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BAY MILLS - According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 129.6 million (64 percent) Americans ages 20 and older are considered overweight. More than 60 million of these people are considered to be obese. With numbers like these it is no surprise that each year weight loss is one of the more popular New Year's resolutions.
According to Bay Mills Boys & Girls Club TRAIL Diabetes Prevention Program Coordinator and Health Promotion Professional Jen Bell, whether shedding those excess pounds to make someone feel great about themselves, or just to improve their general fitness, winning the battle of the bulge through diet and exercise is the single most important step a person can take towards improving their health.
"Exercise - it's free," Bell said. "No one says you have to go to a gym to exercise. You can do simple things each day to improve your quality of life and health, regardless of finances. You only have one body so you had better take care of it. No one else will."
Since being overweight or obese has been linked to the increased risk of developing many diseases and health conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, osteoarthritis, and some cancers, Bell said getting in shape should be something you should not keep putting off. Simple little things done daily, which could include parking further away from a building, choosing to take the stairs over the elevator, or even munching on celery sticks instead of cookies, are all steps that can lead to better health. While not drastic measures, these are simple ways for a person to reduce calories, burn calories and get more exercise where they normally wouldn't throughout the day.
For those who want to make a more concerted effort to lose weight, Bell said to look no further than the Bay Mills Health Promotion staff. After determining how much body fat and muscle a person has, their total weight, how much water they have in their system, and their approximate basal metabolic rate (the bare minimum number of calories your body needs to function daily), Bell and fellow Health Promotion Specialist Joan Jerman will get them started on a program to help them achieve their weight-loss goals. Their programs include a combination of cardiovascular work to develop your heart and lungs and to help burn calories, a weight training portion to help increase metabolism and burn more fat at rest, and flexibility to help muscles stay limber.
While getting in shape is very important towards improving your overall health, Bay Mills Community Health RN Vicki Musser said that it is more important that people are getting their yearly check-ups, especially if they fall into a high-risk category, such as being overweight, or a known family history. While quitting smoking and losing weight through diet and exercise will greatly improve your health, Musser said it is all for naught if you have a condition that you do not know about.
"Getting your yearly physical is very, very important," Musser said. "Like we always say, 'the best protection is early detection.' If a problem is found early enough, it can be treated more effectively. From day one, keep up your regular visits with your doctor."
Musser said that in addition to their yearly physicals with a health service provider, women should have pelvic exams and pap smears, and if over the age of 40, should also get a mammogram. Men should have a prostate exam at least once a year.
Everyone 50 and over should have some sort of colorectal exam, she said. Increasing your physical activity, eating healthier, treating high blood pressure and cholesterol, managing stress and getting enough sleep, are all important steps towards improving one's health, she added.
"Get your physicals and talk to your doctor," Musser said. "Your doctor can tell you what you need to do to stay healthy better than anyone else can."
