Who is to blame – the person eating the food, or the companies that make it?

To discover the causes of obesity you ought to take a closer look at the food they eat, why they are made to eat it & the contemporary lifestyle that fuels the consumption of these ‘fast foods’. Only then will you know how to fight obesity properly.

Your Inactive Lifestyle Choice

It is less hard than ever before to lead an inactive, sedentary life. Most professionals are table bound & overworked, a common set of circumstances that have been linked to obesity. Physical inactivity is the main culprit behind gaining weight over time. As the technology age has risen, leisure activities have been transferred from outside lively games & sports, to inside tv watching & digital gambling.

What this essentially does is it prevents you from burning any extra calories that you have gained throughout the day. Couple this with a high fat, high calorie diet & you are heading for a rapid spike in childhood & adult obesity rates.

With technology slowly replacing our basic need to venture out in to the open air, increasingly people are finding that to fight obesity is a near impossible task. The average day begins by driving or commuting to work, sitting at a table for 8 hours, returning home the same easy way, & then watching tv until you must do it all over again. This is no way to live or fight off obesity.

Fast Food Equals Fast Money

The processed food industry grows larger every year as the need for quicker, bigger meals replaces normal eating habits. Because people are more inactive than they five time were they gain weight, & consequently need to eat more every day to stay satisfied.

Fighting obesity has seldom been more difficult. Our entire society is built around processed foods.

Fast food corporations claim that they are only filling a need, or supplying what people need. They sell fast food to millions of people because it is less pricey than fresh produce. Processed foods packed with chemicals like MSG keep adults & kids coming back again & again.

Fast food restaurants litter the streets; grocery stores are stocking boxed, microwavable meals in lieu of fresh produce. You have virtually no chance of being of a normal weight if you are inactive & eat this kind of food.

Acomplia is yet one of the foremost competitors when it comes to diet pills. Each Rimonabant review ranks it quite high and with good reason too. It is just great at suppressing the appetite and is cheaper than most of the other brands. Also, without having to adhere to strict diets or undergo intensive exercise programs, the Rimonabant review will tell you that it is possible to lose weight fast in just a matter of a few weeks. Buy Generic Acomplia to Lose Weight Today !

Of the two, who is better off? When it comes to women’s workouts , they’re both wrong . Yes, our bodies are different, what we perceive as enjoyable for our workouts are different and that means our workouts are different too.

Treadmill workouts aren’t the answer … in fact, treadmill workouts are boring and and if you don’t have a proper program they can actually make you fatter . You will burn calories, some fat but you also burn your muscle, and you won’t tone your entire body and hit your goals . Your body is smart and doesn’t want to work harder than it has to, so i quickly gets used to your running. To ge results you have to keep adding more and more distance which means spending more and more time.

What the heck are you suppose to do? A combination of cardio and weights. Women’s workouts should include strength training for sure, but just not the grunting and split workouts the guys do. Total body will help you burn more calories, burn more fat and get better results faster.

If you want to give standard weight training a try aim for using weights light enough where you do sets of 12-15 reps but you can’t do more… or another option all together are circuit workotus. Circuits are great, they generally include 6-8 exercises that are performed back to back with little or no rest.

Once you finish the entire circuit enjoy a short break before doing the circuit 1 or more extra times!

Circuits are never boring because it progresses so quickly you can get your workout done in no time at all and feel as if you just worked out forever.

So do you need a new workout? Chances are yes… just don’t ask the moaning guy on the bench beside you for help .

A fortunate few  have proven to be able to back up their assertions of health benefits, others less so .  One of the newest of such super fruits to show itself is the Mangosteen.  Just Like the others, many people are saying terrific things about how beneficial the Mangosteen can be for our health.  But what are the actual facts?

Mangosteen Facts

The Mangosteen is the fruit of a plant indigenous to the Indonesia , which is why many people in the Western world have still not heard all about it .  This remoteness from Western research also explains why, till today , no one had made claims about the health benefits of the mangosteen – because until now researchers hadn’t had a chance to research it.

