The Hidden Burdens of Obesity:
Greater Sensitivity to Pain,
More Prone to Fatal Auto Accidents & More

And 8 Secret Tactics that Trigger Your Body to
Burn More Fat and Calories
© 2019 Health Realizations, Inc.

For the 30 percent of U.S. adults (that's over 60 million people) who suffer from the "Great American Disease" - obesity - there are multiple health risks that are of serious concern.

It's commonly known that being overweight and obese increases the risks of numerous health problems, such as these, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

Although one of the national health objectives for the year is to get the percentage of U.S. adults who are obese down to 15 percent, currently the prevalence is increasing rather than decreasing.

Aside from the physical health risks, obesity can also take a huge emotional toll. Many obese people report feeling discriminated against, having low self-esteem and feeling self-conscious or uncomfortable in social situations.

Obesity's Hidden Burdens

For those who are in this growing population, those at risk of joining it, or those who love someone who is obese, knowing that there are other, much less commonly known, but still very serious risks to this increasingly common condition is of utmost importance.

Obesity Raises Risk of Dying in a Car Accident

Research from the Medical College of Wisconsin Injury Research Center in Milwaukee, published in the American Journal of Public Health, analyzed data from over 22,000 drivers over the age of 16. They found that being obese increases a man's risk of dying in a motor vehicle accident.

Male drivers with a body-mass index (BMI) greater than 35 were significantly more likely to die after a front-end or left-side collision than men with intermediate BMIs, researchers said. (Those who were very thin, with BMIs lower than 22, were also more likely to die).

"The increased risk of dying in motor vehicle collisions associated with a high BMI may be due to some combination of momentum effects, co-morbidities of obesity, and emergency and postoperative treatment problems in the obese," the authors said.

More Sensitive to Pain

Obese people also seem to be more sensitive to pain than people of a normal weight, according to Ohio State University researchers. They conducted a study of 62 older adults with osteoarthritis of the knee.

They were given a mild electrical shock on their ankle both before and after receiving a 45-minute training session on how to cope with pain.

Obese participants, who made up about one-third of the group, had a greater physical response to the electric shock than did normal-weight patients -- both before and after the pain-management training session. This indicates the obese patients had a lower tolerance for pain, researchers pointed out, even though they said they had a high pain tolerance.

Getting the Wrong Blood Pressure Readings

Because arm cuffs used for blood pressure readings must be the proper size to give an accurate reading, obese people may receive incorrect results. A study in the British Medical Journal found that 8 percent of obese patients were wrongly diagnosed as hypertensive because a standard size cuff, as opposed to a large size adult cuff, was used.

This misdiagnosis could mean that the patient would be prescribed drugs or antihypertensive treatments unnecessarily.

"Our findings show that blood pressure readings taken by the auscultatory method using a standard cuff instead of a large cuff in subjects with obese arms will be significantly higher in many individuals. Limited availability of different cuff sizes makes the improper usage of a standard cuff a frequent practice. Such circumstance potentially becomes a source of biased blood pressure readings," the authors said.

Increased Risk of Being Bullied for Children

A study of over 8,000 7-year-olds in the UK found that obese children were about 50 percent more likely to be bullied than their normal-weight peers. The study found that:

• 36 percent of obese boys, and 34 percent of obese girls, were victims of "overt" bullying, which included physical harm, intimidation and name-calling

• 14 percent of the obese boys became bullies (compared to 10 percent of the normal-weight boys) themselves (researchers suspect because of their dominant size)

• Children as young as 4 display negative feelings toward overweight children their age

How to Overcome Obesity

If you or someone you love is obese, you should begin a weight-loss program under the supervision of a health care professional. The Surgeon General's Healthy Weight Advice for Consumers recommends the following general tips:

• Aim for a healthy weight. People who need to lose weight should do so gradually, at a rate of one-half to two pounds per week.

• Be active. The safest and most effective way to lose weight is to reduce calories and increase physical activity.

