Being overweight can cause lots of health problems, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, cancer and heart disease. And it’s true, if you’re overweight or obese, you should try to lose some weight. But did you know that just being anxious about your weight, even if your weight isn’t terribly high, can also make those things worse?
Dr. Peter Muennig and his colleagues at Columbia University found that people who were happy with their weight were less likely to be ill than people who weren’t – regardless of how thin or fat they were. They found that body dissatisfaction was a better predictor of sick days than actual weight – in keeping with their hypothesis that a big part of the health damage done by being overweight or obese comes from the anxiety and social rejection that goes along with it.
So what do we do with this? Well, to start, take a realistic look at your body and your weight. Are you really as “fat” as you think you are? Get some objective measures – a Body Mass Index (overweight is above 25, obese is above 30), a Waist-Hip Ratio (for women should be less than 0.9 and for men, less than 1.0). Take realistic stock of your body and decide if you really do need to lose weight.
If so – then start by taking good care of and appreciating the body you have now! Just that one thing – relaxing about your weight – can be the start of actually losing some of it!
