overweight

Well, this news has come in just in time. Now that candy-driven Halloween is over and we're preparing to gorge ourselves on Thanksgiving, a new study shows that being 25 pounds overweight doesn't appear to raise your risk of dying of cancer or heart disease. Having a little extra weight may help you to survive various illnesses such as emphysema, pneumonia and certain injuries. Those between the ages of 25 and 59 benefit the most from being a little chubby.

Researchers aren't sure why extra padding may help. Some say that extra weight may provide “additional nutritional reserves.” University of South Carolina obesity researcher Steven Blair, believes that it's possible to be fat and fit. He feels that Americans have been slapped in the face by fears of the obesity epidemic. While it's true that many Americans are obese, the number of deaths attributed to it has been exaggerated.

There's more to this study though. To hear about it then read more

I've been talking a lot about Diabetes and if you're putting yourself at risk or not. So, along with Diabetes, what are the identifiers of common health diseases? Medical News Today has outlined four "prediseases" to watch for, here is the first:

Overweight:

• Why It's Important: Not only is overweight the forerunner to obesity, a known risk factor for many diseases, just being 5% to 10% overweight increases your risk of chronic disease, making overweight a predisease of sorts. In a 2001 study of middle-aged adults from both the Nurses' Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, being overweight increased the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, gallstones, high blood pressure, heart disease, colon cancer and stroke. The risk rose in proportion to the degree of overweight.
• How to Identify: According to the National Institutes of Health, someone with a Body Mass Index (BMI) over 25 is considered overweight. Find out your BMI on Fit's Calculator.

Don't forget to check out the other three prephases of disease.

Fit's Tips: If you suspect you are at risk for any disease, you should definitely see your doctor.

Are you getting a restful night of sleep? Do you wake up and feel energized? If the answer is "No," it could be causing other problems besides making you tired.

Scientists found that people getting 4 or less hours of sleep have a rise in the hormone ghrelin, that is related to stimulating the appetite, which in turn causes them to eat. At the same time, they have lower levels of the hormone leptin, which is what makes them feel full.

Not getting enough sleep at night actually makes people feel more hungry when they are awake, so they eat more. Sleep-deprived people tend to crave high-carb foods like bagels, cookies, pasta, and bread. They have chaotic eating patterns, which can mess up their metabolism, which will cause them to burn fewer calories.

There is a strong correlation between healthy sleep patterns and healthy eating habits. Getting enough sleep and controlling stress are subtle things that could have an impact on weight. Of course healthy eating and daily exercise play a part too.

Fit's Tips: If you are having a hard time getting a good night's sleep, you should definitely try different techniques like avoiding caffeinated drinks and alcohol, and exercising early in the day. Click here if you want to read up on the subject. If you've tried everything in the book, talk to your doctor about other options.

I'm sure you've all experienced heartburn once in your life, some unfortunately more than others. Maybe you ate a spicy meal, a huge meal or a huge spicy meal and got that overwhelming burning sensation in your lower chest. But it doesn't stop there, it can start to creep up into your esophagus and into your throat.

You may know this already, but heartburn doesn't actually affect the heart at all. When you eat, food passes from your mouth down a tube called the esophagus. In order to enter the stomach to be digested, the food must pass through an opening between the esophagus and the stomach.

This opening is like a gate, and soon closes after food passes into your tummy. Sometimes it doesn't quite close, and stomach acid can get through that opening and move into your esophagus. This is called reflux and it's what causes that burning sensation.

Heartburn can be affected by being overweight, smoking cigarettes, drinking coffee or other beverages that contain caffeine, alcohol, citrus fruits, tomatoes, onion, chocolate, mints, fatty or spicy foods, or taking aspirin or ibuprofen.

If you do get a sudden case of heartburn, try to keep yourself upright. If you are lying down, prop yourself up with some pillows since this will prevent more acid from seeping into your esophagus.

Taking an antacid can help (it neutralizes the acid in your stomach). Take ones that contain both magnesium hydroxide and aluminum hydroxide (one causes constipation while the other causes diarrhea so they counteract each other) like over-the-counter brands include Maalox and Mylanta.

Want to know how you can prevent it? Then read more

Do you hate your coworker because she eats whatever she wants and never works out yet still is thin? Well don't because chances are she is TOFI.

TOFI stands for "Thin on the Outside, Fat on the Inside." New studies are finding the fat deposits these so called Tofis carry are hidden in the white fat that lies around their vital organs, streaked through their underused muscles and wrapped around the heart. This hidden fat (rather than the fat lying in dimples underneath the skin) that can only be seen in high-tech MRI scanners is what sends out chemical signals, potentially leading to insulin resistance, Type 2 diabetes and heart conditions.

Consider this: Sumo wrestlers have a BMI of 56 and eat up to 5,000 calories a day, but they have very little internal fat. Surprisingly they also have low cholesterol, low insulin resistance and a low level of fatty acids. This seems to be due to the fact that their fat is all stored under the skin, on the outside.

Research is still being done on TOFI but as of now the best way researchers have discovered to combat the dangerous hidden fat is to eat a healthy diet with lots of dietary fiber. As always, exercising is always a good addition for anyone looking to be healthy, overweight or not.

Getting a headache could be more related to your weight than you may have thought.

Recent studies from the New England Center for Headache in Stamford, Connecticut have found that being overweight may be contributing to getting headaches. It also claimed that overweight adults are twice more likely to suffer from headaches than non-overweight adults.

Why? Headaches are triggered by constricted blood vessels caused by inflammation. The research connected the dots since being overweight contributes to both inflammation and vascular diseases.

Interestingly enough exercise helps ease headaches and exercise also helps one lose weight. Talk about hitting two birds with one stone.