The recent ruling of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) controlling or banning the use of trans fat in processed food is long overdue. This type of fat has been associated with serious health problems such as heart diseases and obesity. But its use in the food industry is widespread that almost all the food that we eat from grocery stores and fast food contain trans-fatty acids. They are found in margarine, vegetable shortenings, snack foods, baked products, and fried foods from your favorite fast food outlets.

What the FDA Says about Trans-fat?

In 2013, the FDA already determined that partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs) are no longer Generally Recognized as Safe for use in human food and proposed its total phase out. And on June 16, 2015, the agency gave its final decision by banning its use on food products. Manufacturers were given three years to look for alternatives and eventually remove any PHOs in their products. According to the FDA, phasing out of trans fat will help prevent 20,000 heart attacks and 7,000 deaths each year. Health experts estimates that American consumers still consume 1 gram of trans fat a day.

One particular study about trans-fat’s health effects shows that it can trigger weight gain and accumulation of body fat. According to the researchers at Wake Forest University, trans fat increases the amount of fat around the belly. It also causes redistribution of fats in the body and move it to the belly area. Other serious health problems that may be caused or aggravated by too much intake of trans fats include:

• Coronary heart disease
• Alzheimer’s disease
• Liver disease
• Type 2 diabetes
• Infertility
• Cancer

How to Avoid Trans Fat?

If trans fat is found in almost all food that you eat, how can you reduce its intake to avoid obesity and other serious health effects? Here are some of our recommendations:

• Choose a diet that includes monounsaturated fats such as olive oil, canola, safflower, sunflower oil and avocadoes.

• Opt for healthy diet plan that focuses on vegetables, fruits, whole grains, poultry, low-fat dairy products, fish and nuts while limiting your intake of sugary foods and red meat.

• Always read the label of the processed food you buy. Choose products with “0 g trans fat” and avoid products with hydrogenated oils in the ingredients list.

• Limit your intake of doughnuts, cakes, pies, cookies, and crackers since most of them contain trans fat. You should also reduce your intake of fried foods from fast food chains.

• If possible, limit commercially fried foods and baked products with shortening or partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.

Eat Healthy for a Healthier Body

Obesity and other diseases can be prevented if you have a healthy diet plan. By carefully choosing the food you eat and by just reading the label of each product you buy from grocery stores, you are already keeping yourself away from these serious illnesses. You can start your healthy lifestyle by reducing or totally eliminating your consumption of trans fat. But if you can’t control your appetite and you still gain weight despite the changes in your diet, try to consider taking Phentermine. This is an appetite suppressant that can help prevent weight gain and also effective in burning those unwanted fats in your body.

One in every three Americans is overweight or obese. Obesity is a serious disease that often leads to more serious conditions like cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. The earlier the patient knows that he is obese, the better his chance to prevent these complications. There are several ways to determine if you are simply overweight or you are already obese. Read on and we’ll share some of the common methods used in determining obesity, as well as the advanced methods that may be recommended by your health care provider.

Basic Methods Used for Determining Obesity

Some ways to measure obesity level can be done at the comfort of your home. They are easy to use and yield realistic results. The most common are BMI, waist to hip ratio, and waist circumference method. Here are some more details on how to perform these methods:

BMI Calculation

Perhaps the most popular method, BMI (body mass index) calculation estimates body fat stored in one’s body by measuring height and weight. There are online BMI calculators that will ask for your weight in kilograms and height in meters. The formula is: weight / height. Here’s what your BMI means:

Normal Weight: 18.5 to 24.9
Overweight: 25.0 to 29.9
Obese: 30.0 to 39.9
Extremely obese: 40.0 and above

Although simple, BMI calculation can sometimes overestimate or underestimate body fat measurement. That is why an additional method is often advised.

Waist Circumference

Getting your waist circumference cannot actually measure obesity. But it will help determine the likelihood of someone who might be suffering from obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. Men who measure 102cm (40in) and women who have 88cm (35in) waist circumference are at high risk of these diseases.

Waist-Hip Ratio

Waist to hip ratio indicates how healthy a person is. To know your ratio, simply divide waist measurement to hips. Men with 0.90 score or higher are considered obese while the score for women to be considered as obese is 0.85 or higher.

