Discovering another bitter truth…

Obesity has been traditionally linked to several health conditions, including cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes and infertility. But how does obesity cause infertility? Does obesity raises risk of miscarriage?

The issue of obesity and reproduction is complex, and fertility specialists are only beginning to understand it.

Multiple studies show that pregnant women who are overweight and given to greater change in body weight during the first trimester of pregnancy are more likely to have lengthier and more complicated deliveries. In addition, according to a recent survey done in UK, more than a third of overweight and obese women had a miscarriage compared with one in five of normal weight women.

Obesity and infertility have been linked together by several studies. But what is the precise relationship between obesity and female infertility? And why do women who are obese have a greater risk of fertility and other pregnancy-related problems?

What is obesity and what it could lead to?

A person is defined as being obese if thirty per cent of her body weight is made up of fat tissue. Obesity results in an increased production of estrogen; this in turn interferes with ovulation, which of course, is the basis of successful conception.

Obesity and women’s fertility are strongly related. New study from the UK, suggests a linkage between women’s body weight and their ability to conceive and carry a pregnancy to term.

Overweight women undergoing fertility treatment have double the risk of miscarriage of normal weight women, a UK study says. Obesity poses a greater risk to both maternal and fetal health during pregnancy. Studies show that obesity is associated with adverse consequences like malformation, still birth, gestational diabetes, and the need for a cesarean delivery.

Women who have had a miscarriage earlier are at a greater risk of having one again, if they are obese. Women who are overweight should be counseled regarding the benefits of weight loss. They should lose weight before embarking on a pregnancy, to minimize risk of a miscarriage. This should be done under the guidance of a doctor or nutritionist. Women with BMI of over 35 have more than double the risk of a miscarriage.

Previous research has shown that women who conceive naturally are also at a higher risk if they are overweight. Obesity is a known risk factor for ovulation problems, but it also contributes to infertility in women who ovulate normally.

Treating Obesity: There are many options available in treating obesity, such as:

Diet modification: Avoid foods that are high in saturated or trans-fats or that are high in sugar. Enrich your diet with whole grains, vegetables, fruits and lean sources of protein

Regular physical exercise: Even moderate forms of exercise, such as walking or low-impact aerobics, can lead to healthy weight loss

Gastric bypass surgery: Many people who are obese turn to surgery in order to reduce their appetites. However, this method is risky and highly expensive.

Using a natural, safe dietary supplement: Using an all-natural, organic dietary supplement has been found to be associated with significant weight loss in many cases. Therefore, today, many dieticians recommend using some good, safe and time-tested weight loss supplement in addition to the measures describes above.

However, it is recommended to always consult your physician on any of the above obesity treatments.

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If you’re like me, you’ll love puddings and chocolate and cakes and sweeties, especially pick’n’mix! Not only that but sugar in tea is always a must for me and I love to home bake. But even if you use lower fat butter or marge for cooking and have low fat cakes and treats, they’re not much better for you…Sugar will hinder your weight loss just as much as fat in your diet by adding lots of calories and will cause more fat around your stomach area too!

I noticed that even though I don’t drink high sugar drinks like Coke and Lemonade, I have 2 sugars in my tea, add sugar to my porridge, even the yoghurt’s I get are fairly high in sugar! I did a little bit more researching into my sugar intake and I was astonished at how much I actually consume! Sugar adds a lot of calories to your diet, so if you’re finding you’ve cut right down on fat but not noticing a difference in your weight loss, take a look at the sugar in your diet.

There are ways of cutting back on sugar, getting used to not having so much sweetness or still having sweet things though.

Cutting down gradually on sugar in drinks like tea and coffee is a great way of cutting excess sugar out your diet. Going from 2 sugars, then to 1 and a half, then 1 then a half then non at all week by week is a great way to cut it down.

Comparing your shopping items can really help you learn about the contents of your food too. Take a look at the sugar levels and choose the lower in sugar option. You’ll probably notice little difference in taste and you’ll be healthier for it too! Not bad!

Changing your diet so that sugary foods are few and far between will also help make them taste just as sweet and a nice treat but won’t be a frequent trouble for your weight loss.

If you do want to add a bit of sweetness to food and drinks, try natural sweeteners like fruits, honey and vanilla, even cinnamon can take the bitterness out of something. Or instead of going for something sweet, how about something minty or spicy for a change? You might find you don’t need much sugar after a while!

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The deadly duo

Did you know that obesity increases the toxicity of alcohol and together they dramatically increase liver disease?

According to an estimate, people who consume too much alcohol have good chance of making it to the Obesity chart. Pure alcohol contains 7 calories per gram.

Cirrhosis of the liver and deaths from cirrhosis are increasing rapidly in both men and women. Although alcohol consumption has increased over the past 10 years, cirrhosis has increased even faster.

According to the the Million Women Study done in 1.3 million middle aged women in the UK, the risk of cirrhosis in these women is 28% higher for every 5-unit increase in BMI and that almost 20% of liver cirrhosis is attributable to excess body weight. This compares with an estimated 42% attributable to alcohol.

Also, it was found that risk to liver disease increases as BMI increases, but mainly in those with higher alcohol consumption.  Same is true for men as well. Normal or underweight men who drink at least 15 units per week have a 216% higher risk of dying from liver disease than nondrinkers of the same size. Those who are overweight have a 600% increased risk and being obese causes a whopping 1800% increase.

The relation of obesity & alcohol

Many a times the primary reason behind obesity is over eating. And if that is complimented with excessive drinking, it won’t take much time before you find yourself in a severe life threatening problem of obesity.

