If we continue to eat we will become obese, obesity is measured by your Body Mass Index (BMI) which
measures the amount of excess fat that is stored in your body. People become obese with lack of exercise and when the amount of calories taken in is far more than your body requires. Being obese and overweight, in the most extreme cases can cause death, below are the most common health problems brought about by being overweight and obese.

1. Heart Disease: as you put on weight the arteries and veins get clogged with fat, as your heart is basically a pump, it finds it harder and harder to pump the blood through your body putting strain and pressure on your heart to continue working properly. Another problem is that the heart wall becomes thickened which again can cause stroke or even death.

2. Liver Disease: as we eat too much cholesterol this can cause the bile in the liver to harden and produce gallstones. But more worrying is the excess fat in the liver will cause inflammation which could lead to liver cancer or scarring which is untreatable.

3. Muscleskelital Disease: as we put on weight and become obese our joints and muscles suffer, as we walk the cartilage between our bones wears away and the bones start to rub together causing osteoarthritis. Another problem in obesity is gout this is due to the high levels of uric acid in your body.

4. Respiratoary Disease: one of the most affected areas in obesity, sleep apnoea is very common and this will happen every night. Another complaint is asthma. Both these complaints are caused by restriction of the airways.

5. Skin Diseases: stretch marks and cellulite aside, when people get obese they find it harder to clean themselves as thorough as they would like which can lead to unsightly skin infections.

These are just a few complaints that co-exist alongside people who become obese or overweight. Think about your health, try and be positive and if you are concerned about being overweight and what it does to your body then visit your local GP for proper medical advice on how best to cope with obesity.

It is estimated that 16% of children aged between 6-19 are overweight. Overweight problems in children can be caused by factors such as nutrition and sleep patterns. However there are very few children overweight due to genetics, (in many cases just an excuse by parents) its mainly due to poor diet and lack of exercise.

In today’s society we tend to drive everywhere, and our kids would rather stay at home watching TV or playing on the computer again missing out on vital exercise. Another sad fact is that many parents have lost the ability to produce a home cooked meal, they would rather send out to the local takeaway. Granted, time issues are a factor with modern society, but surely we can still try and find a half-hour to prepare a home-cooked meal?

Should we put our children on a weight loss diet? Short answer is No! Children need a rich diet as they are constantly growing. However, there are certain sweets that parents can cut out of their daily routine and replace by healthy diet bars, (which are very tasty, now). Remember, children should never be put on diets without consulting medical advice first!