Being overweight with a BMI of 26-30 may create a gateway into obesity (BMI of 30+) which is associated with risk factors such as hyperlipidemia, coronary artery disease and hypertension. Also, obesity can affect the quality of life by limiting your ability to move, impairing physical capacity to enjoy activities of daily livings (ADL’s).
There is increased awareness among urban dwellers in Kenya today, however, reports indicate that not many adults engage in physical activity and in fact majority are completely sedentary. In the cities it is common to see overweight people being encouraged to increase their consumption of fruits and vegetables to help in restricting calories but is this not the only best approach.
Many commercial weight management programs acknowledge exercise as an important part of the weight loss formula, yet they don’t always offer facilities or experts to help clients begin a safe and goal oriented program. Reducing calories and not following a well planned exercise program is a poor approach to lose weight. Changes in the body composition can only be achieved by combining exercise, healthy diet and increased physical activity which will all contribute to a negative energy balance.
It is also advisable to ensure that you determine your waist circumference (waist to hip ratio) which is associated with abdominal and/or visceral fat – a predictor of disease, popularly known as kitambi.
For many years pharmacotherapy (use of medications) has been used to treat obesity in some parts of the world especially for those cases where obesity is seen to be causing hypertension, hyperlipidemia and insulin resistance. This has also been common practice with those who have not succeeded in controlled programs like weight loss clinics and support groups, but my best advice is to strive on prevention than waiting to get to the advanced stage.
It is therefore important to develop or engage in programs that will focus on adherence in order to maintain exercise compliance for you as an individual so that you achieve safe weight loss results. In addition to that, follow other ideals such as scheduling a convenient exercise time, allowing input from your physician and educating yourself with well researched literature by reading widely.
Remember if you are already obese, you need to conduct a medical examination and obtain exercise clearance from your doctor before embarking on any exercise program, your program needs to be designed based on specific limitations associated with obesity.
By Sammy Ombisa
Certified wellness Coach – Fahari Wellness & Life Coaching