Not  that it doesn’t have a ancient history , far from it .  The health giving properties of the Mangosteen have been accepted for over 1400 years.  Locals used a dried and pulped version of the fruit and its rind to make potions and salves as long ago as 600AD

Mangosteen is a smallish fruit, aproximately a similar size as a tangerine.  The rind ( skin  ) of the Mangosteen is purplish and greenish , whilst the inner pulp is whitish .  This pulp is much sought after by locals as an exquisite tasting fruit.

Indeed the English Queen, Victoria (1819 – 1901) is said to have enjoyed the taste of the fruit so much that she offered to bestow knighthoods on anyone who brought her more some of the fruit , which shows how well it was regarded even in Victorian Britain!

Mangosteen Health Claims

As the Mangosteen is just recently starting to be extensively studied by scientists there is still much about it that we are yet to understand .  But initial scrutiny and research has brought a number of pertinent facts about the fruit in to the media . 

• The Mangosteen has over 40 different types of Xanthones in it, making it the strongest single source of Xanthones known to naturally occur .
• Xanthones are useful to our health in a many ways, not least acting as a powerful anti-inflammatory agent, stopping or reducing swelling.  Extremely useful for migraine sufferers.
• Antioxidants .  Antioxidants are vital to help us battle against free radicals – dangerous molecules that may cause cancer.  They are also of import in helping to strengthen our immune system to fight off assorted attacks.
• Illness.  Many of the large amoun of anti-oxidants found in the mangosteen are anti-virals and anti-bacteria, helping us to be able to recover from illnesses rapidly , and potentially guard against an illness that you would differently get.

So however you prefer to enjoy your mangosteen, whether in  juice, fresh or freeze-dried supplement form you now have an understanding of exactly what it is that you are putting into your body.

Such claims are rarely backed by scientific studies and proper research. Like the old saying goes, if it sounds too good to be true it probably is.

Acai Berry Weight Loss

However, combined with proper diet and exercise, the acai berry can be an excellent weight loss aid. Its natural combination of antioxidants, essential fatty acids, amino acids, phytosterols, and amino acids work together to help your body function better, process food easier, and burn fat more efficiently. Let’s break down how the acai berry helps people reach their perfect weight…

Acai Berry Boosts the Metabolism

The acai berry contains Omega fatty acids – the same medically recommended fats found in fish oil, olive oil and flaxseed. These fatty acids can’t be produced by the body, and must be obtained from the food we eat. Instead of being stored as fat, they are used by the liver to “kick-start” the metabolism. If you’re a slow starter when it comes to losing weight, or if you’ve reached the frustrating “plateau” phase of weight loss, adding some form of acai to your diet might be just the ticket to get over the hump.

Acai Berry Aids Digestion

The acai berry contains a generous amount of fiber which promotes a healthy digestive system and helps cleanse your system of fatty foods.

Acai Berry Suppresses Appetite

As mentioned above, the acai berry has a generous amount of fiber. High fiber foods like acai help you to feel fuller faster and cut down on nagging cravings, needless snacking, and late night trips to the refrigerator.

Acai Berry Builds Muscle Tone

The acai berry is rich with amino acids, which your muscles need in order to function properly and grow from exercise. These amino acids combined with the fatty acids in the acai berry allow your body to burn fat more efficiently and help your muscles grow. Muscle, of course, makes your body look fit and toned. In addition, the more muscle your body has, the more calories you will burn, and the faster you’ll lose weight.

Acai Berry Increases Energy & Stamina

Jiu-jitsu practitioners and soccer players in Brazil often have a large meal of acai berry pulp before a competition. Why? Aside from being a perfect source of nutrition and carbohydrates, the high levels of antioxidants in the acai berry lead to a drastic increase in energy levels and stamina. If it gives a Jiu-Jitsu fighter enough energy for a competition, it’s going to really help keep your energy level up for cardio and exercise.