Advanced Measurement Methods

Further assessment may be necessary if you want to be sure about your status or condition. These advanced methods are usually performed by health care professionals to determine if you are really obese or just overweight.

• Caliper-derived measurements of skin-fold thickness. This method involves pinching the skin of various body areas including shoulder blades, upper arms, thighs, and trunk to determine the amount of fat underneath it.

• Dual-energy radiographic absorptiometry (DEXA). This method is fairly new, but promises more accurate measurement of how much fat is in one’s body. Particularly, it measures fat percentage, fat-free mass, and fat mass.

• Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). Considered as one of the most effective methods of measuring body fat, this method involves attaching electrodes to a person’s body. These electrodes travel through body water to determine your body fat. The more fat, the more difficult it is for the current to pass. This method also takes into consideration the weight, height, gender, and age of the subject.

• Ultrasonography. The machine used in this method basically transmits sound pulses that travel to the body, and hit boundary tissues. These pulses can measure how thick the fat is in between muscles, and thus can estimate how much fat is stored in the body.

• Underwater weighing. As its name suggests, this method requires the person to go underwater to know the muscle and fat ratio. First, the person is weighted on land and then will submerge under water in a special scale. People with more muscles become heavier underwater since muscles are denser than water. But people with more fats become lighter underwater since fat is less dense than water.

Your Best Tool to Counter Obesity

With these methods, you can now accurately determine if you are obese or overweight. If your weight falls in any of these categories, you need to start taking care of yourself and adopt a weight loss regimen to avoid health complications. You can also resort to weight loss medications to guarantee a successful weight loss. One perfect pill that you can take is Phentermine. It is an appetite suppressant that is commonly prescribed for obese people. You can get more info about this popular drug here.

About one third of the US adults are obese. That’s at least 78.6 million people. Being obese does not only affect a person’s self-esteem. It can also lead to numerous illnesses like cancer, diabetes, stroke, and heart disease. The saddest part is obesity is a lifestyle-related disease. Many health care professionals blame the sedentary lifestyle and lack of physical activity of obese people. But a new study has proven otherwise. It’s not our physical inactivity, but the modern-man diet that causes obesity.

The Root Cause of Obesity

British Journal of Sports Medicine has recently published an editorial about the excessive intake of sugar and carbohydrates, and how it is related to obesity. They said that our high-calorie diet today has caused more illnesses than smoking, alcohol, and physical inactivity combined.

How’s that possible? It’s all in the type of calorie that we take. The calories from sugar and carbohydrates are 11 times more harmful than fat of the same calorie-value. This is the reason why more people develop diabetes. What’s more? Sugary foods and beverages with high-sugar content have the same effect on the brain as heroin. They have addictive characteristics.

Anyway, coming back to the topic, according to experts, cutting down sugar and carbohydrates by half is the best way to get into the healthier diet routine. Otherwise, 40% of the normal-weight human population will soon develop harmful metabolic abnormalities that were associated only to overweight people.

Unexposed Truth

There has also been a controversial report in Medical News Today about a whole generation of researchers who never exposed the link between sugar and prevailing deadly illnesses because they were funded by companies with vested interest in the sweet industry.

In fact, the earliest known study regarding sugar’s damaging dental effects were first known in 1960s, but the study was never published. Today, researchers are going through 319 documents that exposed the truth. It’s known as the Roger Adams papers.

These documents suggest the sugar industry’s deviating tactics by funding researches on dental plaque and vaccination against tooth decay. Some researchers compare this chilling revelation to that of tobacco industry some decades ago, where cigarette companies deny the link of smoking to lung cancer and other diseases. Many experts fear that this incident is happening again, but now in the form of sweet desserts.

Exercise is not Enough

Experts said that in the past 30 years, there is only very little difference in our level of physical activity. How come obesity is rising if the sedentary lifestyle is to blame?

The controversial editorial in BJSM has pointed out that even athletes can never escape the usual obesity-related diseases unless a cut-down on sugar and carbohydrates is done. The researchers added that doing physical exercise regularly has a lot of benefits, but losing weight and combating obesity is not one of them.

