Weight Loss-Are You Obese?
March 14, 2009 by admin
Filed under Weight Loss
Due to overwhelming television and internet messages on the topic of obesity, most people now worry about being overweight. Whether due to social acceptance or the mere want of healthy weight loss, nobody really wants to be fat.
From a non-social, evolutionary aspect, however, being able to store fat through excess calories is an ability that serves life as a whole. When someone consumes more calories than needed for proper muscle movement, cellular repair, and the maintenance of internal temperature, the remaining calories are stored in adipose tissues, which are the chemical bonds of fat cells.
While the energy that calories measure is not the same as fat, it only becomes available for our body to use when the fat molecules break down into simpler products. This, in turn, happens when a person moves around more or does something else that may require more energy.
One major source of this energy is carbohydrates, whose two main forms are sugars and starches. These components take part in the Krebs Cycle where the sugars are broken down into ATP, then ADP, where energy is released in the process.
When there is no more glucose left to use in the cycle, the body uses stored body fat as a substitute. This is what causes a person to decrease in body fat percentage, and eventually weight loss. In some cases, the muscle mass may increase, which may not result in a net weight loss, but the weight loss will be evident in the way they look.
As in every aspect of life, however, this should be done in moderation for healthy weight loss. Over a long span of time, if more calories are consumed than lost, body fat will increase to the point where there are huge health risks and no benefits in healthy weight loss whatsoever. This could eventually lead to diabetes or even heart difficulties. The social consequences are already very well-known.
Most people wish for optimum weight loss and aim to maintain their weight and body fat percentage thereafter. That will naturally differ from person to person again since everyone has a different body type, but it may also differ by season (winter fat is healthy!) and a person’s body mass index (BMI).
All of these factors must be considered for opting for an intense weight loss program or weight loss plan. Some people tend to think they are obese when they are actually only need a bit of weight loss or a bit of muscle tone. Know your specific body type, calculate your BMI and you may even come to notice that weight loss is completely unnecessary because you are already in the exact, ideal weight for you.
