Are You or a Family Member at Risk for "Normal Weight Obesity"

"Weight loss", it is one of the most common recommendations that are made by doctors to their patients. More than 50% of American adults that are considered having normal weight have high body fat percentages, greater than 20% for men and greater than 30% for women. This is what the new research at the "Mayo Clinic" shows. The researchers define "normal weight" with the body mass index (BMI), these researchers found that people with normal BMI had the highest percentage of body fat, thus defining a new category of obesity for Americans called "normal weight obesity".

Who is at risk?
For those Americans who thought you were not at risk, think again! Just having normal weight does not mean that your body fat percentages are normal. If a person's body fat percentages are high, that person is therefore at risk for heart disease, a metabolic syndrome that can lead to diabetes. So let me better explain "normal weight obesity", imagine you have a friend, and that friend is 34-years-old, is 5' 8" tall and weighs 140 pounds, which is normal weight for height and age; but if 42 of those pounds, or 30% of that weight is fat then this person would be considered "normal weight obese".

Women are affected more than men, women with normal weight obesity have double the risk factor for heart disease, stroke, diabetes and can possible lead to death. Women should have lower than 30% body fat and men should have lower than 20% body fat to be considered normal.

What are the treatments for this condition?
The treatments for normal weight obesity would be the same as for other people whom are obese. You must first make a complete change in your eating habits, reevaluate the foods you have been consuming and adjust them accordingly. Making this first step to living a healthy lifestyle is key, without changing your eating habits from bad foods to good foods, you will still be at risk for high cholesterol, heart disease and diabetes.

Second is exercise. This is a must! You cannot start eating healthier and think that is all you have to do. You must get up and get moving, people that have a high BMI should think about resistance training along with cardiovascular training. You will gain some weight, but all of it will be in muscle and you will drop your BMI fast.

I recently changed my lifestyle and started living it healthier than I ever have before. I weighed 208 pounds and had a BMI of 32%, I was at risk for all the above mentioned disorders and could actually feel the fat draining my life out of me. So, I made a commitment to myself, started eating healthy, began an exercise regimen of weight training with some cardio and the weight fell off me. I lost 68 pounds and my BMI went from 32% to 21%. I feel great, look great and best of all; I got myself out of the risk zone.

America is a fat Nation that needs to wake up and smell the coffee! We have the highest obesity rate in the entire world and that is nothing to be proud of. America needs to get moving.

References for this article came from my personal experience and from www.mayoclinic.org and www.cbsnews.com