Few conditions are as costly and deleterious to health than being overweight. The number of overweight Americans continues to climb and it is estimated that they comprise roughly two-thirds of the population, according to a January 2010 issue of "Journal of American Medical Association." Overweight individuals, due to their increased body mass, as determined by calculating their body mass index, or BMI, are more susceptible to type 2 diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol.
Body Mass Index
BMI is a measurement used by clinicians to determine an individual's weight in proportion to his height. A BMI of 25.0 to 29.9 is classified as overweight and a BMI of 30.0 or greater is considered obese.
Cholesterol and BMI
Elevated blood cholesterol, specifically high LDL cholesterol, is considered a risk factor for coronary heart disease, which, according a 2007 Centers for Disease Control report, claims the lives of more than 400,000 American each year. Literature has suggested that positive correlations exist between higher BMIs and high cholesterol. A study from the March 1998 issue of "Journal of Korean Academic Nursing" found that men and women of various age groups face higher total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol with increased BMIs. Another study from the August 2004 issue of "International Journal of Obesity," consisting of nearly 50,000 subjects of various age groups and ethnicities, found a strong link between high cholesterol and obesity. It's widely speculated that a higher BMI alone is attributable to coronary heart disease.
BMI Controversy
Many individuals, namely strength athletes, are healthy yet are considered overweight or obese according to BMI calculations. The glaring shortcoming of the BMI formula is that it does not take a person's body composition -- fat mass and fat free mass -- into consideration. Some researchers theorize that where fat is stored serves as a greater indication of cardiovascular disease risk. Recent literature, including the May 2011 issue of "Journal of Obesity," has elucidated this very issue, proposing a clinically sound tool, termed the body adiposity index, to accurately measure a person's body composition via measuring hip circumference in proportion to height.
Dealing With High Cholesterol
Society often overlooks two very important ways to ensure lifelong health and vitality: eating healthier and getting enough physical activity. People with high cholesterol should consider reducing their total fat intake and shifting from saturated fats to unsaturated fats. For sedentary people with cholesterol issues, exercise as little as 30 minutes per day, in the form of walking, housework, and light yard work, can improve cholesterol. Individuals with high cholesterol should engage in cardiovascular exercise and strongly consider incorporating some form of resistance training throughout their week. The benefits of resistance training are far reaching and include increased lean body mass, bone mineral density, improved metabolic functioning and a favorable effect on lipid profile, according to a June 1999 issue of "British Journal of Sports Medicine." Volumes of research support resistance training as effective in combating obesity, which is linked to high cholesterol. People facing cholesterol issues should strongly consider making lifestyle changes, which includes eating healthier and performing both cardiovascular exercise and resistance training on a regular basis.
References
- "Journal of the American Medical Association"; Prevalence and trends in obesity among US adults; K.M. Flegal, et al.; January 2010
- CDC: Deaths: Leading Causes for 2004, 2007
- "Journal of Korean Academic Medicine"; Correlations between weight, body mass index (BMI) and risk factors of coronary artery disease in men and women in their forties and fifties; H.S. Kim, et al.; March 1998
- "International Journal of Obesity"; Analysis of the relationship between total cholesterol. Age, body mass index among males and females in the WHO MONICA project; M. Gostynski; August 2004
- "British Journal of Sports Medicine"; Effect of 14 weeks of resistance training on lipid profile and body fat percentage in premenopausal women; B. Prabhakaran, et al.; June 1999
- "Journal of Obesity"; A better index of body adiposity; R.N. Bergman, et al.; May 2011
