Risks of Not Keeping Your Kids At a Healthy Weight

Child Obesity is becoming a national concern for the last few decades and is getting worse every year. Many doctors are very troubled by this trend and are working on ways to fix this issue.

Child obesity affects children and youth in so many ways. Obesity in childhood is connected to many different health related problems. Some of the health problems are asthma, high blood pressure, diabetes, sleep apnea, high cholesterol and even social discrimination.

STEATOSIS

One of the main issues is that if a child has obesity issues, these can carry on into adulthood.

Obesity in children has one side affect besides health affects. The Psychological affects of being over weight makes kids easy targets of social discrimination. This stress of social discrimination can cause low self esteem, which is very hard in young kids, and will carry on into adulthood.

Cardiovascular Disease risks in very high is children. In a recent study it was found that almost 60% of obese children age 5 to 17 year olds had at least one risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol or abnormal glucose tolerance. At least 25% of the children had at least two or more of these rick factors.

There are other health risks associated with obesity in children. Sleep apnea is not that common in kids, but can still be an issue with about 7% of kids. Hepatic Steatosis in another health issue associated with obesity. It is an fatty degeneration of the liver.

Type 2 diabetes in being diagnosed by doctors in children who are overweight. Asthma is also being diagnosed by doctors as more studies are showing that there is a connection between children being overweight and asthma.

So we all need to work with our Kids eating healthy food and keep they active. Start eating healthy at home and help them stay active. Tip: I know kids can end up loving playing video games on their computer, but keep track of their computer usage and make them get outside to play and run around.

Risks of Not Keeping Your Kids At a Healthy Weight

STEATOSIS

Cat Weight Management - Health Isues

Obesity is the most common health problem for cats. A cat is considered obese if it weighs 20% more than its optimal weight and if the extra weight is a result of the accumulation of fat. If a cat is anywhere from 1 to 19% heavier than its ideal body weight, then it is considered overweight and not obese. In order for a cat to maintain good health and have a long and happy life, the cat must maintain a healthy weight.

Determining If A Cat Is Overweight Or Obese

HEPATIC

There is no magical body weight that is appropriate for all cats. The breed, general size, and age of the cat all have a factor in how much it should weigh. To determine the optimal weight of a specific cat, it is best to consult a veterinarian. However typically, a cat whose ribs are difficult to feel because they are covered with a layer of fat is overweight or obese, depending on how thick the layer of fat is.

A cat is also considered to be obese if it has a moderate or thick layer of fat that covers all of its bony areas. Some obese cats even develop a bulge under the abdomen, which is sometimes referred to as a "skirt." If the cat doesn't have a noticeable waist and if the back appears broad when viewed from above, the cat is obese.

How Obesity Affects

When a cat is either obese or overweight, it runs the risk of developing a variety of health disorders such as aggravation of osteoarthritis, decreased stamina, diabetes mellitus, Hepatic lipidosis -- which is fat deposited in the liver, joint stress, lower urinary tract disease, and non-allergic skin diseases.

An obese or overweight cat might also have breathing problems, develop a decrease in immune function, and even have difficulty giving birth.

Pre determiners for Obesity

Some cats are more likely to become overweight or obese than others. Typically, however, cats are just like humans. If a cat eats more calories than it uses, it will gain weight. The excess energy it gains from the calories becomes stored as fat.

Purebred cats, though, are less likely to become obese than mixed breeds. In addition, cats that are neutered have a tendency to gain weight more easily than those who are not, probably in part due to the fact that non-neutered cats have the disposition to roam in search of a mate. In addition, the metabolic rate of a neutered cat decreases by about 20%. Therefore, a neutered cat needs less food in order to maintain its ideal body weight.

Cats under two years of age are less likely to be overweight or obese than cats that are between the ages of two and ten. This is because cats between these ages need less energy. On the other hand, geriatric cats, which are older than ten, have a tendency to be underweight. In addition, certain medications can make a cat more likely to gain weight, as some medications will cause an increase in appetite and other medications cause a decrease in metabolic rate. Some medications that tend to lead to weight gain in cats are cortisosteroids, cyperoheptidine, and amytripyline.

Treating Obesity In The Cat

It is not healthy for an overweight or obese cat to lose weight too quickly. In fact, rapid weight loss increases a cat's likelihood of developing hepatic lipidosis, which is a fatal liver disease that causes fat to be deposited in the liver. Instead, an overweight or obese cat should lose weight steadily and gradually. In fact, it can take up to a year for a extremely overweight cat to reach its ideal body weight in a healthy manner.