What’s more disappointing is that Coca-Cola and similar big brands of sugary drinks are marketing towards sports fans, subliminally saying that it’s okay to drink colas as long as you exercise. Even gyms and health clubs are selling these high-sugar drinks and foods, unknowingly working against their for-health business model.

Although exercise is not as helpful as dieting when it comes to combating obesity, it doesn’t mean that being active is futile. Experts suggest prioritizing healthy diet, most specifically cutting down on sugar and carbohydrates, rather than focusing on gym exercise.

Combating Obesity with the Right Approach

If you want to avoid obesity, adopt a healthy diet plan, engage in physical activities, and take supplements like Phentermine. This combination will surely help in reducing your weight to normal level.

The incidence of teen obesity in the country today has reached an alarming level. According to Center for Disease Control (CDC), the number of obese adolescent has quadrupled in the past 30 years. A 2012 statistics show that more than one third of children and teenagers were considered overweight or obese. The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, meanwhile, estimated that the number of obese children and adolescent could reach up to 12.5 million.

These figures are expected to rise if government will not introduce new programs to address the problem. But the burden should not be given to the government alone. Parents and the society have very important roles in preventing more cases of teen obesity in the country. They must play active roles in making sure that these children adopt a healthy lifestyle and understand the risks of obesity.

It may appear to be a difficult endeavor at first, but acquiring and adapting to a healthy lifestyle is not difficult. You may only need to start tracking what and how much you consume to start taking care of your health. You can also engage in exercise to boost your body’s metabolism. However, instead of beginning with HIIT, begin with basic workouts like yoga. It may also interest you to know that yoga positions such as pranayama are thought to help you lose weight.

What are the Risks of Teen Obesity?

As a medical condition, obesity poses several health risks to the child or adolescent. Here are some of the immediate health risks when your teenager is overweight or obese:

• increased risks for cardiovascular diseases
• more prone to diabetes
• greater risks for bone and joint problems
• sleeping problems such as sleep apnea
• psychological problems
• depression
• anxiety
• poor self-esteem

Meanwhile, more serious problems can occur if the condition is not addressed immediately or if medical intervention is not provided. Some of the serious health risks include:

• heart disease
• stroke
• type 2 diabetes
• osteoarthritis
• several types of cancer

Prevention and Available Treatment

Teen obesity can be prevented or managed with proper approaches and mode of treatment. For some adolescent, changes in their eating behavior is already enough to control weight but for some, a more scientific approach is needed to manage or control their weight. This may include taking weight loss medications such as appetite suppressant drugs.

The most common approach to dealing with teen obesity is adopting a healthy lifestyle. This include eating healthy foods and engaging in physical activities. However, most teens encounter difficulty in following this approach because of family, society, school, and other environmental factors. They still end up being overweight or obese.

Phentermine: Better Option for Treating Teen Obesity

Opting for medical intervention is recommended by health care professionals if all the natural methods of treating obesity fail. The most common treatment is taking appetite suppressant drugs like Phentermine. This anti-obesity drug has been the choice of doctors because of its effectiveness and other health benefits. Here are some of them:

• non-surgical option in treating teen obesity
• prescribed for short-term treatment thus lowering the complications and other side effects
• safer drug as compared with other types of anti-obesity drugs
• doesn’t require strict dieting, which may affect the required nutritional intake of children and adolescents
• side effects are mild and transient
• overeating and binge eating is prevented because of the appetite suppressing characteristic of Phentermine
• optimum weight loss is achieved in a short period of time

Choosing the Right Weight Loss Treatment

Without proper treatment, teen obesity can become a lifelong medical condition. If you are one of the millions of teens in the country today who are considered overweight or obese, then it’s time for you to take action. Start living a healthy lifestyle now so you can avoid the serious health conditions that may be caused by obesity. Costly medical treatment, such as surgery, is also avoided. If you are a parent, please take an active role in helping your children change their eating habits, attitude, and the activities they are engaged in. But if all these fail, ask your doctor about weight loss drugs, particularly Phentermine.

The incidence of obesity in the US is increasing despite the programs of various government agencies and availability of modern obesity treatment. Health experts all agree that obesity will be hard to control if people will not adopt a healthy lifestyle and understand the risks and factors that can lead to this medical condition.

