When Fat Matters… and When it Doesn’t

People obsess over their body size. Whether they are worried about their weight because of how they look or because of how it affects their health, people everywhere are concerned about weight loss.

When it comes to fat though, some fat matters more than others. Many people—maybe you—rely on the body mass index to determine if they are at a healthy weight. But the body mass index isn’t reliable for everyone. If you have a low percentage of body fat, even if your body mass measurement is high, you are healthier than someone with high body fat and a “healthy” BMI.

Researchers have found that some of the most dangerous fat in your body is the fat that collects around your organs. Especially your heart.

Researchers from Wake Forest University found that people with the highest amount of fat around their hearts were more than four times as likely to show signs of heart disease, including hardening arteries.

So how to you get rid of fat deposits around your organs?

Well, diet isn’t enough. You have to exercise. To reduce fat, high intensity exercise is best. The easiest way to do a high intensity workout is to do an interval workout. Warm up for five minutes or so. Just a walk around the block will do. Then exert yourself hard for a minute or two. Jumping jacks, jumping rope, or sprinting are all easy, free ways to get your heart rate up. After working hard for a minute or two, go for another walk around the block—a little more briskly than your warm up. Repeat the exertion period followed by a walk two or three more times, and then cool down for two or three minutes. That’s it. Your done. In all, this kind of workout only takes fifteen or twenty minutes, but it can make a huge difference in the health or your heart… and your other organs, too.

Stay well,
Meghan Krohn

Do Your Friends Make You Fat?

A newly released study finds that your social connections have a lot more impact on your weight than you think. Having a friend who becomes obese increases the likelihood that you'll become obese by 53%. Two mutual friends who are both obese almost doubles your risk.

So what do you do? Do you ditch your friends? Do you resign yourself to gaining weight?

I think there's a better option, and hopefully this study will help you to take it. By being aware of the affects your friends' body sizes can have on you, you can counter those negative affects with positive action. You need to do only two things--at least to start. Don't eat more than is comfortable—in other words, stop before you get full. And be more physically active--you can do this easily by making small choices throughout the day like taking the stairs or parking far from the door.

Hopefully your example rubs off and you'll benefit the people you care about, too.

Heather Robwell