• Eat well. Select sensible portion sizes and follow the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

For more detailed weight loss advice please feel free to make an appointment.

8 Secret Tactics that Trigger Your Gody to Burn More Fat and Calories

About 46 percent of women and 33 percent of men are trying to lose weight, according to a study published in Obesity Research.

Whether you are consciously trying to shed some pounds, or are hoping to tone up before warm weather comes, there are certain techniques that can help you do so faster.

We've all heard about the importance of eating fewer calories and exercising more -- surely an important facet of any weight-loss strategy. However, the following little-known techniques will support that strategy to help you burn even more fat and calories.

1. Eat Hot Peppers
Adding red chili peppers to your food "could contribute to the dietary management of obesity," said Angelo Tremblay, a Universite Laval obesity nutrition professor.

That's because capsaicin, the active component in chili peppers, is thought to play a role in curbing appetite and boosting metabolic activity.

"Maybe you can have the same effect with curry, so go to your favorite Indian restaurant," Tremblay continued. However, researchers are still tring to determine if this effect, noted in animal studies, applies to humans.

2. Eat Smaller Meals More Often
By breaking up your meals into four or five (or six or seven) small meals, instead of the typical three, you are keeping your insulin levels under control for the entire day. Out-of-control insulin levels can lead to fat accumulation.

Not only that, but your body burns calories while it digests food. So, the more often you digest, the more calories you will burn.

3. Drink Lots of Water ... Preferably Cold
If your body is dehydrated, it will not burn fat efficiently and it could lead to sugar cravings and fatigue. The typical recommendation is to drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day ... but according to some experts you should make sure it's cold water.

"Drinking eight ounces of cold water can burn off an additional 9.25 calories as compared to room-temperature water," says J.T. Kearney, Ph.D., an exercise physiologist.

4. Eat Sufficient Protein
Your body burns about 10 calories digesting every 100 calories of protein but just 4 calories for the equivalent amount of carbs. In other words, just the process of digesting protein burns a significantly greater amount of calories than does digesting other foods.

"A protein-based meal will elicit a thermic effect that is close to 30 percent of the total calories itself," says Jack Groppel, Ph.D., co-founder of LGE Performance Systems in Orlando, Florida.

However, be sure you don't overeat a high-calorie protein source, such as a bacon double cheeseburger, as this would be counterproductive. Instead, eat smaller amounts of protein, such as eggs, bison, poultry or lean ground beef, regularly throughout the day.

5. Eat Cinnamon
U.S. Department of Agriculture researchers have found that eating one-quarter to one teaspoon of cinnamon with food can boost your metabolism 20-fold, by making your fat cells more responsive to insulin.

6. Do Your Cardio Workout Last
According to Ken Fitzgerald, owner of Lift Gym in New York, you should do your strength training before cardiovascular work when you're at the gym. This is because it takes your body 15 minutes to warm up enough to burn fat. If you jog for 30 minutes, then, you are only burning fat for 15. However, lift a few weights first, and your body will be warmed up and able to burn fat for the entire 30 minutes.

7. Work Your Muscles
The greater your muscle tone, the more calories you burn -- even when you're at rest. So some type of weight training should be a non-negotiable part of your workout routine.

8. When You Can ... Fidget
Purposely moving around whenever you can, by stretching your arms, changing posture or standing, burns more calories than unconscious fidgeting, according to Mayo Clinic researchers. They found that this conscious activity (which they call NEAT, or non-exercise activity thermogenesis) can burn an extra 300 to 800 calories every day.

Sources

Obese and Skinny Male Drivers Fare Worse in Car Crashes

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Obesity-Pain Sensitivity Measured

British Medical Journal August 30, 2003;327:468

CDC: Overweight and Obesity

Archives of Disease in Childhood, Vol. 91, No. 2, February 2006: 121-125

Obesity Research,13:596-607 (2005)

Chilis Can Curb Appetite

7 Ways to Burn Fat Faster

Men's Fitness: Burn Calories Without Breaking a Sweat