BMR PART 2

Yesterday we discussed Basal Metabolic Rate or BMR and how it influences the weight either gain or loss.As we age,the BMR decreases by 2% for every 10 years after the age of 20.This results in weight gain for most of the people,because we tend to do less exercise and eat the same amount [or more] that we do at the age of 20.Exercising results in more lean muscle mass thereby increasing our BMR.Loss of lean muscle mass and sedentary life  style results in accumulation of unnecessary fats around our trunk which leads to increase in visceral body fat thereby compressing our vital organs[heart,kidney,liver etc.] leading to illnesses like hypertension[high B.P.],fatty liver disease[leading to increase in serum cholesterol in the long run] and kidney failure.

Drastic dieting leads to weight loss temporarily due to drastic cutting of calories which sends your body into starvation mode .The body metabolism[energy production] slows down and runs cooler in order to maintain calories because it believes there is shortage of food supply,thereby leading to accumulation of calories in the form of excess body fats.So a proper calorie burning  plan of exercise with a proper diet plan is the key to maintaining your BMR and body weight to the optimum.

Building a lean muscle mass with weight training 3 to 5 days a week helps increasing your metabolism and in shedding the excess fat surrounding your middle thereby giving you not only the look you desire but also improvement in your health by controlling high BP,diabetes,arthritis etc.

We at Raghavendra Clinic are in the process of developing a  solution to these obesity related problems by offering a comprehensive weight management program which will be announced shortly. Those in need of weight management may register for this service by contacting me on the phone no. or my email mentioned on my site.

How to measure Body Fat

Dear Friends,

Last time I wrote on obesity was on 26th February 2018,I had discussed what are the different types of fat and how they affect our health. As you already know there are 2 main types of fat–the subcutaneous[that below the skin] and visceral[that surrounding our organs]. Can we measure them separately? Yes we can.For us, the important part is the VISCERAL fat,which is the root cause of many medical problems and the one we want to reduce at the earliest.There are many ways to do so—one of which is waist-to-hip ratio which we have already discussed.

Another simple way to measure visceral fat is to take the circumference of your tummy at the highest point while standing and again while lying down—the difference is the measure of your visceral fat.

Then we have other sophisticated methods which can be carried out at a slimming center or at doctor`s clinic offering obesity control services.This is called bio-electrical impedance where the total body fat is measured and the amount of visceral fat is calculated.

Having said this,we then come to methods to reduce/eliminate this visceral fat if it is in excess.This we will discuss in my next blog.

BODY FAT MEASUREMENT PART 2

Dear friends,

In my last post, I discussed about total body fats ,its 2 types,and body fat percentage which determines whether we are normal,overweight or obese. As said earlier,in men body fat percentage above 20 and in women above 30 is not good as they open a plethora of unwanted illnesses like hypertension[raised BP],type 2 diabetes,hypercholestraemia,chronic kidney disease[kidney failure] ,osteoarthritis etc. The picture below shows the 2 types of body fats—

That just below the skin,usually considered as baby fat or the subcutaneous fat or the superficial is one that gives beauty to our body .We are more concerned about the fats surrounding our organs or the fats that are situated deep in the body —the visceral fats.Excess of this type of fat is what makes us shapeless and ugly to look at.Moreover,it is responsible for all the illnesses mentioned above, because this type of fat acts as a individual organ itself and secretes hormones like adipokines which interfere with the normal functioning of hormone like insulin,Adrenalin etc .A look at he picture below will explain how this fats look— On your left side is the picture of how a  healthy heart looks and on the right is that of a heart surrounded by excess fats.

Same is the condition when the excess fats in our abdomen surrounds the important organs like pancreas,liver and kidneys.The proper functioning of these organs are disturbed.Another picture below shows the bad effects of visceral fats—

Today I have shown you what is visceral fat and how it can affect our health.In my next blog,I will discuss how to measure body fat and how to tackle the menace of increasing visceral fats.

BODY FAT MEASUREMENT

How to Measure Body Fats and have a Healthy Fit Body

Introduction

In this article,  we learn how to measure Body Fats and how to have a healthy fit body by first knowing where all our fats are distributed.

It has been quite sometime since I published my last blog and I had mentioned last time that we will be discussing how do we measure the TOTAL BODY FATS.

What is total body fats?

Well. it is the amount of fats in the body which makes you look beautiful,ugly,ideal,overweight or obese. Fats give shape and contour to our body. Any amount of fat in excess of the ideal body weight is liable to cause morbidity i.e. illnesses like hypertension,diabetes, osteoarthritis etc.Now look at the picture given below:-

You will notice that our body contains 2 types of fats viz.

1]Subcutaneous fats

It is the fats that lies immediately below the skin.

 2]Visceral fats

It is the fat surrounds the organs in our body which is the one which we are more concerned about.

How to measure Total body fats-

It is calculated as percentage of total body weight. Ideally,normal healthy men have a body fat percentage of 15-20%, while healthy women have a percentage of approx. 25-30%.

Is there a method to calculate the total body fat? Yes there is.You can get by using your

• BMI,
• WHR, or
• by using some gadgets like calipers and machines which is usually found in weight management clinics.

In my next blog, we will learn the effects of our body fat percentage on our health and how we can improve on it.

You can also read here how to measure it-link