Overweight America

Did you know that the Department of Health and Human Service along with the CDC, Center for disease Control and Prevention, estimates 30% of Americans are overweight? That is about 60 million people! And a staggering 65% of Americans are considered clinically obese.

The percentages are measured through a number of resources, but the most notable is by measuring a persons BMI. The clinical definition of BMI, Body Mass Index, is a relationship between weight and height that is associated with body fat and health risks. A person with a BMI that measures at 25-30 is considered overweight, where a person with a BMI greater than 30 is considered obese.

In order to calculate your own BMI, multiply your weight in pounds by 703, divide by your height in inches and then divide again by your height in inches.

For example: 118 lbs x 703 / 60 / 60 = 23

This person is considered with a healthy BMI range for their height and weight. If you would like a quicker way to calculate your own BMI you can visit http://familydoctor.org/x2544.xml for a BMI calculator.

We all know the impact that proper nutrition can have on our overall health and daily activities. We are capable of making the right food choices that can help us to loose weight and maintain a healthy life style. But a healthy diet is only one part of the solution to the problem of over weight Americans.

The American Heart Association recommends a proper diet and exercise program in our daily lives will help combat these rising rates in our country. The AHA says that even a small amount of daily activity is better than none at all. They suggest that walking your dog, mowing the lawn or even riding on an exercise bike in front of the TV can give you noticeable health benefits in the long term.

The average man with a weight of approximately 250 lbs can burn 312 calories* by mowing the lawn for 30 minutes. But what if he physically can't mow his own lawn? There are a large number of Americans who fall into either the over weight or obese category that physically can't exercise. Arthritis or surgery patients, persons with disabilities and the elderly are all examples of those people who genuinely can't perform even the most mild forms of daily exercise.

There is a solution for those individuals who can not exercise, Far Infrared Sauna Therapy. Did you know that the average 30 min sauna session can burn 600-900 calories. That would mean that our 250 lb man would have to mow his lawn about 2.5 times in 30 min to gain these health benefits!

Far Infrared Therapy can help promote and maintain weight loss. FIR therapy works by warming the body from the inside out and causing our bodies to perspire. Perspiring is part of the complex thermoregulatory process of the body that increases the heart rate, cardiac output, and metabolic rate. The process requires a large amount of energy and reduces excess moisture, salt and subcutaneous fat. Fat becomes water soluble at 110ºF and the body sweats out fats and toxins. This process simulates exercise without exerting force on the joints and muscles; and will produce the results that some sedentary individuals need, without the pain of physical activity.

Each one of us knows the right steps to take to get healthy, we just have to take the initiative to do so. By adjusting our eating habits, exercising or supplementing with a FIR sauna, we can all loose weight, live healthy and live longer!