SLIMMING is big business! Little wonder, for one out of five persons living in modern developed countries is overweight. Special foods and diets, along with a bewildering choice of books, paperbacks and magazines about overweight vie with one another for the public’s attention. Medical doctors, psychologists and other “experts” work ceaselessly to cajole, encourage and even frighten people into slimming down.
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Will they succeed? Does it really matter if we are fat, or even just a little overweight? What are the facts—and how important are they for our well-being?
Cause for Concern
Since time immemorial, fat persons have been the butt of many unkind jokes. But being overweight is certainly no laughing matter. Even if you weigh only 15 pounds (7 kg) more than the average weight for your height and build, your life expectancy could be reduced by as much as four years.
“Obesity and its problems are now more pressing than cancer,” Scottish family physician Ian Richardson observed recently. Another authority has stated that being just 10 pounds (4 kg) overweight “carries a greater health risk than smoking 25 cigarettes a day.” High blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, back pains, varicose veins, arthritis, gallstones and a host of other detrimental conditions can be directly related to the problem of excess body fat. Of course, it cannot be said that being too heavy is always the direct cause of these body malfunctions. But there is a definite association of them with overweight. So there is a problem, a truly serious problem, if you carry excess fat, whatever the reason.
But why are so many people overweight?
