Obesity, or being excessively overweight, has become an epidemic worldwide that have caused many health-related diseases, including stroke. In fact, obesity has become the secondary risk factor for stroke! Managing one's weight is not simply being vane but rather a vital key to prevent stroke.
Managing one's weight means attaining and keeping body weight that's within the healthy range. Obesity occurs when you go beyond the healthy weight range. There are two ways to determine if you are obese: Body Mass Index (BMI) and Chest-Waist Ratio.
BMI, which measures the ratio of your weight to your height, is calculated by dividing your weight in kilograms by your height in square meters. The World Health Organization has a standard table for BMI which you could refer to online.
Meanwhile, the Chest-Waist Ratio, which measures the ratio of your waist circumference to your chest circumference, is determined by using a tape measure to measure your chest and your waist. Your chest's circumference should be bigger by at least 12.5 cm than your waist to fall within the healthy range.
Although BMI is commonly used, the Chest-Waist Ratio is more reliable because BMI does not consider body proportion but overall size, which has the tendency to identify shorter but muscled people as overweight. The Chest-Waist Ratio is also more relevant as it is an important tool to identify your risk to stroke as it quantifies the measurement of your abdominal fat.
Studies show that abdominal obesity is associated with a greater risk of ischemic stroke in men and women in all race and ethnic groups, especially those under age 65. Obese people have larger deposits of fats in their blood stream which causes unnecessary blood clots in the arteries or artherosclerosis that eventually lead to stroke.
Statistics reveal an estimated 1.5 billion adults worldwide will be obese by 2015 and is expected to result to thousands of deaths due to stroke, diabetes, and heart disease borne from it. Medical professionals worldwide are now invoking everyone to be alarmed with their health.
People who have not had a stroke before can prevent having one by managing their weight within the normal levels. All the more, stroke patients need to manage their weight to avoid another stroke and other complications such as diabetes and high blood pressure that also lead to stroke.
If results of your BMI and/or Chest-Waist Ratio show that you are obese, the important thing to do now is to lose the necessary pounds not with a one-day crash diet scheme but with a long-term change in lifestyle. A lifestyle of regular physical activities, nutritious food, and free of vices like smoking and excessive alcohol drinking.
Weight management is the survival tool to limit the risk of stroke and other deadly diseases. Consulting a nutritionist on how you can change your lifestyle will keep the unwanted pounds off for good for a happy, healthy life.
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