Obesity causes non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and alcohol causes alcoholic fatty liver disease. Alcoholic fatty liver also causes peripheral insulin resistance and therefore promotes obesity and diabetes. This may be mediated through the appetite enhancing effect of alcohol, and/or the failure to compensate for the extra energy obtained from alcohol by decreasing other food intake. The synergistic combination of obesity and high alcohol consumption is so strong it is called a supra-additive interaction.

High calorie intake and low energy burning add wounds to the already overweight body and the more obese you become more difficult it gets to contain it. Excessive calories in alcohol make you unhealthy. When you take in more alcohol you also tend to over indulge in your eating routine. It has been discovered that one drink a day is good for your whole system where as overdoing your drinking habit will land you in deep health trouble. Drinking one peg a day will reduce the health risk of insulin and glucose related diseases such as diabetes in postmenstrual women.

Tips to avoid or break the deadly combination

• Avoid or reduce alcohol intake

• Break your binging habits and prepare a health diet which you are comfortable with

• Once you join the list of obese people, it gets difficult to come out of it. So take early precautions and keep watching your weight

• Count your calories if needed

• Be ready to walk a little, swim or at least lead an active life

• Even when you are on diet pills, you can’t reduce weight without following a good food pattern

• Remember, if you are on a weight losing program, excess alcohol in your body will restrain you from losing weight

• Don’t keep alcohol bottles in places where you can see. If you see it every now and then, your urge to drink increases

• Value your life more. Being an alcoholic and becoming obese is not the only way to enjoy life

All in all, alcohol consumption is much more damaging in overweight/obese people and is hugely contributing to obesity, insulin resistance, diabetes, cirrhosis and liver cancer. Alcohol restriction, therefore, needs to be a priority for them.

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I’m sure many of you have got to the stage where you have said to yourself “Right, that’s it! I’m getting into shape now! No more sweets or cakes. I’m going on a diet!” But then you find yourself eating the same stuff the next day…Everyone needs a kick up the backside every now and again to start better habits. But remember, it’s only you who can really make that change. The sweets and treats are always going to be in the shops, it’s up to you to say no to them. The gym is always going to be tough but it’s up to you to push through it and make the most out of your session.

After a while, you start thinking more seriously about your health. First, you’ll notice you need to lose weight. Then you might try out different diets and health plans along with different fitness regimes. But things will start falling into place at that stage, you’ll have found out what’s best for you at the gym and you’ll have cut down on fattening foods and large portions.

Then you might get that dreaded stage of eating the wrong things, slacking on your exercise and feeling pretty pants about yourself! You’ll get discouraged to carry on with the smaller portions and the weight might creep back….

But you know what? Think back to that moment when you realised you need to lose weight. Think to yourself how much easier and more enjoyable your life would be to fit into the clothes you want, not be ashamed of pictures people take of you and to feel healthier, not needing to comfort eat and exercise more enjoyment over chore. When thinking of it that way, all the healthy eating and exercise doesn’t seem so bad when it can dramatically change your life. Feel that motivation coming back?

I’ve said to myself so many times that “Now is the time” or “This is it” when trying to take charge of my diet and fitness regime. But when will ever be the ideal time? When will you finally 100% say “Right, I’m losing weight now!”

I’ve been overweight for such a long time, and my health conditions are going to get worse once I hit my 30′s. So my only chance really to lose the weight and get as fit as I can is right now. I have to do this for myself for now and the future. Which is why it’s finally clicked for me. I NEED to lose the weight now or I might not be able to do it at all.

Find your true reason for losing weight and it will all click together. You will finally realise what you can do without and what you can achieve in your weight loss and fitness.

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Waist size has been linked in the past with heart disease and diabetes. But few studies have looked at the link between waist circumference and risk of death from any cause across different categories of BMI or for the huge waistlines that are becoming increasingly common.

It appears a big waist nearly doubles a person’s risk of an early death from many causes, such as cancer, heart disease, and respiratory illness and the risk is increased even among people who aren’t overweight. In other words, by packing on only a few extra pounds, you could significantly increase your risk of premature death.

In fact, for women, the association between a plus-size waist and greater risk of early death was strongest in those with a normal body mass index, or BMI, according to a study involving more than 100,000 people.

It should be noted that waist circumference is strongly related to the amount of fat tissue deep in the abdomen which is a particularly bad place to have fat. This deep layer of fat, called visceral fat, wraps around internal organs in the abdomen. It’s considered far more “pathogenic,” or more likely to cause disease than subcutaneous fat — fat just beneath the skin that a person can pinch. Some researchers say visceral fat is so metabolically active, it should be considered an organ unto itself. Visceral fat is linked with higher circulating levels of cholesterol, insulin and substances that cause inflammation.

This pattern of increasing risk with increasing waist size seems to be true in every category of weight, including normal weight, overweight and obese. Even if your weight is considered normal for your height, and you haven’t noticed a big weight gain, if your waist size is starting to increase — if you’re having to move into a bigger pant size — that’s an important sign that it’s time to start eating better and exercising more.

The hip measurement: According to researchers, the best way to predict heart attack risk and other obesity-related diseases is a measurement that divides the circumference of your waist by your hips. If you’re a woman, the waist-to-hip ratio should come out as no more than 0.8. Men have a little more wiggle room: a healthy waist-to-hip ratio for them is 0.95.

This means, if your belly has bulged out enough to catch up to the size of your hips, you should start worrying about your heart, experts say. In other words, fat on a woman’s hips doesn’t seem to increase risk, whereas a beer belly does. This fat stored in the belly is the most dangerous type of fat in our bodies.

The waist-to-hip measurement is likely to catch people at risk for fat-related diseases who might otherwise think they were at a healthy weight, based on their BMI scores. It’s quite possible to have an acceptable BMI and still have some belly paunch.

Therefore, you can be thin and still have too much fat!

Act now before it’s too late!

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