According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), obesity affects nearly 50% of Americans. Not only can obesity increase your risk for health conditions such as heart disease and stroke, but it can also significantly increase the chances of experiencing potentially debilitating back pain. In this article, we are going to provide you with facts and discuss some proven ways to fight obesity along with information on how chiropractic therapy can aid in alleviating the back pain associated with it.
Your Body Mass Index
Your Body Mass Index (BMI) is calculated using your weight in correlation with your height, and it provides you with a good indicator pertaining to how close or far you are from an optimal weight. Your BMI is determined by dividing your weight in kilograms by the square of your height in meters. If you are interested, the CDC has an Adult BMI Calculator which you can simply type in your height in feet and inches and your weight in pounds to see your BMI. A healthy BMI spans from 18.5 to 24.9. Anything less than 18.5 is considered underweight, and a number 30 or higher is within the obesity range.
Genetics and Obesity
Do Genes Have a Role in Obesity?
Genetic changes in human populations occur too slowly to be responsible for the obesity epidemic. Nevertheless, how people respond to an environment that promotes physical inactivity and intake of high-calorie foods suggests that genes do play a role in developing obesity.
How Could Genes Influence Obesity?
Genes give the body instructions for responding to changes in its environment. Variants in several genes may contribute to obesity by increasing hunger and food intake.
Rarely, a clear pattern of inherited obesity within a family is caused by a specific variant of a single gene (monogenic obesity). Most obesity, however, probably results from complex interactions among multiple genes and environmental factors that remain poorly understood (multifactorial obesity).3,4
What about Family History?
Health care practitioners routinely collect family health history to help identify people at high risk of obesity-related diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and some forms of cancer. Family health history reflects the effects of shared genetics and environment among close relatives. Families cannot change their genes, but they can encourage healthy eating habits and physical activity. Those changes can improve the health of family members—and improve the health history of the next generation.
–CDC
Fighting Obesity
Healthy behaviors include regular physical activity and healthy eating. Balancing the number of calories consumed from foods and beverages with the number of calories the body uses for activity plays a role in preventing excess weight gain. The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommends adults do at least 150 minutes a week of moderate intensity activity such as brisk walking. In addition, adults need to do activities that strengthen muscles at least 2 days a week.
–CDC
How Can Chiropractic Therapy Help?
Based on your body’s unique needs, we will work with you to determine the best form or forms of chiropractic therapy to effectively alleviate your back pain. Not only that but we also carry a wide array of professional nutritional products to help you defeat obesity and achieve overall physical wellness.
