Inactivity is the cause of obesity

Dr. Laura Farah, a nutrition expert in El Khalidi Medical Centre in Amman, explained to ArabsToday how over-eating and lack of activity along with complications from other diseases are the main causes of obesity. Farah explained that obesity is the increase of the body weight by more than 20% over its ideal weight. She said that many diseases are associated with obesity such as cardiovascular disease, heart diseases, angina, and respiratory diseases like dyspnea. In addition, endocrine diseases cause obesity, but most importantly, diabetes and diseases of the digestive system like dyspepsia, gall bladder inflammation, and other various physical and psychological disorders. Eating is an activity that brings happiness to many people. The Dr. stressed that the main reason to eat should be to satisfy the nutritional needs of our bodies. She said that good health is closely linked to the food we eat and one must remember that expepensive food is not necessarily healthier, we must look for the food that contains essential elements for the body in proper quantities. Farah confirmed that obesity affecting many people these days is usually due to lack of food awareness and increase in the amount of food with wrong selection of food items with little efforts and movement. "We eat more than we need and move our bodies a little, and thus the body holds the excessive energy from food in the form of fats accumulated in different parts of the body. Some put the blame on the glands, and in fact endocrine is innocent as they do not play a role except for 2-3% of obesity cases "said Dr. Farah. She noted that the main component in the treatment of obesity is the reduction of daily food intake, provided that the food being consumed contains all the key nutrients. For maintaining normal weight and good health one must remember many things. Farah mentioned that there are a group of conditions that must be met for the success of any weight loss system or diet. First, it’s not recommended to impose a diet for a long time, but instead to specify the time depending on the person. This system must be effective especially during the first week so as not to discourage the dieter. Good results encourage the person to stick with the weight loss plan. The diet should be simple, detailed and complete so as not to leave an unclear choice for the dieter. Dr. Farah argued that diet doesn't mean following a tough nutrition system to lose weight in the short term then return to old habits. Diet means implementing a radical change to habitual unhealthy eating habits such as skipping breakfast or taking snacks between meals such as nuts and chocolate. The Dr. stressed that in order to implement a long-term diet plan, a detailed plan must be set with a designated time for exercising and planning for obstacles and outside pressures facing the person. There must be determination and knowledge of the types of foods that will be included in this diet. Farah explained that the body's caloric needs vary according to age, height, weight, nature of work and daily efforts of the individual. She added that men need more calories than women in the same age, height and weight. Also, people who have office work need fewer calories than workers engaged in manual labor. Therefore, the individual should follow a diet that suits him/her best and one shouldn't follow the diet program developed for others. Dr. Farah also talked about some nutrition guidelines which help to reduce and maintain ideal weight, such as avoiding or minimizing foods that contain high amounts of fats like butter and meat, cheese, nuts, sweets or foods high in carbohydrates such as bread, rice, pasta and potatoes. One should focus instead on eating foods rich in fiber, like vegetables and fruits. In addition, eating low-fat meat, chicken without its skin, skim milk instead of full cream milk is advisable. When you feel hungry, snacks with low calories like vegetables and fruits are best. In addition, you should consume 1.5 to 2 liters of water per day while also reducing the amount of salt used. The presence of salt helps to store water in the body which leads to weight gain. She also stressed the need to exercise consistently while following a diet, confirming that sport is the best way to lose weight. She said exercise gives the person a sense of confidence, which helps him/her to commit to the program in addition to consuming healthy food, making the body feel better. The best kind of exercise is brisk walking, running, aerobics and swimming.