High Calorie Intake And No Exercise - A Recipe For Disaster

Is thirties the new forties? Well, if the rise of weight-related diseases is to be accounted for, it’s a hard fact.

The slow and gradual disappearance of physical exercise from the daily life of middle-aged people has lead to multiple problems, of which obesity takes the top spot. 

Lifestyle Changes Take The cake

An increasing number of middle-aged people are today working for longer hours, eating more fast food and leading a stressful life with no exercise.

The life of an executive now involves travelling on bikes, cars or buses; walking has gone out the window. Similarly, the staircase is hardly preferred by people in offices. 

Those small occasions that once gave people a chance to exercise or at least move their limbs have now been taken away. Even youngsters are today becoming overweight and obese.

Dr Abhay Agarwal of Beams Hospital says, “People have become couch potatoes! They sit all the time, whether it’s while working or watching television or relaxing at home. This has led to an increase in intra-abdominal fat, which soon results in knee problems. Eventually, diseases like hypertension, diabetes and depression creep up”

Fitness Is The Way To Go

Dr Venugopal Pareek, a Bariatric Surgeon with Kamineni Hospitals, says, “Some companies conduct health training sessions for their employees. It’s very important that people take these sessions seriously as some work profiles involve eight to nine hours of sitting at a desk.”

“A daily 45-minute workout will ensure that the body gets proper exercise. In the early age of 30 to 50 years, walking alone does not help as most don’t walk briskly. A combination of cardio, abs and machines works best if done under the guidance of a trained instructor.”

Exercise is the only way to fitness claim health experts. Weight problems will eventually lead to development of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), dyslipidemia, hypertension and cardiovascular disease.

A recent study showed that the rate of breast cancer was over two times higher in obese women (with a BMI greater than 30) as compared to their normal weight counterparts. Proper weight management is undoubtedly the need of the hour.