Final Word on Acai Berry & Weight Loss

Although it’s not the miracle weight loss solution that some claim, the acai berry has been medically and scientifically proven to contain ingredients that aid in weight loss. Not only does it provide a valuable boost to the metabolism, it also suppresses appetite, helps build muscle, and gives a much-needed shot of energy and stamina for those fat blasting workouts.Tags: acai, acai berry, acai berry crush, weight loss, nutrition, diet, fitness, health, antioxidant

About The Author

Healthy Lifestyle is a researcher and contributing writer for http://www.AcaiBerryCrush.com where you can learn all about the amazing health benefits of acai berry & weight loss. 

Article Source:Acai Berry Crush Diet & Weight Loss

Medical College of Georgia researchers looking at 126 healthy 15- to17-year-olds in high school in Augusta, Ga., found the hormone aldosterone highest among the overweight males. Early intervention could help these young people avoid growing up to be adults with cardiovascular disease, the number one killer in the United States.

“These associations give us reason to question whether we should be screening for and treating high aldosterone in obese males with normal pressures, particularly those with a family history of cardiovascular disease,” MCG Endocrinology Fellow Dayal D. Raja says of the collaborative study with the Department of Pediatrics.

“Our failure to halt the progression of heart damage is attributed to late detection, because early heart damage is usually asymptomatic,” Dr. Raja says. “We have evidence that we could identify individuals early and stop or even reverse that damage. We need more study to confirm our findings and a plan for whom and how to screen.”

This first evidence of elevated aldosterone levels and early heart damage in a pediatric population with normal blood pressure earned Dr. Raja first place in the poster session at the recent American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists 18th Annual Meeting and Clinical Congress in Houston.

Aldosterone, a hormone produced by the adrenal gland, is known to increase blood pressure by increasing sodium and water retention. Despite normal blood pressures, the overweight males had thickened heart walls and an increase in the size of the pumping chamber of the heart, Dr. Raja says. Structural changes in the young hearts can be linked to a lesser-known aldosterone fact: it also promotes inflammation and formation of fibrous tissue in the heart muscle.

Overweight females in the group did not have elevated aldosterone levels or the associated heart damage, Dr. Raja says, noting that estrogen’s cardioprotective effect may have made the difference.

Blood and urine test are available to measure aldosterone levels, but they typically aren’t measured unless a patient on multiple medications still has uncontrolled blood pressure. By then, Dr. Raja says, significant cardiovascular damage may have been done.

It’s more likely, young, overweight people would be told to lose weight, but that isn’t working for most, Dr. Raja says. “We are trying weight loss but we are failing miserably,” he says, noting the worldwide obesity epidemic. In fact, since that’s today’s standard, losing weight is just what these researchers told their study participants to do. Losing weight – if it happens – will decrease aldosterone levels.

Although the exact relationship between increased fat and increased aldosterone is still being sorted out, the latest research suggests that fat cells stimulate the adrenal glands to make more aldosterone, says Dr. Gregory Harshfield, director of MCG’s Georgia Prevention Institute and a hypertension researcher.

As a follow up to Dr. Raja’s study, Dr. Harshfield wants to block aldosterone levels in overweight teens with a family history of cardiovascular disease to determine if it can prevent or reverse dangerous heart changes and forestall hypertension. The GPI already is doing similar studies blocking the kidney’s production of the powerful blood vessel constrictor angiotensin in young people with an impaired ability to secrete sodium.

The landmark 1999 RALE trial illustrated the potential benefit of reducing aldosterone levels even in people already suffering from heart failure. The study of 1,663 patients was halted early because of significantly reduced death rates in those taking the aldosterone-lowering, anti-hypertensive spironolactone. Patients on other anti-hypertensives failed to show as impressive results.

