By Dr. Debbie Wallace
If you are overweight or obese, you are more likely to suffer more significant complications or die from a COVID19 infection. Obesity prevalence of countries worldwide has been studied and reveals a direct relationship with COVID19 death rates. According to the national survey data in the US 2015-2016, almost 40% (39.6% ) of adults or 70 million adults are considered obese – defined as having a body mass index (BMI) greater than 30. Another 31% of US adults are considered overweight with a BMI greater than 25 and will likely progress to obesity.
Meanwhile, the obesity rates in children have also increased to now 18.5%. Note that children from low- and middle- income also experience higher rates of obesity, 18.9-19.9% compared to children from higher-income families with obesity rates of 10.9%. This income relationship is a worldwide phenomenon, with poorer countries tending to have higher obesity rates than wealthier nations. Like income, obesity, and being overweight is also more likely if you have lower education, and those living in rural areas are more likely to be obese than those living in urban areas. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) tell us that obesity trends have been steadily rising from the 1980s when most states had obesity rates around 15%. Now, most states have over 30% obesity rates. Twelve states report over 35% obesity rates, compared to 9 states just one year prior. So, what is going on?
While obesity is a complex health issue, let’s try to address why it is that we are getting fatter and fatter every single year! Did we not like eating food back in the 80s? Did everyone just suddenly become greedy? No, certainly not! So, there is only one way to account for this: what we are eating has changed. The facts are the food we are consuming has become more and more calorie-dense. The same bag of popcorn we used to eat at the movies back in the 80s or even 90s had much fewer calories than today’s popcorn. Same for drinks and many other products on the market with empty calories. Today we are consuming more calories than ever, with the same plate of food we eat.
Due to our busy lifestyle, Americans now eat out (restaurants and fast food) more than in prior decades. Although COVID19 has impacted eating out, the food you consume when you eat out is more calorie-dense than the food you would prepare at home. Even if eating at home, we must understand that ingredients have changed, and our recipes have also changed. There are people in the food industry that have studied what we eat so they can profit from us. They have learned what the maximum amount of ingredients to put in your food is, so you will love it but not consider it too fatty or too salty. They do not care if that makes the food unhealthy, just as long as they profit! The more the food melts in your mouth, the less you chew, the more you will consume, hence the more profits they make!
With all the technology in the world today and eating more calories, we are also less active. Social media and binge-watching are the new normal. Therefore, consuming more calories and burning fewer calories through exercise compounds the problem and leads to more weight gain. Unfortunately, the body doesn’t throw away (excrete) our extra calories but stores excess calories as fat. The problem is that excess fat has to be stored somewhere inside your body, and your body should not carry as much fat as our organs and tissues. It is also untrue when we dismiss it as inevitable with aging!
Obesity may triple the likelihood of being hospitalized due to COVID19. Although we don’t fully understand the physiology behind this, obesity leads to changes in your body that may increase inflammation, affect the respiratory system and the immune system. Obesity means your heart has to work harder to pump blood around the body, leading to the constriction of arteries, which leads to increased blood pressure and may lead to heart disease. Many may not be aware, but Vitamin D deficiency is also pandemic. We know that Vitamin D deficiency adversely impacts several body systems, including the immune system, and worsens obesity by enhancing your body’s production of fat.
Therefore, obesity is a significant risk factor for almost every chronic disease, including heart disease, cancer, strokes, and diabetes. There is a direct relationship between obesity rates and diabetes rates across the United States. No wonder dialysis clinics are popping up everywhere! The good news is that a person can reverse both obesity and obesity-induced diabetes (type II). The bad news is that businesses want to profit from people losing weight. Weight loss is a $30billion/year industry, and they don’t want you to be a one-time customer! They want you to lose weight, gain it back, and have to try to lose that weight again. The problem is that it gets harder and harder every time to lose the correct weight.
Why? Weight loss is a misnomer. You only desire fat loss, and fat doesn’t weigh a lot. Muscles weigh a lot more, and want to keep them because your muscle mass determines your metabolic rate. The higher your metabolic rate, the more calories you will burn even while seated or while sleeping. The problem is that we lose a lot more muscles while incorrectly dieting or starving ourselves to lose weight. With fewer calorie intake while dieting, we have less energy and are more likely to become inactive. That inactivity leads to your body’s interpretation that your muscles need to go! This loss of muscle mass means your metabolic rate will drop, and it will look good on the scales. However, when you return to eating normally, you will burn off fewer calories every day. This return to your routine leads to you regaining more weight than you lost in the first place; hence yo-yo dieting occurs.
The best way to reverse obesity is to adopt a healthy lifestyle approach. It is not a quick fix. It is best to lose only about a pound per week, but that is not advertised or shown in the media. Losing 2 pounds per week is the maximum weight loss you should have and is considered extreme weight loss. Dropping just one pound per week on average would result in 50 pounds of weight loss per year. That is a lot of weight loss, but one that your body will maintain because it was gradual. Therefore, a lifestyle approach is best. Gradually decrease the number of calories you eat and make sure you increase your activity level every week, even if just a slight increase in the duration or intensity of the exercise. Otherwise, your body will adjust to your new routine, and you may see a plateau or no additional weight loss.
Here is a tip for weight loss “eat breakfast like a King/Queen and Supper like a Pauper.” The more calories you consume earlier, the more your body burns it off during the day. On the other hand, eating later when your body has slowed down is likely to result in that food being stored instead of burned up. I know an individual who lost 30 pounds by just switching his supper for his breakfast; it works. Here is another tip: an easy way to decrease calories is to eliminate empty calories such as sugars, sugary drinks, pastries, donuts, desserts, and alcohol. Instead, eat more fiber-rich foods such as vegetables, beans, and lentils. Lentils are among the cheapest superfood that is high in fiber, protein, vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals. You will feel less hungry and have plenty of energy to increase your physical activity level. You will boost your immune system as well, which helps to fight not just COVID19 but other chronic diseases. Plus, you will instantly notice that you have more energy and feel great! Feeling fantastic will help you stick to your new healthy lifestyle. Try it. You will never want to go back.