If you are trying to help your cat lose weight, it's best to consult a veterinarian who can help you create a healthy eating plan. The veterinarian will ensure that your cat is still getting enough protein. Since cats are carnivores, it could be lethal to your cat to cut out meat. They need a lot of protein and not very many carbohydrates. If you feed your cat a similar diet, your cat will be able to lose weight without losing lean muscle mass.

To help an overweight or obese cat lose weight, it should also be encouraged to get plenty of exercise. This is particularly true for older cats with slower metabolisms, neutered cats, indoor cats with restricted activity, and cats on medication that affects weight. Pet owners can encourage exercise by playing with the cat frequently. For more direct exercise, a cat harness can be purchased to walk the cat around the house or up and down stairs. Feeding bowls can even be moved to areas that require more walking and, of course, cut down on the portions of food an overweight cat receives.

Maintaining Weight

In order to keep your cat healthy and at an ideal weight, you might want to purchase special "light" or low calorie food. This food will still taste good and keep your cat happy, but will also help to maintain lower weight as it is specially formulated for cats who have slower metabolism or are less active.

Cat Weight Management - Health Isues

HEPATIC

Improve Your Cat's Health and Help It Lose Weight

It is said you are what you eat, and as humans we know how true that is. Unfortunately many of our waistlines also show it. It is the same with our cats, they are what they eat or for that matter what they do not eat.

Cats by nature are carnivores, which means they are meat eaters and get most of their nutrition from protein and fat. Cats need very few carbohydrates in their diets to keep healthy and trim.

HEPATIC

Carbohydrates as a main source of food such as feeding dry food as a constant diet to a cat will cause the cat to overeat. Overeating carbs causes cats to gain weight, just like it does for us.

Why do cats over eat the dry food? The answer is simple they are trying to find the protein in it; in order to satisfy their natural need for protein.

A protein filled diet will make the cat feel fuller and eat less. There are many schools of thought on what makes a proper protein diet for cats. Some sources say feed them a diet of raw meat and other sources proclaim canned cat food. Personally I feed my cats dry food as treats, raw meat (beef) as part of their daily diet and quality canned food which gives them all the necessary vitamins and minerals a cat needs.

A total raw diet will not provide the cat with all the proper nutrition a cat needs. I know from experience as I have a cat that will not eat cat food if his life depended on it and it does. As a result he almost died from the lack of proper nutrition until I figured out a way to feed him vitamins and some of the cat food he needed to stay alive. Most cats however are happy eating a combination of all three-food groups as my other two cats are.

Many of us are guilty of overfeeding our cats. Cats do not need to eat every time they come near us. Regular routine feeding schedules fit a cat's lifestyle and provides a way for us to feed them just the right amounts to keep their weight at a constant level.

Did you know that about 25 percent of our cats are obese and that almost 60 percent are overweight? Extra weight on a cat is detrimental to its health, just like it is for our health.

What are some of the health problems that overweight can cause?

· A shorter life expectancy

· High blood pressure and heart disease

· Breathing problems

· Diabetes (extremely possible in overweight cats)

· Grooming problems and skin disorders (if they are too fat to properly groom themselves)

· Urinary tract problems and kidney disorders

· A fatty liver disease called Hepatic lipidosis (when excess fat clogs the liver and can result in liver failure and possible death). Should your cat become ill or you try to reduce its weight and the cat is not eating. The stored fat in the body starts to mobilize and starts processing into lipoproteins and the livers get over powered with fat and reacts. A yellowing of your cat's eyes is one sure sign. This is a very serious disease.

To prevent your cat from becoming overweight you need with the help of your veterinarian or other pet care nutritionist to decide the proper amount of food you should feed your cat. Your cat's activity level or non-activity level should be the leading factor in that determination. As cats get older their metabolic rates slow down and need less food.

If your cat needs to lose weight, it needs to lose it slowly, no starvation diets here and no withholding food (see Hepatic lipidosis). Cats need to lose weight in ounces and not in pounds.

