Every year there are more people who are overweight. These are the statistics, based on data from the World Obesity Federation, provided by the official TG channel of the National Center for Medical Research in Therapy and Preventive Medicine:
* by 2025 in Russia, 24% of men over 18 years old and 30% of women over 18 years old will suffer from obesity;
*as well as 13% boys and 5% girls.
“Often patients do not go to the doctor because of common myths about obesity,” says Sofia Eliashevich, nutritionist, head of the laboratory for the study and correction of eating behavior at the National Medical Center for Therapy and Preventive Medicine of the Russian Ministry . of health.
Together with an expert we will analyze how we are used to being deceived. And why you shouldn’t believe these myths.
Myth number 1: “I have increased subcutaneous fat, it is not dangerous.”
The most dangerous type of fat is visceral fat, located in the abdomen, it can envelop our internal organs and cause inflammatory processes. “Uniform” obesity, that is, fat mass located subcutaneously, is believed to be a “healthier” version of obesity.
– In fact, modern clinical studies refute this misconception: excessive development of subcutaneous fat is also associated with various serious complications. For example, with the risk of developing sleep apnea (stopping breathing during sleep), which means lack of oxygen. Subcutaneous fat also serves as the main source of free fatty acids in the bloodstream. Its high level leads to the development of atherosclerosis, hypertension and strokes, explains Sofia Eliashevich.
Myth number 2: “I just have a slow metabolism.”
In fact, cases of true metabolism slowing can occur with certain hormonal imbalances, but they are quite rare. And obesity has nothing to do with it. And with the fact that we spend little time on usual and routine physical activity.
For example, work standing for 10 to 15 minutes. Or do light exercises every 3 hours. Even regular household tasks (vacuuming, cleaning the floor, dusting) are already an excellent relief from sedentary work. And you can use a special pad on the chair that moves, and the body should catch its rhythm; This corrects posture and at the same time trains the pelvic organs.
– It is estimated that in people with the same body weight, the level of energy expenditure for thermogenesis without exercise can vary up to between 300 and 500 kcal per day! – says Sofia Eliashevich. – Therefore, do not forget to arrange minutes of physical education, breaks, walking to work and doing exercises in the morning.
And, by the way, the greater the degree of obesity, the greater the volume of body tissue and the greater the energy expenditure in daily physical activity.
Myth number 3: “I have a wide bone, that’s not fat.”
“The mass of bone tissue in the same person varies throughout life,” explains the expert. – Reaches its maximum at age 25. Yes, in a healthy person, bone density can increase with increased muscle mass and increased physical activity. But most of the time, what is considered “heavy bone” is excess body fat mass. It is easy to check: there are methods to check the percentage of bone tissue in the body: densitometry and bioimpedance.
“It is important to understand that obesity as a disease increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, hypertension, heart attacks and strokes, and at the same time it is a modifiable risk factor,” says Sofía Eliashevich.
BY THE WAY
And all those people with “thin voices” are less prone to obesity.
Many years ago, scientists from the Netherlands studied the physique and tendency to obesity of 120 people from Singapore, Beijing and the Netherlands. It turned out that tall, stocky people in the Netherlands had the highest body mass index (BMI). And the short Chinese with thin wrists and ankles from Beijing had the lowest BMI.
So the “broad bone” myth is still not entirely a myth.