Source: Medical College of Georgia

Results indicate that BMI and waist circumference, but not neck circumference, were significant and strong predictors of SDB at all severity levels – primary snoring, mild SDB and moderate SDB. Nasal anatomic factors such as chronic sinusitis, rhinitis and nasal drain were significant predictors of mild SDB; minority status was associated with primary snoring and mild SDB. Tonsil size, assessed by visual inspection, was not a significant risk factor for any level of SDB. Overall, 1.2 percent of children had moderate SDB (an apnea/hypopnea index of five or more breathing pauses per hour of sleep), 25 percent had mild SDB (AHI of at least one but less than five) and 15.5 percent had primary snoring.

According to principal investigator Edward O. Bixler, PhD, of Penn State University College of Medicine in Hershey, Penn., it is often assumed that the primary mechanism of SDB in children is the presence of large tonsils or adenoids. The study suggests, however, that the causes of SDB in children are more complex, that there may be a systemic influence of obesity, and that adenotonsillectomy may not always be the most effective, first-line treatment.

“Risk factors for SDB in children are complex and include metabolic, inflammatory and anatomic factors,” said Bixler. “Because SDB in children is not just the outcome of anatomical abnormalities, treatment strategies should consider alternative options, such as weight loss and correction of nasal problems.”

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine reports that snoring is one warning sign for obstructive sleep apnea, a common form of SDB that occurs when soft tissue in the back of the throat collapses and blocks the airway during sleep. Snoring that is related to sleep apnea tends to be loud and may include obvious pauses in breathing and gasps for breath. Parents often notice that the child seems to be working hard to breathe during sleep.

The study gathered data from 700 children between the ages of 5 and 12 years who were randomly selected from 18 public elementary schools in Dauphin County, Penn. Fifty-two percent were female, and 23.8 percent of the children were either Black or Hispanic.

Each child was evaluated by a physical exam and monitored for nine hours during one night of polysomnography in a sleep laboratory.

The overall average AHI was 0.8 breathing pauses per hour of sleep, with a maximum value of 24.6. The prevalence of moderate SDB was higher in older children; two percent of children between the ages of 9 and 12 years had moderate SDB, compared with only 0.2 percent of children between 5 and 8 years of age.

Source: American Academy of Sleep Medicine

In their study, Halliday and Kwak document strong correlations in weight gain between adolescents and their friends, even after controlling for confounding factors such as race, sex and age. While these correlations may be indicative of pupils causing their peers to gain weight, the authors provide evidence that a substantial part of the correlations is a consequence of sorting on BMI.

In addition, they discuss many of the econometric issues in estimating such effects while accounting for growth spurts and difficulties in defining adolescent obesity. Halliday and Kwak discuss policy implications of such findings for school-based interventions to combat obesity. Their work contributes to a growing body of literature studying the impact of peers on student outcomes.

Source: University of Hawaii at Manoa

Investigators from the Department of Family Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston compared the results of two large-scale studies of the US population in 1988-1994 and in 2001-2006. In the intervening 18 years, the percentage of adults aged 40-74 years with a body mass index greater than 30 has increased from 28% to 36%; physical activity 12 times a month or more has decreased from 53% to 43%; smoking rates have not changed (26.9% to 26.1%); eating 5 or more fruits and vegetables a day has decreased from 42% to 26%; and moderate alcohol use has increased from 40% to 51%. The number of people adhering to all 5 healthy habits has decreased from 15% to 8%.

The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) is a national survey of non-institutionalized persons in the US conducted regularly by the National Center for Health Statistics. The researchers used data from a sub sample of the NHANES surveys of 1988-1994 and 2001-2006, adults aged 40-74 years, because this age span is the primary time for initial diagnosis of cardiovascular risk factors and disease. In the NHANES 1988-1994, the number of respondents 40-74 years old was 7340, representing a weighted sample size of 78,794,217. For NHANES 2001-2006, the number of respondents was 7811, for a weighted sample size of 65,476,573.

