In the year 2000, 13.9% of children were overweight, in 2004 the figure rose to 17.1%, according to a new study. Even in the 2-5 age group, overweight kids in 2000 accounted for 10.3% of the total, in 2004 it rose to 13.9%. Overweight and obesity are still rising significantly throughout the population as a whole in the USA, particularly among men and children.

The number of men becoming obese is also of concern. In 2000 obesity among adult males stood at 27.5%, in 2004 it rose to 31.1%.

Another study examined how effective a calorie restriction regime may be for a group of 48 men and women whose average age was 38. Six months into their calorie restrictive diet their fasting insulin levels improved significantly.

You can read about both these studies in JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association).

If you are overweight, a change in lifestyle can work wonders for your general health and weight. A combination of diet and exercise can have beneficial results within a few weeks.

Here are a few of tips that may help:

— Eat smaller portions.

— Eat more meals per day. Perhaps four or five instead of the normal three (but keep the portions small).

–Don’t skip breakfast!!

— Eat plenty of fresh vegetables and fruit with every meal.

— Make sure you get plenty of sleep. People do not realize how important good sleep is for weight control. It is crucial. Not getting enough sleep could seriously undermine your attempts to lose weight.

— Try to get some form of daily exercise into your life. Walking is fine. Get yourself a pedometer and try to aim for 10,000 steps per day. If you have been very physically inactive for a long time, aim for achieving the 10,000 steps a day within the next four weeks – slowly build up to it. (Check with your doctor if you are very overweight or have an existing heart condition).

— Try to avoid in-between-meal snacks. If you can resist them for a couple of days, it then gets easier to cut them out altogether.

— Try to avoid junk food.

I have the tendency to eat loads of food at each sitting. Willpower often works and I control myself, often is does not!! I have developed a very simple system to overcome this – and for the last two years it has worked well. Before I start each meal I eat a fruit – in my case, either an apple, a pear or a large plum. Then I start my meal. I have found this helps reduce the amount I want to eat during the meal.

Written by: Christian Nordqvist
Editor: Medical News Today