Nowadays, being conscious about your weight or trying to lose those unwanted mass that you’ve managed to put on over the months and years is no longer just an issue of vanity and looking good. Making an effort to losing those extra pounds is now a health matter affecting our longevity and lifestyle.

In the Philippines alone, there is an alarming increase in the number of overweight and obese Filipinos compared to the past decades. This is of course due to the kind of foods we eat every single day. We have taken so much calories with the food we eat with only a fraction of the right amount of vitamins and minerals, nutrients and protein we need for our daily diet.

What are the common effects of obesity you ask? Here’s an interesting list I’d like to share to you from the Centers for Disease Control:

• High blood cholesterol, dyslipidemia
• Insulin resistance, glucose intolerance
• Congestive heart failure
• Cholescystitis and cholelithiasis
• Gout
• Osteoarthritis
• Some types of cancer (such as endometrial, breast, prostate, and colon)
• Complications of pregnancy
• Poor female reproductive health (such as menstrual irregularities, infertility, irregular ovulation)
• Bladder control problems (such as stress incontinence)
• Psychological disorders (such as depression, eating disorders, distorted body image, and low self- esteem)

And the alarming thing is that these kind of illnesses are not just rampant in the Class A and B’s of our society. Even those who are in the Class C and D are experiencing them. What’s sad is that there is not enough effort to disseminate information by the government to address these problems that we are facing now. It is doubly important to take care of our health. Let’s make sure we feed our body the right kind of food it needs on a daily basis.

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