Weighty Questions

Being overweight increases your risk for high blood cholesterol and high blood pressure, two of the major risk factors for coronary heart disease, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). Even if you do not have high blood cholesterol or high blood pressure, being overweight may increase your risk for heart disease. Where you carry your extra weight may affect your risk, too. Weight carried at your waist or above seems to be associated with an increased risk for heart disease in many people. In addition, being overweight increases your risk for diabetes, gallbladder disease, and some types of cancer.

If you are overweight, even losing a modest amount--5 to 10 percent--can lower your blood pressure, according to the American Heart Association (AHA). You may also be able to reduce your LDL ("bad") cholesterol and triglycerides and increase your HDL ("good") cholesterol.

The average weight gain after quitting smoking is six pounds. The proportion of ex-smokers who gain large amounts of weight (more than 20 pounds) is relatively small. Even if you gain weight when you stop smoking, change your eating habits and exercise habits to lose weight rather than start smoking again, the AHA says. Smokers who quit smoking decrease their risk for heart disease by about 50 percent, compared with people who do not quit.

Weight loss, if you are overweight, may reduce your blood pressure even if you don’t reduce the amount of sodium you eat, the AHA says. Weight loss is recommended for all overweight people who have high blood pressure. Even if weight loss does not reduce your blood pressure to normal, it may help you cut back on your blood pressure medications. Also, losing weight, if you are overweight, may help you reduce your risk for or control other health problems.

Even though a high sodium or salt intake plays a key role in maintaining high blood pressure in some people, there is no easy way to determine who will benefit from eating less sodium and salt, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Also, a high intake may limit how well certain high blood pressure medications work. Eating a diet with less sodium may help some people reduce their risk of developing high blood pressure. Most Americans eat more salt and other sources of sodium than they need. Therefore, it is prudent for most people to reduce their sodium intake.

Eating fewer calories and exercising more are the best ways to lose weight and keep it off, the NIDDK says. Weight control is a question of balance. You get calories from the food you eat. You burn off calories by exercising. Cutting down on calories, especially calories from fat, is key to losing weight. Combining this with a regular exercise program, like walking, bicycling, jogging, or swimming, not only can help in losing weight but also in maintaining the weight loss. A steady weight loss of one to two pounds a week is safe for most adults, and the weight is more likely to stay off over the long run. Losing weight, if you are overweight, may also help you reduce your high blood pressure and raise your HDL cholesterol.

To cut calories, some people regularly skip meals and have no snacks or calorie drinks in between. This often causes “backloading” of calories, by delaying your calorie intake until later in the day and then consuming more calories than you would if you had eaten several smaller meals earlier in the day.

Contrary to popular belief, foods high in complex carbohydrates, like pasta, rice, potatoes, breads, cereals, grains, dried beans, and peas, are lower in calories than foods high in fat, the NIDDK says. In addition, they are good sources of vitamins, minerals, and fiber. What adds calories to these foods is the addition of butter, rich sauces, whole milk, cheese, and cream, all of which are high in fat.

Sugar has not been found to cause obesity; however, many foods high in sugar are also high in fat. Fat has more than twice the calories as the same amount of protein or carbohydrates (sugar and starch), the NIDDK says. Thus, foods that are high in fat are high in calories. High-sugar foods, like cakes, cookies, candies, and ice cream, are high in fat and calories and low in vitamins, minerals, and protein.

Obesity in childhood does increase the likelihood of adult obesity, but most overweight children will not become obese, the NIDDK says. Several factors influence whether an overweight child becomes an overweight adult: (a) the age the child becomes overweight; (b) how overweight the child is; (c) the family history of obesity; and (d) dietary and activity habits. Getting to the right weight is desirable, but children’s needs for calories and other nutrients are different from the needs of adults. Dietary plans for weight control must allow for this. Eating habits, like so many other habits, are often formed during childhood, so it’s important to develop good ones.