The Risks and Causes of Obesity

When your calorie intake is more than what your body consume or burn, they are stored in your body as fat. This will add to your body weight and can lead to obesity if not addressed immediately. But overeating is not the only reason why you become an overweight or obese person. There are a lot of other factors that you must not neglect or just take for granted. Here are some of them:

• Unhealthy eating habits. If you are the type of person who doesn’t care about the kind of food to eat, then you are more prone to becoming obese. A diet that contains high sugar and carbohydrates is also a major factor in weight gain. Moreover, skipping breakfast, eating oversized meals, eating in fast food, and lack of fruits and vegetables in the diet are just some of the unhealthy eating habits that you must forego.

• Genetic predisposition. Obesity is also linked to genetics. There are some people who can easily gain weight even if they have a healthy diet plan. You must understand that there are some people who can efficiently burn calories while others have slow metabolism. Engaging in regular exercise may help improve your metabolism but if it doesn’t work, consult your health care professional for proper advice or treatment.

• Sedentary lifestyle. Older people tend to live a sedentary lifestyle, thus increasing their risks of becoming obese. Avoid this type of lifestyle by engaging in physical activities or sports. You don’t have to engage in strenuous workouts just to maintain your weight. Brisk walking or jogging for at least 30 minutes three times a week will already make a huge impact on your weight loss objective. You may also like dancing or participating in sports activities to make yourself more active.

• Age. Obesity is a medical condition that can affect children, adolescents, and adults. However, the large percentage of obese people in the country today is in the adult category. Some of the reasons why they are at increased risk of becoming obese are hormonal changes and kind of lifestyle.

• Medical conditions. There are medical conditions that may be attributed to obesity. If you have tried all the diet plans and weight loss methods but still can’t get into your desired weight, you might be suffering from certain medical condition. Hypothyrodism, Cushing’s syndrome, depression, and Prader-Willi syndrome are just some examples of medical conditions that can lead to obesity. If you suspect that one of these conditions causes your unexplained weight gain, consult your doctor for proper diagnosis.

However, obesity can worsen your existing medical conditions such as heart disease and diabetes, so immediate intervention is necessary.

Understand the Risks and Causes

Before you look for the right weight loss treatment, it is very critical to have a full understanding of the various risks and causes of obesity. If you are properly informed, you will be able to choose the right method or treatment that will not cause further harm on your body. Obesity is already a serious medical condition, so choose a treatment that is considered safe and effective.

Look for Proper Treatment

The most common approach to dealing with obesity problem is following a diet plan or exercise routine. However, not all people can get positive results from these methods. Some of them may provide temporary results but the lost weight tends to come back after you stop the weight loss regimen.

One good alternative is to take anti-obesity drugs after consulting a healthcare physician.

As for obesity, healthcare professionals can suggest you to consider prescription drugs that were clinically tested to reduce weight or treat serious forms of obesity. Obesity is one of the leading issues in the world today with people of all age groups suffering from it. This could be because people spend more time sitting in front of a screen instead of doing physical activities. So, someone suffering from obesity may turn to medical aid to resolve the issue.

A great example is Phentermine, a weight loss drug for short-term treatment of obesity. It has been in the market for several decades already so you are guaranteed of its efficacy. In fact, most health care professionals recommend Phentermine to their patients because it is a safer option compared with other weight loss products.

Recent statistics revealed that more than two-thirds (68.8%) of the adult population in the country are now considered overweight or obese. The available data from CDC also show that there are at least 78 million (35.7%) of U.S. adults who are classified as obese.

The statistics on extremely or morbidly obese is also alarming. Government data revealed that 6.3% of the adult population falls under this category. Health experts are worried about these statistics since the prevalence of obesity in the country can lead to increased medical costs and mortality rate. In 2008, the annual medical costs of obesity have reached $147 billion and the costs for obese people averages $1,429, which is higher than those with normal weight. These figures are expected to increase because of the kind of lifestyle of most people.

Complications of Obesity

The increasing health related cost is not surprising since obese people are likely to develop a number of potentially serious health problems. Some of the complications of obesity can even lead to death.

