I've seen two featured stories lately, one on Sixty Minutes and I can't remember where I read the other one, but more and more research is starting to tie sleep deprevation with weight gain and problems. Mainly it seems because lack of sleep tends to turn off your receptors that tell you when you are full, plus revving up your mental reminders to eat.
There are lots of other factors, too that affect weight, but we seem to just ignore the fact that so many of us do not sleep anywhere close to the 7-8 hours required of a mature adult, and many kids get even less.
My own sample of friends, relatives and acquaintances seem to bear out the fact that the skinny ones tend to sleep better and longer, often because they also exercise more.
I have a weight problem myself, and do watch what I eat, with an exercise program and try to get enough sleep. I've been blessed in that I have excellent blood pressure, low cholesterol and good blood sugar, but I also know that can change if I'm not careful.
So I may be bigger, but I cherish my health and try to make good food decisions, even if I slip from time to time - I'm only human, after all! And so long as I'm moderate when I do induldge, the impact is minimal at best.
I have friends that are skinny and eat any and everything. I have always had to be careful because every brownie I eat wants to show itself to the world. I used to be envious of people that never had to watch their diet, those days are over for me and I now have learned to appreciate it. For every brownie that makes an appearance around my hips is a reminder to me that it is doing the same thing to my heart. I want to live many more years and dont want to be a prisoner to my bad habits so I have spent time finding out what it is that I should be doing to protect my health and teaching my kids better.
My husband is thin and I am not. I eat mostly vegetarian/vegan don't use sugar, processed white flour, and use only heart healthy EVOO or canola oil. I exercise 6 days a week, alternating a day of strength training and aerobics, with a day of just aerobics and abs. I have more strength and endurance than my husband. I have normal cholesterol and low normal blood sugar, his cholesterol is elevated 20 points. While I only cook meat with a meal maybe once every week or two weeks, he will eat burgers etc at work for lunch or on the weekend when out with friends. He is a chip fiend, preferring those cooked in lard (YUCK!) So, yes, it is entirely possible to be healthier than your thin counterparts.
There is a potential wake-up call type of message inherent in this article as well. It is to remind those that are not obese that monitoring their health is important. It is a reminder that one does not have to be overweight to have heart problems, cholesteral issues, or any other disease or condition commonly attributed to the obese. Do not take your lower weight for granted.
There's always going to be those who look for an excuse to avoid exercise and then when the health issues do set in, whether it's high blood pressure, diabetes, coronary problems, they'll blame something other than their sedentary lifestyles. But for those who ARE healthy and have been trying to persuade their doctors for years that despite their higher weights, they do eat sensibly, they do exercise, and are health conscious, I think it's a giant leap forwards.
Interesting article. It bolsters my belief that alot of health issues including weight issues are individual. Each of us is different in a genetic sense, so we aren't all going to be at risk for certain ailments. Of course, genetics isn't everything; there are risk factors we do indeed all share that are choice-based, like choosing to smoke, choosing to drink, choosing to overeat, chooing to be sedentary. It just shows that one person's poison isn't necessarily another's.
I would be cautious then when interpreting this article, in the sense that there will be people who will read this and say "Hurray! I don't have to exercise!" Know what I mean?
Today, an interesting story was released to the media regarding the health levels of adults who are obese; according to the study, not all adults who are obese are proverbial walking health 'time-bombs'. A number of adults are actually more healthy than their more slim counterparts - they have better cholesterol, blood pressure, triglycerides and blood sugar levels.
