Keep a watch on your wasteline

Globally, fitness and health draw a lot of interest. Living long and living healthy are more important than simply staying alive, gasping for breath and expecting people to wheel you around or hold your hand as you exert yourself to climb up a bunch of stairs. The focus these days is on a long life along with the ability to enjoy your age. The quest for health and the ability to move around independently through one’s life is an ongoing research project-it never really ends. Because what works for one does not work for all. And as the body ages, it begins to break down-part by part. The challenge is to keep it alive, well and pain free-longer. As we grow older, we move less. Not good for the body. In Japan one of the trimmest nations on this planet, is adding a new dimension to their fitness tests. They are measuring people’s waist lines in addition to the usual health check-ups. This is to keep disorders like diabetes away. Incidentally, the norm for men is a 33.5 inch waist and for the women it is 35.4 inches. Any one exceeding the limits is warned, put on a diet and re-measured some months later. A section of the population thinks this is too much. Especially when very few people in Japan are overweight. Except Sumo wrestlers and they have to be really bulky if they want to get anywhere in their careers. For those with fattening waists you need to get them slimmer real fast as chances are your thick waist could land you in trouble. Research done at the University of Southern California indicates type 2 diabetes latches on easily to those with excess fat around the abdomens. The reasons are still under the scanner.

Take the Steps. So, how does a normal person keep the waist from wasting? First of all, I recommend you check out the diet. Go moderate on all those things you really like. Foods like chips can be eaten as treats instead of included in the daily diet. And remember, there really are no shortcuts to a trim waist. You must exercise. A 30 minutes cardio every day is the minimum one needs to do to stay healthy. Our life styles demand it.


Remember, doing abs crunches alone will not work. Besides you may land up with an injured back if you go overboard or do them wrongly. Research conducted by several authorities throughout the world says a human being needs to take 10,000 steps a day to stay in shape. Basically, your body needs to burn the calories you eat.

When you burn 3,500 calories, you would drop just one single pound of body fat. Well, it is not dramatic, I agree, but then, it is all about moderation. Besides, if you do those 10,000 steps a day, adding just 2,000 more to make a mile you would be using 100 extra calories. In the long run, say one year, you could land up becoming 10 pounds (a little less than five kilos) lighter without actually lessening your food intake.