If you are overweight, obese, or morbidly obese, you will be more prone to these health conditions:

• Cardiovascular diseases. Too much weight can affect the normal functioning of the heart and your cardiovascular system. The most common cardiovascular problems that you’ll get include high blood pressure, high triglycerides, low HDL cholesterol, and stroke.

• Type-2 diabetes. Obese people have a higher risk of getting type-2 diabetes. Once you get this health condition, you’ll have to manage or control it for the rest of your life.

• Breathing disorders. Most obese suffer from sleep apnea, which is a serious sleep disorder. In such a case, you can take the help of a CPAP machine with a humidifier that can blow moist air artificially through a mask while you sleep at night. This can prevent the air canal from collapsing. This in turn can give you peaceful sleep without many disturbances.

• Back Pain. Back pain, particularly in the lower back, is commonly caused by being overweight. According to some medical experts, as a person becomes heavier, the pelvis pulls forward and the lower back becomes strained, resulting in pain, stiffness, and soreness in the back. Furthermore, a weighted midsection can tilt the spine and cause an uneven distribution of weight, which can cause major problems.

• Liver disease. Because of fat build up, you are more prone to liver diseases such as nonalcoholic fatty liver. If not addressed immediately, this can lead to inflammation and liver scarring.

• Cancer. Your chance of getting cancer is also increased if you are overweight or obese. Some of the documented cases of obesity-related cancer include uterus, breast, colon, rectum, gallbladder, cervix, pancreas, esophagus, endometrium, prostrate, liver, and kidney.

Treating Obesity with Phentermine

To avoid these serious health conditions, you must seek immediate treatment by consulting a health care professional. But you must be careful in choosing the kind or method of obesity treatment that is presented to you. There are some available medications, products, or techniques that may not work for you or may even worsen your health condition.

One of your options is to take weight loss pills like Phentermine. Ask your health care provider about this anti-obesity drug just to make sure that it is the most suited treatment for you.

Phentermine is one of the safest weight loss drugs that you can find in the market today. In fact, there are already countless obese patients who can attest to its efficacy. Since it is prescribed as a short term treatment for obesity, you can expect a dramatic weight loss in a short period of time and certainly avoid the serious health conditions caused by being overweight or obese.

Obesity is one of the major health problems in the world. It does not only shorten the life expectancy of obese people but also affects the quality of their lives. They also tend to have low self-esteem, perform limited number of activities, and become more prone to other life threatening illnesses. But the good news is that there are countless ways and methods to treat obesity. And some of the options include medications and weight loss surgery.

Losing Weight through Surgery: Is it Your Best Option?

Unfortunately, surgery is not the first option if you want to lose weight. It is only recommended for morbidly obese people or those who have serious health conditions. Your health care provider will determine if you are a good candidate for weight loss surgery. You can only undergo this medical procedure if you meet these criteria:

• Have a life-threatening obesity. This means the patient has a body mass index of at least 40 or at least 35 if suffering from other serious health conditions like high blood pressure or type-2 diabetes.

• Have tried all possible means to lose weight. This includes proper dieting, increased physical activities, and taking weight loss medications.

• Committed to change lifestyle. The surgery will be useless if the patient will go back to his old lifestyle. That is why doctors will require strict lifestyle changes after surgery.

Types of Weight Loss Surgery

Losing weight through surgery is not a basic surgical operation. The method changes the structure of your stomach, which also changes how it works in your body. Here are the four common types:

1. Gastric Bypass. Also referred by doctors as RYGB, gastric bypass is a procedure where a surgeon leaves a “pouch” or a small portion of stomach so it can hold lesser food, thus you eat less. The food bypasses the other portion of the stomach and goes straight to the small intestine.
2. Adjustable Gastric Band. In this procedure, the surgeon uses a laparascope to put a small band around the stomach. Inside this band is a balloon that controls how tight it can be. This band limits the amount of food that passes to the stomach.
3. Gastric Sleeve. This is the narrow section left after your surgeon has removed most parts of the stomach. Besides controlling how much food the stomach can handle, this procedure also curbs hunger.
4. Duodenal Switch. This procedure re-routes food and bypassing most parts of the small intestine. As a result, you eat less and absorb less vitamins and minerals.

