obesity. In research sponsored by the World Health Organization involving 26 different populations worldwide, surveys of over 30,000 subjects found an inverse trend between BMI and highest educational level attained. Women with lower educational attainment were significantly more likely to be obese compared with men with similar educational backgrounds, although lower educational levels in both sexes were associated with higher obesity. Moreover, the negative association between educational attainment and obesity increased over the 10-year study period, indicating that the obesity gap between well-educated and poorly educated individuals was increasing. To reinforce these data, another study limited to developed countries found that increased income disparity was associated with not only higher rates of obesity, but also diabetes mortality as well among subjects at the lower end of the income scale. Other societal trends can affect obesity as well. In the United States, more individuals are choosing to eat at restaurants than at home, and the easiest and least expensive option in dining is often preferred. Such choices can increase the risk of developing obesity. Ecological research from 21 developed countries found that girls who ate fast food at least twice a week were more likely to become obese compared with those who ate fast food less frequently. Unfortunately, the assimilation of other cultures into American society may not help improve the obesity problem. In one study, while regularly eating at fast food restaurants increased the risk of overweight in adults and children in Mexican-American families by a factor of 2.2, the risk of overweight associated with eating at buffet-style restaurants was slightly worse (odds ratio = 2.8). Families who ate food at Mexican restaurants, however, were less likely to be overweight.

Stress and Obesity-The Environment

The work environment can contribute to obesity as well. In a study of 208 male workers in Japan, obesity was associated with psychological tension and anxiety, much of which was derived from high demands and poor decision latitude at work. The authors also found that higher degrees of stress negatively affected subjects’ diets, which contributed to higher rates of obesity. The current study examined the 10,308 civil servants from the Whitehall II study, all of whom were between the ages of 35 and 55. Work stress was assessed by the Job Strain Questionnaire and defined by poor work social support, high job demands, and low job control. Overall, work strain was associated with increased risk of BMI obesity by a maximum odds ratio of 1.73, and of waist obesity by a maximum odds ratio of 1.61. There was a dose-response relationship between the number of reports of stress and obesity. There were some interesting nuances related to the study’s main finding. Men were more likely than women to suffer the negative effects of job strain in terms of obesity, to the point that women did not experience a significant increase in waist obesity with stress. Overall, poor social support at work was the most important singular factor of job strain in increasing the risk of obesity in this study. The study was strengthened by analyzing individuals prospectively over time and employing repeated measures of job stress as participants advanced through their careers. However, the study was limited by examining a very specific group of employees — civil servants — in a first-world country.

Stress and Obesity-Health Risk

Obesity may just be a part of the overall increased health risk associated with work stress, with the sum of these risks being an increased prevalence of cardiovascular disease. In a study of nearly 7000 individuals, the prevalence of smoking was elevated among subjects with greater job strain, while men with low degrees of decision latitude were also more likely to be sedentary. However, no job environment factor in this study was independently related to increase BMI. A case-control analysis of 609 workers in France found that job strain increased the risk of developing hypertension. The odds ratios for hypertension associated with job strain were 3.20 in women and 2.60 in men. Low social support at work was not related to hypertension, and, moreover, higher levels of social support did not mitigate the effects of job strain on hypertension. Another study of female nurses and male factory workers generally corroborated these results. Researchers found that increased duration of shifts during work was associated with increased systolic blood pressure among men over age 30. Both BMI and waist-to-hip ratio increased with increasing shift duration among nurses. The study of nurses and factory workers failed to find an association between blood glucose levels and the duration of shift work. In another analysis of the Nurses’ Health Study II cohort, working overtime was associated with an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, while women who worked less than 20 hours per week had a lower risk of diabetes. There is also evidence that serum markers associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease may increase with job stress. A study of adults in Sweden found that men reporting high effort and low reward at work had increased levels of total cholesterol and the total cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio after adjustment for possible confounders. Women whose jobs required more effort had higher levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. The association between stress at work and cardiovascular risk factors such as BMI, hypertension, and lipid levels points to a possible larger relationship between work stress and cardiovascular disease. The researchers of the Whitehall study have previously examined this issue in their study cohort. They demonstrated that the hazard ratio for coronary heart disease was increased with low decision latitude among men (adjusted hazard ratio 1.43), but low decision latitude did not significantly increase the risk of coronary heart disease among women. However, both men and women experienced increased risks of coronary heart disease with higher demands at work. This increased risk of coronary heart disease was increased with job stress at all employment grades in the organization. This research echoed previous studies in that greater social support at work failed to improve cardiovascular outcomes associated with significant job stress.

Stress and Obesity-Effects

The harmful health effects of stress-induced obesity.

The effects of stress at work constitute a major public health issue. As clinicians, the best we can do is counsel patients about the potential cardiovascular and metabolic events associated with high levels of stress and encourage healthy life choices for patients at risk. While it may be unrealistic to ask employers to reduce job stress at all levels in our competitive economy, these same employers should understand that their employees’ health is critical to their success. There is a dearth of data regarding stress reduction programs at work and cardiovascular outcomes, and future researchers should address this issue. The phenomenon of obesity being among chronic diseases makes Dr. Akoury of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center very resourceful for you. She will help you achieve optimal weight loss, the Dr. Focus on Neuroendocrine Restoration (NER) to reinstate normality through realization of the oneness of Spirit, Mind, and Body, Unifying the threesome into ONE. With the help of Dr. Akoury your problem is sorted out for good.