Graph showing world obesity rates by country.
Check out the above graph.
I came across it this morning and find the whole thing really alarming.
Check out those trends for England and America – it’s all going in the wrong direction.
Having been in that bracket where you are technically classed as obese – BMI = more than 30,
I’m intrigued to explore the reasons for this trend and what’s being done about it.
First of all though what is the impact of this – check out the diagram below:
Now when I read a diagram like the one above, it makes me realise that I already knew
most of this info – we all do.
We all know that if you’re fat there is a higher chance of heart attack, stroke, diabetes
and certain cancers.
But
It’s NOT a strong enough motivator to do something about it………unless there is a major
health scare.
I think this is put down to the whole
“It will never happen to me” syndrome.
If I look at myself and what motivated me to finally take action and go from a 38″
waist to a 32″ waist – it was vanity!!
Vanity Is What Motivated Me To Take Action
I saw a photo of myself and thought “you tired, old looking middle aged dad” – and I was
only 36 years old!
I saw the onset of moobs and just thought “I can’t let them get any bigger!”
I hated the way that I looked.
It’s How You Feel On The Inside That Matters
I love it when people say this.
It doesn’t matter how you look on the outside, it’s the person inside that really matters.
At the time I just thought “what a load of bo**ocks”
I just wanted to look and feel younger again.
I wanted my wife to look at me and think “that’s why I married him”
I wanted other women and men to look at me and think “I bet he works out”
(BTW, I have come to realise that how we view ourselves on the inside does
matter a great deal as well, it’s just that at the time I didn’t see it like that)
So VANITY was the thing that got me off my arse, down the gym and working out.
The more I reflect on this the more I think that this was quite a shallow way
of looking at things, but
it got me to take action – so does it really matter?
I guess there are the very compelling obvious health reasons that everyone
that is classed as obese ‘should’ be taking action right now and be getting back into shape
and then there are the very personal and emotional reasons.
Either way, it doesn’t matter.
Even though I personally don’t pay too much attention to BMI
when training my clients, assuming you’re not a professional
rugby player full of lean muscle, it can be quite useful to see whether you are classed
as obese or not.
Take your weight in KG and divide it by your height squared as in the example above.
Then check out the BMI table below to see where you stand:
Is this the reality check that you need to start setting some goals and getting fit?
…..or do you want to do it for your own vanity reasons?
Like I say it doesn’t matter.
Equally if you digest this information, accept the risks but feel that right now is not worth the effort then that’s cool – at least you’re making an informed decision – that’s your right.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE though don’t just drift and bury your head in the sand and do nothing. Don’t ignore the info until something happens.
Ricky
ps. regardless of the info above. Try doing this little test:
Strip down to your pants.
Look in the mirror so you can see your whole body(without holding your stomach in)
Do you look healthy?
If you have kids, do you look like the man that you want them to model?
If you’re married, do you look like the man that your other half wants to see naked?
If you’ve answered NO, then do something about it!