Feeding your cat low calorie foods is important. High quality canned cat food with few carbohydrates is the way to go. Dry food is high carbs and should be a no no! If you feel a treat is necessary a bit of raw meat or a small bit of cheese will do nicely. A wonderful treat would be a little bit of good catnip that would help your cat's digestive system and provide a bit of enjoyment for the cat too. Almost like having a cocktail before dinner is for us.

To help your cat lose weight it needs to exercise! Yes, that ugly word and how do you get your cat to exercise, when walking to the litter box is the most exercise it gets.

You play with your cat. Get one of those inexpensive fishing wand toys and make kitty run around a little chasing it. Ten minutes a day several times a day will do wonders for kitty and you will get a chance to bond with your cat and enjoy the fun, too. The pet store has many interesting and catnip filled toys that your cat maybe interested in playing with. Toys do not need to be expensive, just something kitty likes.

Do not leave food out all day so kitty can nibble. Establish a routine and feed kitty several times a day, small amounts at a time. Your cat will enjoy a routine and you can monitor what it is eating.

A great New Year's resolution would be to feed your cat high quality canned food, that would provide proper nutrition and minimal weight gain and spend time playing with your cat each day to assure is gets at least some exercise.

Improve Your Cat's Health and Help It Lose Weight

HEPATIC

Buff Mice Show 'Weight Training' Muscles Reduce Fat And Improve Metabolism

It may not be time to start pumping iron just yet, but, as strange as it sounds, there is evidence in recent mice studies published in the February 6th issue of Cell Metabolism that indicates that the type of muscles that are developed by weight lifting may play a bigger role in regulating body weight than we think.

You're saying, someone has a lab full of bench-pressing mice in some medical school somewhere? Although a great image, you would only be right about the medical school part. It turns out that a team of researchers at the Whitaker Cardiovascular Institute of Boston University Medical Center (BUMC) has been bulking up their test mice using a technique that genetically turns on the type of fast skeletal muscles (type II) that are used for tasks like managing heavy objects.

HEPATIC STEATOSIS

No, really- somewhere in a lab in Boston, there was a team of muscular mice who were bulked up like weight trainers by genetic manipulation. Interestingly, the researchers didn't see what they expected.

The research group had expected their gene tweaking to result in fat but strong mice, more like sumo wrestlers than body builders, since the mice were being fed a fast-food-like, high-fat and high-sucrose, diet causing them to be fat to begin with all the expected problems. What they got instead was a test group that showed positive metabolic improvements when the type II fast muscle genetic switch was turned on and the muscles developed. "Remarkably, type II muscle growth was associated with an overall reduction in body mass, due to a large decrease in fat mass. In addition, blood tests showed that these mice became metabolically normal and their fatty liver disease rapidly resolved," said senior author Kenneth Walsh, PhD, a professor of medicine and head of Molecular Cardiology at the Whitaker Cardiovascular Institute at BUSM. The beneficial changes occurred despite the fact that the mice continued to eat the same high-calorie diet and did not display any increase in physical activity. "This work shows that type II muscle just doesn't allow you to pick up heavy objects, it is also important in controlling whole body metabolism," added Walsh.

Further analysis found that the mice burned fat because of changes in the physiology and gene expression of their fat and liver cells. "Thus, it appears that the increase in type II muscle fiber orchestrates changes in the body through its ability to communicate with these other tissues," he said.

So, here is what all of this may mean to us. We've always known that activities like weight lifting that form fast, type II muscles were good for burning calories that might otherwise convert to fat. What we didn't know was that the existence of this muscle type could have such far-reaching effect in other metabolic areas as well, such as reducing hepatic steatosis (fatty liver). Walsh believes there might well be an extended connection to humans suggesting that "strength training, in addition to the widely prescribed therapy of endurance training, may be of particular benefit to overweight individuals."

The researchers are still busy revealing the interplay between diet, muscle type, and the body's metabolic systems. Their initial research is clearly the beginning of a longer process, and hopefully the further insight can lead to improvements in the treatment of those in need of weight loss and further reduce conditions like diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and hypertension.

Who would have thought that paying attention to a bunch of buff mice would have such far-reaching results.

Remember, too, that this article is for information purposes only. If you have or think you have a health issue, including weight or diet issues, consult your primary care physician for proper diagnoses and treatment.

Personal Fit Weight Loss Guide dx.doi.org/10.2121/Weight-Loss-Guide-020808

Buff Mice Show 'Weight Training' Muscles Reduce Fat And Improve Metabolism

HEPATIC STEATOSIS