Most people consider fat to be unsightly. However, more seriously, being overweight is associated with serious disease. In particular, the risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer increases significantly if you are overweight. There are multiple reasons why being overweight is bad for you, and therefore multiple reasons why you should attempt to remain as lean as possible. Generally, the more fat you have, the higher your risk of death.
Fat Stores Toxins
Fat is a known store of vitamins and minerals. In this way when dietary intake falls, blood levels of micronutrients can be maintained through release from fat stores. However, many toxins such as polychlorinated biphenyl, dioxins, lindane and other pesticides and waste products are fat soluble and can also accumulate in fat tissue. The more fat you have the more toxins you store, and this increases the risk of disease significantly, particularly cancer.
Poor Diet
One of the most overlooked reasons why being overweight is associated with disease is because being overweight is caused by a low quality diet. Obesity and being overweight is therefore a marker for poor nutrition, which in turn is known to be a driver for disease. Poor diet is particularly likely to cause insulin resistance, which in turn causes the development of abdominal fat. This type of fat is particularly associated with poor health and disease.
Abdominal Fat
There are actually two type of adipose tissue. Deep abdominal fat and subcutaneous peripheral fat. While abdominal fat is found in the abdominal cavity and is sometimes referred to as belly fat, subcutaneous fat is found under the skin, usually around the arms and legs. Although unsightly, subcutaneous fat does not increase the risk of disease, whereas abdominal fat does. Exercise can rid the body of subcutaneous fat, but only dietary improvements can remove abdominal fat.
Joints
As we age the wear and tear on our joints becomes apparent. This is inevitable and although a healthy diet and exercise keeps joints younger for longer, the ageing process gradually causes deterioration in the ability of joints to heal themselves. This results in mild aches and pains, usually on waking. Being overweight greatly accelerate the rate that joint cartilage wears and as a result increases significantly the risk of suffering from serious joint pain in old age.
What You Can Do About It?
If you are overweight then you are at increased risk of disease. Losing weight, or more specifically losing fat, will decrease this risk. Most people make the mistake of dieting and undertaking exercise in order to lose weight, but this is a big mistake as neither causes weight loss. Instead, swapping to a high quality traditional diet has been shown to cause weight loss without the need for exercise or calorie counting.
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