Many South Africans once again spent the long holiday season indulging their appetites. Trifle. Roast. Cream. Pudding. New Year's Eve celebrations ...

Need official confirmation? The Medical Research Council of South Africa found that 55 percent of the nation’s adult women and 29 percent of adult men are overweight.

Advertisement

"There aren't any terrific magic bullets," says Johanna T. Dwyer, the director of the Frances Stern Nutrition Centre at Tufts University, USA. "A modest decrease in kilojoules and increased activity are the keys."

Losing weight can make you feel better about your appearance and more comfortable in your clothes. But the best reason to lose weight may be for your health.

Weight facts
Consider these statistics:

• Overweight people have double the risk of high blood pressure compared to those of normal weight.
• They also have two to three times the risk of a heart attack, double the risk of stroke and up to four times the risk of diabetes.
• They have two to three times the risk of developing gallstones, double the risk of getting colon cancer and at least double the risk of developing arthritis in their knees.
• Overall, people who are overweight have a 50 percent to 100 percent higher risk of death from all causes than those who are of normal weight.

The right amount
Losing even half a kilogram a year, over several years, can dramatically improve your health. For example, one study found that people who lost 0,5 kg a year for eight years cut their risk of diabetes by between 37 percent and 62 percent.

To lose half a kilogram a year, all you need to do is cut out 50 kilojoules a day - less than the amount in a couple of potato chips.

Exercise
But dieting alone isn't the way to better health; exercise needs to be part of the picture.

It's important to remember that the solutions to obesity are not all through diet alone. It also requires a focus on physical activity.

Your options for exercise are limited only by your imagination. You can run, swim, bike, climb rocks, climb stairs - even climb mountain trails.

But experts say the best way to start is by walking, a simple activity everyone can do that requires no special equipment. The Surgeon General recommends that every South African get 150 minutes of moderate exercise - such as walking - each week.

"We're not talking about going out and being a marathon runner and killing yourself," says Linda G. Snetselaar, head of preventive nutrition education at the University of Iowa's College of Public Health. "We're talking about going out and walking 30 minutes."

”If you can walk for 150 minutes a week - that's 30 minutes a day, five days a week - you can make a marked difference in your health.”

The benefits of exercise
People who do get that amount of exercise can cut their risk of heart disease in half, studies have shown. One study found that 30 minutes of daily exercise is just as effective against depression as anti-depressive drugs.

If you can combine walking and weightlifting, you should do even better. By replacing fat with muscle, you burn more kilojoules. A recent study found that women who lifted weights for 40 minutes continued to burn an extra 650 kilojoules in the two hours after they stopped exercising.

And if you're over 30, or you haven't exercised regularly in recent years, you should consult your doctor before beginning an exercise programme.

Just don't expect instant results. Remember, it took a long time to get out of shape - you won't get back into shape overnight.

Rate this article Poor 1 2 3 4 5 Excellent