Good Health is
more about Habits than Weight
July 24, 2005
Healthy habits, proven to decrease your chance of disease,
have more to do with maintaining a healthy, balanced
diet than losing weight. If you find this article interesting,
be sure to also read 'Anti-aging medicine promises miraculous
results from HGH injections, but here's how to really
regain a youthful body and mind.'
It seems some sort of warning should be put on news
stories about the dangers of being overweight - and
the necessity for weight loss.
The authors - researchers from the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention and the National Center Institute
- revised estimates for the number of excess deaths
in the United States "associated with" overweight
and obesity.
Without going into the details of statistical analysis
or the political arguments over "junk food"
taxes, I'll share my opinion about the great weight
debate of 2005.
It is not healthy to be a complete couch potato, nor
is it healthy to be a compulsive exerciser.
Study after study has shown people with healthy habits
are at a lower risk of death and disease - whatever
they weigh.
By healthy habits, I mean getting plenty of physical
activity and eating nutrient-rich whole foods, as well
as not smoking or chewing tobacco, not drinking excessive
amounts of alcohol, and not using dangerous drugs.
If you keep your weight low by smoking
cigarettes, taking over-the-counter diet
pills, exercising more than two hours a day, or
by severely limiting your intake of any food with fat,
you are not healthy.
Most dieters will regain all the weight they lose and
more within a few years.
Half were assigned to a dieting group and half to a
non-dieting "Health at Every Size" group.
They were told to moderately restrict their food consumption,
maintain food diaries, monitor their weight and exercise
regularly.
# The non-dieters showed a significant decrease in both
total cholesterol and LDL "bad" cholesterol
by the end of the study.
# The non-dieters demonstrated significant improvements
in self-esteem and depression, while self-esteem worsened
in the diet group.
Source: http://www.newstarget.com
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