Since people with diagnosed health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, or high cholesterol were part of the samples, the researchers sought to determine whether such individuals were adhering to the healthy habits to a greater or lesser degree than people without those conditions, and whether adherence had changed over time. The study also concluded that people with cardiovascular disease, diabetes, high blood pressure or high cholesterol, or risk factors for those conditions, were no more likely to adhere to a healthy lifestyle pattern than people without such risk factors.

Writing in the article, Dana E. King, MD, MS, states, “The potential public health benefits from promoting a healthier lifestyle at all ages, and especially ages 40-74 years, are substantial. Regular physical activity and a prudent diet can reduce the risk of premature death and disability from a variety of conditions including coronary heart disease, and are strongly related to the incidence of obesity. In the US, medical costs due to physical inactivity and its consequences are estimated at $76 billion in 2000 dollars. Research indicates that individuals are capable of adopting healthy habits in middle age, and making an impact on cardiovascular risk.”

Source: Elsevier Health Sciences

Those who take statins after a stroke may also be less likely to die within the next 10 years than those who do not take statins.

“Considering the large burden that stroke carries around the world, these potential benefits of statins are significant,” said study author Sotirios Giannopoulos, MD, DSc, of the University of Ioannina School of Medicine in Greece. “Also, second strokes tend to result in more disability and longer time spent in hospitals than first strokes, so anything that can prevent these recurrent strokes is beneficial.”

The study involved 794 people who had strokes and had health information available for 10 years after the stroke. Researchers looked back at the records to see what factors affected the risk for having a second stroke or dying within 10 years after the stroke.

During that time, 112 people had a second stroke and 224 people died. Those who took statins were 35 percent less likely to have a second stroke and 57 percent less likely to die within 10 years than those who did not take statins.

About eight percent of those on statins had a second stroke, compared to 16 percent of those not taking statins.

Researchers analyzed other risk factors for stroke, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, and heart problems, but found that statin use was the only factor tied to a reduced risk of recurrent stroke and death.

“It’s possible that effects from the drugs that are separate from their cholesterol-lowering effects are responsible for this result,” Giannopoulos said. “Statins have anti-inflammatory and antioxidative effects and also prevent blood clotting and stabilize plaque in the arteries, so one of these mechanisms may help to prevent recurrent stroke.”

Source: American Academy of Neurology

Professor Boyd Swinburn believes that research funding would be better directed at testing possible solutions rather than continuing to unpick what is causing the rise in obesity.

“It seems counter intuitive, but knowing the causes or mechanisms for weight gain does not always help with identifying the solutions,” he said.

“For an individual person, we know the causes of weight gain over time include the obesogenic environment, genetic predisposition, and increasing age – none of which can be influenced by the health professional trying to help the person lose weight. At a population level, the commercial drivers which promote our overconsumption of food are unlikely to be reversed by the private sector because there is no commercial gain for the food industry to promote eating fewer calories.

“The twin bottom line is that we need to re-orient our research towards testing potential solutions rather than just better identifying the problem. The most promising approaches for individuals and populations will involve identifying the right set of ‘rules’ or policies which lead to sustainable environmental and behavioural changes.”

Professor Swinburn says that identifying solutions needs specific solutions-oriented research and unfortunately most of the current research into obesity is problem-oriented.

“Interestingly, the solutions that are the most likely to work seem to be ‘rule-based’ solutions,” Professor Swinburn explained.

“For overweight individuals, so long as they can stick to a set of dietary rules which results in a reduced calorie intake, it doesn’t seem to matter what foods are included or excluded. This is why lots of different types of diets which are unrelated to the dietary causes of weight gain can produce weight loss.

“Similarly, at a population level, it is likely that rules or policies are likely to be the most promising for prevention. Education, guidelines, industry self-regulation, and government ads on TV are unlikely to have much influence and stronger policies will be needed.”

Professor Swinburn will be speaking about the causes of the current obesity epidemic and potential solutions today (Thursday 21 May) at the Public Health Association of Australia ACT Branch’s Sax Oration in Canberra.