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Only the most perfect
physiques, greatest looks, and pearly whites are good enough to be
chosen to represent the average Joe on the street. It is no wonder that
the population at large is frustrated with how they look and make some
effort to "look more like the movie star" they see on the silver screen
and in magazines.
This infatuation with the perfect body has put the surge in plastic
surgery. In 2006 alone, over 11 million plastic surgeries were
performed. One million of these were on men and the other 10 million
were on women. "The top five cosmetic procedures in 2006, in order, were
breast augmentation, nose reshaping, liposuction, eyelid surgery and
tummy tuck. In 2006, there were 118,500 women in their 30s who had
breast augmentations (9 percent more than in 2005), 34,000 who had
breast lifts (11 percent more) and 49,600 who had tummy tucks (12
percent more).
(Lelchuk, 2007) This
is a seven percent increase over 2005 statistics. The illusion most of
these people face is that with the initial surgery, everything will be
better. In reality, over two thirds of plastic surgery recipients opt
for another procedure. (Associated Content, 2007) Anyone can see that
this can quickly turn addictive.
Reality
The reality most people face is that they are not movie stars and, even
if they wanted to get that tummy tuck, the cost of having such surgery
is prohibitive. So, a lot of these people give up trying. "What's the
use? I'll never look like Gweneth Paltrow, so why even bother." On the
flip side, others become so obsessed with the perfect physique that they
neglect everything else in the quest. You may even know some of these
people.
These are the ones
that are constantly going to the gym, working out, and can tell you the
difference between the agonist and antagonist muscle groups. They are
quick to add that they've added another two grams of lean muscle mass to
their arms over the last six months and that they really don't have time
to come by for a social call because it will interfere with their time
at the gym.
They will go to the
extremes of enhancing and defining their "perfect" physique at all other
costs. These extremes border on psychoses and can actually be
detrimental to a person. There needs to be balance between apathy and
obsession. This is where the "continuum of health and wellness" comes
into the picture.
The continuum is defined as linear and starts with complete apathy on
one end and obsession on the other. Most healthy and health conscious
individuals should fall somewhere in the middle. [See table A] But
before we start on the journey to lose weight, we need to know where we
are at this moment. We need to learn what our parents gave us,
(genetics) and what kind of body do we actually have (somatotyping)
Genetics
Somatotyping was first used by William Sheldon (1898-1977) in the study
of different physical attributes that deal with heredity and genetics.
There are three different body types according to Sheldon. These are
endomorphs, ectomorphs, and mesomorphs.
Endomorphy is describes as "focused on the digestive system,
particularly the stomach (endoderm); has the tendency toward plumpness,
corresponds to Viscerotonia temperament tolerant, love of comfort and
luxury, extravert." (www.kheper.net, 2007) These people tend to carry
extra weight and find it hard to lose weight when they try. Their
metabolisms are slower than the other two types and need to work extra
hard to bump it up.
Ectomorphy is the exact opposite of endomorphy and describes persons
with thin builds and a faster metabolism. These people have a hard time
gaining weight and are the ones who can seem to eat everything and
anything and never gain any weight.
Mesomorphy is in between the previous two types. They are usually
healthy looking, muscular, and are the ones who tend to gain muscle mass
fastest when on a resistance training regimen. They tend to have a wide
latitude in their diets and most of their intake goes toward building up
the physique.
The Plan
"Obesity is a major malnutrition problem, largely unexplained. Much
speculation, debate, and frustration surrounds the question and how
obesity occurs and what can be done about it. Overweight and underweight
both result from unbalanced energy budgets." (Whitney, Cataldo, and
Rolfes, 1991)
Getting Started: Body Mass Index (BMI)
The body mass index (BMI) is the relation of a person's weight to their
height. This is critical in finding out where you need to be as far as
ideal body weight for height ratio. This formula estimates risks to
health associated with obesity. For example, a BMI of >27.8 for men and
> 27.3 for women would indicate an increased risk to the individual's
health.
To calculate BMI,
divide weight in kilograms by height in meters squared. Say a person
weighs 250 pounds and is five-feet six inches tall. First we'll have to
convert the height into meters. (There is a great conversion tool at
http://www.onlineconversion.com/).
About the Author
John Wallis is a registered nurse and
freelance writer. He is currently on contract in Akron, OH, and can be
reached at jwallis@internetsavvy.biz.. |
