5 myths about being overweight
If you go outside and take a closer look at the people around you, you will immediately notice that there are much more fat people than fit and slender people. This is confirmed by statistics: 60% of the population of our country is overweight, and 26% suffers from obesity. For comparison, in England 45% of women and 34% of men are overweight. And in America, a third of the population suffers from obesity.
We are quite tolerant of being overweight, finding excuses for this. “Gave birth - recovered”, “men love plump”, “retired, began to move a little, recovered” - these and other cliches have firmly entered our consciousness. Indeed, isn't this a personal matter of each person - how much does he weigh? Maybe he likes having a few extra pounds. Well, if there are several, then okay. But what if the problem is already so "wide" that it can hardly squeeze through the doorway?
There have always been various myths about being overweight. Here are the most common ones.
The first myth
Being overweight is a minor cosmetic defect.
Today, not only top models, but also doctors are concerned about the problem of excess weight. Indeed, contrary to popular belief that excess weight does not harm health, it can cause the following diseases:
- Diabetes mellitus and various disorders of carbohydrate metabolism in obese people are 2.9 times more common than in thin people.
- Atherosclerosis. In young people who are obese, it occurs 2.1 times more often.
- Arterial hypertension. In obese people, it occurs 2.9 times more often than in people of normal weight.
- Certain cancers are more common in obese people: colon cancer, uterine cancer, gallbladder and ovarian cancer.
- Obese people much more often than thin ones suffer from infertility, cholecystitis, thrombosis and joint diseases.
Thus, it turns out that among all the causes leading to early death, obesity and the diseases it causes are in second place after smoking.
In addition, excess weight negatively affects not only a person's health, but also his psychological state. According to opinion polls, people with average income, low professional level and insufficient education are most often overweight. Excess weight leads to the fact that these people become notorious, begin to suffer from depression, and in their personal life they have quite a few problems.
The second myth
To lose weight, you need to stop eating sweets and starchy foods, drink less water.
This statement is fundamentally wrong. To be convinced of this, it is enough to compare the energy value of various food components:
- 1 g of fat corresponds to 9 kcal;
- 1 g of carbohydrates corresponds to 4 kcal;
- 1 g of alcohol is 7 kcal;
- 1 g of water - 0 kcal;
- 1 g of protein - 4 kcal.
Based on this, doctors believe that the main cause of excess weight is excessive fat intake. Fatty foods have a high calorie content, and their energy value is many times higher than the body's needs. Thus, excess fat is sent to the subcutaneous fatty tissue.
Fatty foods are also perceived to be tastier because the aromas that give the food a pleasant taste and smell are mostly dissolved in fats. That is why skim milk and cottage cheese seem tasteless to us.
Therefore, the first thing to do to get rid of excess fat is to limit your fat intake.
The third myth
Overweight is to blame for heredity (breastfeeding, character, metabolic disorders, lifestyle), so it is useless to deal with it.
Many factors contribute to the appearance of excess weight, and neurological, hormonal, psychological and genetic reasons also play a significant role here.
But, according to medical statistics, the vast majority suffer from "idiopathic" obesity, the main cause of which is overeating. As a result, a person receives more energy than he has time to spend.
German and American doctors have found that carbohydrate consumption does not disturb the balance of energy metabolism, and the body mass index in this case tends to decrease. This is due to the fact that together with fiber and carbohydrates, a lot of trace elements and vitamins enter the body, and, on the contrary, much less fat. Therefore, people who eat foods rich in carbohydrates are in good health and have a lean body.
In our country, unfortunately, there is an opinion that you can easily get better by constantly consuming sugar, bread and plenty of water. And you can lose weight if you eat meat and drink it with vodka.
The fourth myth
I eat a lot, but I quickly lose weight through exercise.
In order to burn the calories contained in the cheese sandwich, you must exercise for at least an hour. And to burn calories after eaten schnitzel, you have to walk twenty kilometers.
Hence the conclusion - movement prevents weight gain, but does not help to reduce it too much. However, exercise is essential to shed those extra pounds. But the approach to the fight must be comprehensive. If you play sports and continue to eat fatty foods, then the effect will be unlikely.
Nutritionists claim that the formula for success is intense physical activity along with a 30% reduction in fat intake.
The fifth myth
Strict diets and fat burners can help you lose weight quickly.
In most cases, this is simply unrealistic. Yes, you can lose a certain number of kilograms in a month, but in the next two months the weight will quickly return to normal, if it does not become even more. But the harm to health can be significant.
It is much more effective to lose weight slowly but surely (5-10% annually) by changing your diet and lifestyle.
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