Obesity: Don’t kill yourself just to overcome this weighty issue
The society now thinks people should not be fat at all even when it is healthy.
What you need to know:
- Women find better results by eating for 10 hours and fasting for 14.
- Teens should eat a balanced diet in portions that fit their energy needs.
I have witnessed teenagers and friends in their 20s battling a problem that affects many young people: Obesity.
Their struggles made me develop an interest in the topic and I have lately been reading a lot of literature on it.
Oxford Learner’s Dictionary defines obesity as the quality or fact of being very fat, in a way that is not healthy. And therein, in my assessment, lies the problem.
The society now thinks people should not be fat at all even when it is healthy. They have come up with ridiculous standards of what is ‘healthy’— read slim — and many young people with extra kilos are now stressed out.
Many are practising recommendations they found on Google; intermittent fasting, drinking eight glasses of water per day, working out, eating vegetables only, abstaining from animal protein, among others.
But reading on weight loss shows many are ignorant of the negative effects of the above approaches, especially when overdone, including fatigue, nausea, severe migraine, low blood supply to the brain, fainting and even diabetes in the long run.
Balanced diet
Teenagers should eat a balanced diet in portions that fit their energy requirements. They ought to have enough carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, roughage, fats and oils in their daily diets.
And while many have adopted the widely applied intermittent fasting ratio of 16 hours of fasting and eight hours of eating, it’s important to get expert advice before embarking on this journey.
Latest research, for instance, reveals that women may find better results by eating for 10 hours and fasting for 14 hours.
There is no one formula or approach to this, and you are advised to visit a nutritionist who will assess your situation and give a proper prescription.
Parents can also play a big role in changing this mindset of being like person X or Y.
Yes, obesity causes many ailments, but we can all overcome this weighty issue without killing ourselves.
Esther, 20, studies at Egerton University.
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