After surgery, patients can expect to continue losing weight for the next 18 to 24 months. Lost pounds may be regained if the patient did not change his or her lifestyle.

Risks and Complications of Weight Loss Surgery

There’s a reason why experts consider weight loss surgery as the last resort. It is very risky and potentially life-threatening. There is also the problem of medical negligence that could happen with surgery as delicate as this. Side effects can get very serious like causing blood clots, infection, and bleeding from stomach stitches. These can also affect the lungs and heart.

Sensitivity to high-sugar foods might develop as well. In some cases, gallstones might form after losing a lot of weight in a very short period of time. Nutrient absorption can be a problem, too, especially for developing babies. That’s why women must wait for their weight to become normal before getting pregnant.

Alternatives to Weight Loss Surgery

Most obese people try dieting and exercising before opting for other weight loss solutions. But if you are one of those who have tried these but still can’t get positive results, it’s best to consider taking medication before choosing surgery. There are drugs that doctors recommend for people suffering from obesity. One of the most popular today is Phentermine, an appetite-suppressing drug that has been around since 1980s.

This anti-obesity drug is a psychostimulant that affects the central nervous system. It sends signal to the brain, telling it that you are full. Unlike other drugs, Phentermine suppresses appetite while keeping you energized all day. It’s a quick weight loss solution since it is prescribed as a short term weight loss medication.

Safer Way to Losing Weight

Obesity or being overweight is a serious health problem but it can be treated with the right weight loss procedure. It’s best to discuss the different options with your doctor before undergoing any weight loss surgery. It should only be the last recourse if other methods failed.

But if you haven’t tried Phentermine, you should ask your doctor about it. It is a safer way of losing weight compared to surgery.

Obesity is still considered a major health problem in the country today. Recent studies revealed that more than one-third of Americans are obese and the percentage of young adults suffering from the complications of such condition is also alarming. Although the government is doing its best to address the problem (the US healthcare system’s estimated annual spending on obesity-related cases is around $147- $210 billion), it is not enough to control the disease. Health practitioners all agree that the best way to reduce the prevalence of obesity in the country is to educate people about its risks and encourage them to live a healthy lifestyle. But in some cases where a change in lifestyle is not enough, weight loss medication is necessary.

The Most Prescribed Weight Loss Drug for Obese People

There are a lot of weight loss medications available in the market promising fast and effective treatment of obesity. However, not all of them can provide long term benefits and ensure weight loss. For example, there are anti-obesity drugs that can cause severe diarrhea and increase the risks of patients of getting heart diseases. There are also some types that should be taken for several months to sustain weight reduction.

If you have taken some of these medications and still not getting your desired weight, then it’s time to take a look at another great option – Phentermine. This anti-obesity medication is probably the most prescribed weight loss drug for obese people. Doctors and health care professionals prefer this drug over other alternatives because of its effectiveness and tolerable side effects.

Manageable Side Effects

Since obese people are already at risk or suffering from the complications of obesity, doctors carefully choose the kind of treatment that will be most appropriate for them. The weight loss medications should not trigger or worsen their existing medical conditions. Most obese are prone to cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, sleep apnea, and other obesity-related illnesses.

And the anti-obesity drug that is generally safe for obese people is Phentermine. Its side effects range from mild to moderate and can be effectively managed with the help of a health care professional. The common side effects include dry mouth, lack of appetite, mood swings, restlessness, and nervousness.

Short Term Treatment but Offers Great Results

Phentermine is a short term medication for obesity. The treatment usually last for three months but the length can be shorter or longer depending on the response of the patient. Within the prescribed period, users can already experience noticeable weight loss. Most of them reported a 10-30 lbs weight loss during the first month of taking the medication.

The effectiveness of Phentermine in treating obesity is attributed to its main function. It primarily works by controlling the appetite of the user and improve his or her body’s metabolism. Since overeating is one of the major causes of obesity, this drug is the perfect medication for people who can’t control their hunger pangs.

Ask Your Health Care Professional about Phentermine

Obesity is a medical condition that needs immediate treatment. If you have a BMI that range from 25 to 29 or you are already suffering from one of the complications of obesity, consult your doctor. You may already need medical intervention. Also, ask your doctor about Phentermine as an option for your weight loss regimen.