I guess desperate times really do call for desperate measures don’t they? All around the world our children are getting heavier and heavier; children are developing adult diseases at younger and younger ages, how do we stop it?

Some scientists and doctors think they might have one method, and you know what, it seems a bit far fetched but maybe that’s what we need now. That “one method” involves making the toys that children play with heavier, weighted, so while the child lugs them around, they also are helping themselves to slim down. Hmm. Obviously this isn’t going to solve the entire obesity issue, but hey, it could help.

My only concern is this: Weighted toys = parents carrying weighted toys AND the child that won’t carry it anymore. Well hey, if that’s the case maybe parents will start dropping some pounds too!

Here’s a little formula for you, obesity leads to much higher rates of diabetes, diabetes then leads to an elevated risk of heart attacks and heart disease; therefore, avoiding obesity leads to avoiding diabetes which then leads to a lowered risk of heart attack or heart disease.

I just read an article that had a scary truth, “Diabetes is the clinical equivalent of aging 15 years, thrusting men and women with the disease into a high-risk category for cardiovascular disease while still in middle-age.” Wow. What’s scarier is how many times obesity leads to diabetes, and how many people in this country are already obese, or at least on their way.

Folks, I can’t stress enough how important it is to watch your diet and consistently exercise. Do this, every day, and the words obesity, diabetes and heart disease won’t ever have to enter your vocabulary.

Yep, another one to add to the list. I’ve just come up with yet another reason why you and your entire family should avoid being overweight or obese.

Research is showing that overweight kids are at a much higher risk of nasty headaches; the scientists believe that the overweight and obese nature of their bodies gives them other health issues that then contribute to the headaches. Turns out that of all children suffering from chronic headaches, 36% of them were overweight or obese.

Not that you needed another reason, but there you go! Don’t be overweight, don’t be in pain. Cool huh?

Remember the other day I did a post about scientists believing in 10 other reasons why people get fat besides the boring old “diet and lack of exercise.” Turns out some people, me included, don’t think those 10 reasons were very helpful at all.

With scientists now introducing, at least in this study, 10 more reasons why people might be obese, it gives people 10 more excuses to blame their conditions on. Now, rather than just realizing that poor eating habits and not getting enough exercise is taking its toll (in most cases), people can blame it on their air conditioning, their parents bodyweight, or Good Lord, the fact that they aren’t smoking!

Folks, lets bring it around and remember that in the majority of cases of obesity in this country, not all, but the majority, the reason is poor eating habits and the person not getting enough exercise. Plain and simple. Eat right, exercise daily, keep up with yourself and you won’t be obese. Stop looking for scapegoats, start looking for Fit Express gyms.

Counting calories, counting fat, counting carbs, checking sugar, counting sodium…blah, blah blah. It’s so hard isn’t it? Always checking what you’re eating, how much you’re eating, how many calories you should eat, when, etc. It’s tough!

So, to make things a bit easier, I just found 10 ways to control your caloric intake; they are simple tips, so please read the full article when you’re done here!

“1. Increase your portion awareness.
2. Doggy bag it. Ask for a take-out container to accompany your meal - and scrape
half your food into it immediately.
3. Use smaller plates.
4. Bullet proof your kitchen.
5. Establish regular meal times.
6. Know your calories. Educate yourself until you know the calorie count of every type of food that crosses your lips - or don’t eat that morsel.
7. Never measure vegetables.
8. Eat dairy food.
9. Journal. Record your food intake, set personal goals, even jot down your feelings.
10. Exercise. Come on, you knew it had to be here! Your activity level has a huge, direct bearing on your metabolic rate and therefore the number of calories you burn in a day. Weight control is incomplete without exercise and there’s no way around it. Get moving and be inventive about ways to incorporate exercise into your schedule for life!”

See that, exercise. Man, it’s tough being right about that so often! Head to Fit Express for the exercise part of this battle!

Do you step on the scale, or do you avoid it altogether? Do you constantly monitor every tiny change in your body weight, or do you wait for the broad strokes before noticing and checking?

Turns out, how often you weigh yourself when on a weight loss program actually does play a role in how much you lose, and how fast you lose it. When the University of Minnesota studied over 3,000 people on weight loss programs they found that 20% of people never weighed themselves while 40% did it daily and 40% weekly. Here’s the interesting part: Those who weighed themselves daily lost an average of 12lbs, those that weighed weekly lost an average of 6lbs, and those that never used the scale gained an average of 4lbs.

So, moral time, use the scale. Keep track of your progress, monitor it, record it, and use it to your advantage. Can’t hurt.

We all know that a lack of exercise and a poor diet can easily lead to obesity, it’s far from a secret…but what else can help it have such a high success rate? Why is obesity so widespread?

A panel of experts got together and brainstormed a list of reasons that have actual backing as to being a possible reason for obesity; they came up with some surprising answers. As always, read the full article, but here are 10 factors that contribute to obesity that you may not have thought about:

• Inadequate sleep. Average sleep amounts have fallen, and many studies tie sleep deprivation to weight gain.
• Endocrine disruptors, which are substances in some foods that may alter fats in the body.
• Nice temperatures. Air-conditioning and heating limit calories burned from sweating and shivering.
• Fewer people smoking. Less appetite suppression.
• Medicines that cause weight gain.
• Population changes. More middle-agers and Hispanics have higher obesity rates.
• Older birth moms. Age correlates with heavier children.
• Genetic influences during pregnancy.
• Darwinian natural selection. Fat people out survive skinny people.
• Assortative mating, or “like mating with like.”

Remember, you can change this, and you can beat this. Start today!

Do you have a half an hour to spare? Can you watch one less television show per day? Can you spare it? If so, that extra weight you’ve been carrying around all these years will disappear before your eyes. The best method to serious fat loss is and always will be circuit training.

I just read an article that is absolutely singing the praises of circuit training, and I could not agree more. With hydraulic resistance circuit training, you get a workout tailored exactly to how hard you’re capable of working every time. Combining resistance training and cardiovascular movement, both types of exercise are done at the same time, doubling your work effort.

If you haven’t yet, please please give circuit training a try. Come to Fit Express, we’ve been the experts in the field for years and years. Don’t wait, check us out today and turn your life in the direction you want it to go!

You can officially add another reason to avoid obesity to your list. I’m pretty sure if you typed up this list and strung it end to end, it’d circle the globe about 17.5 times by now. Nevertheless, another reason has been added.

I just found an article that is showing some scary evidence that obesity is actually playing a role in the treatment of prostate cancer. Turns out, the more obese you are, the less radiation treatments actually help you. Wow.

So, in case you needed another reason, head over and read the full article, get your daily fright, then come back to Fit Express and get workin’!

Just when you think I can’t offer ANY more reasons why childhood obesity might well be the devil incarnate…I offer you more. Think of me as the good guy on your shoulder, battling the little bad guy on your other one.

Ok here are a few more reasons why your children shouldn’t be obese: Obese children have a severely increased risk of broken bones, joint and muscle pains, and the worst of all…bone deformity. What happens is this, the extra weight causes an uneven distribution of stress in the body, that stress must be compensated for and as a result, deformities are created. Further, the heavier weights add so much stress that often the bones can’t handle it, and break so much easier. Yikes.

So, if you needed even more reasoning to help your kids avoid the “obesity pitfalls” there you go. I’m always here to help, now stop reading this, and go find a Fit Express to get you and your entire family involved in hydraulic resistance circuit training!