American Medical Association Family Medical Guide - American Medical Association [44]
Because of their smaller size, children are more susceptible to dehydration than adults. Offer your child plenty of water—even before he or she feels thirsty—especially in hot, humid weather, and send a sports drink along to summer athletic games. Make sure your children wear sunscreen while exercising or participating in any activity outdoors, especially during the summer months.
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A Healthy Weight
In the United States, two out of three adults and nearly 15 percent of children are overweight. Being overweight increases your risk of developing a number of common chronic illnesses, including heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and some types of cancer. Overweight children are developing these disorders at younger and younger ages.
Obesity is a complicated chronic disorder caused by a combination of inherited, physical, behavioral, socioeconomic, and cultural factors. People seem to inherit a preset weight range below which it is difficult to stay. While it is possible to keep your weight down near the lower end of your inherited weight range, it would be difficult to stay below it permanently.
Are You Overweight?
Determining if you are at a healthy weight involves the number of pounds you weigh and the percentage of your body that is made up of fat. The way in which fat is distributed on your body—around your waist or around your hips—can also influence your health risks. Women naturally have more body fat than men, especially around the hips and thighs. There is no easy way to measure the amount of fat on your body, but in general, the more active you are, the less your percentage of body fat is likely to be. To find your healthy weight, check the body mass index (BMI) chart on page 11.
The Risks of Being Overweight
Being overweight is a major risk factor for a number of chronic disorders. Where on your body you carry excess weight can also influence your risk of health problems. People who tend to accumulate fat around their waistline are at greater risk of disorders such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke than are people who tend to accumulate fat around their hips and thighs. Women are at increased risk of health problems if their waistline is larger than 35 inches; men if their waistline is larger than 40 inches. Your risk of health problems increases if your BMI (see page 11) is 25 or greater.
If you already have a health problem associated with being overweight, losing weight will probably help you control it. Even a 10 percent reduction in body weight has health benefits. For some disorders, such as type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure, weight loss can help reduce or even eliminate the need for medication. Even if you are overweight, if you exercise regularly, you can still gain benefits from physical activity, such as a reduced risk of heart disease.
Heart Disease
Being overweight is a major risk factor for heart disease. Although not all the mechanisms involved are known, several factors link obesity to heart disease:
• Being overweight increases the level of total cholesterol and other fats called triglycerides in the blood, which can cause fatty deposits to build up in artery walls.
• Being overweight lowers the blood level of HDL (good) cholesterol, which keeps blood vessels healthy.
• Being overweight increases the risk of diabetes, which increases the risk of having a heart attack.
High Blood Pressure
Being overweight is the No. 1 factor contributing to high blood pressure. In a large percentage of people who have high blood pressure, losing even a modest amount of weight—just 10 pounds—can often bring blood pressure down to a healthy level. Blood pressure readings go down within the first 2 or 3 weeks of weight loss. The percentage of a person’s weight that is made up of fat seems to affect blood pressure more than does total body weight. For this reason, strengthening exercises