Holistic Health

Introduction Heart failure (HF) is a multi-faceted and life-threatening syndrome characterised by significant morbidity and mortality, poor functional capacity and quality of life (QoL), and high costs. Accordingly, reducing its social and economic burden has become a major global public health priority. The magnitude of the problem of HF cannot be assessed with precision since reliable,…

Exercise: The Medicine Since Antiquity

Introduction “The exercise boom is not just a fad; it is a return to ‘natural’ activity—the kind for which our bodies are engineered and which facilitates the proper function of our biochemistry and physiology. Viewed through the perspective of evolutionary time, sedentary existence, possible for great numbers of people only during the last century, represents a transient, unnatural aberration.”…

Exercise: The Medicine Since Antiquity

Healthy Ageing – Adding Years to Life and Life to Years.

Death is inevitable, but the life of protracted ill-health is not. Introduction The world is undergoing a huge age shift. In this day and age, most people can expect to live into their sixties and beyond. According to the data from the World Population Ageing 2017 (Highlights) and the World Population Ageing 2019 (Highlights) of the United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the…

Food as Medicine: Healthful Eating for Healthy Living

One of the best-kept secrets in healthcare is that “something as simple as the food on your plate can truly be medicine.” Introduction Over the centuries food has been a central element in many traditional forms of medicine, which treated food as medicine until its role in curative medicine began to decline during the last century. The role of healthful eating in both preventative and…

‘Fat but Fit’ Paradox – Unravelling the Truth

Introduction Obesity is now recognized as a serious chronic disease; in my post titled Is obesity a disease or a risk factor for other conditions? I had discussed the magnitude of obesity and why obesity is associated with so much ill-health. However, there are no easy solutions to obesity and managing your body weight is challenging at the best of times. In my post titled Weight Loss…

Metabolically Healthy Obesity – A Myth or a Reality?

Introduction In my post titled What is obesity – is it merely about BMI? I had discussed, how obesity is defined, the composition of the human body, and fat patterning as well as factors affecting total body fat and fat patterning. Obesity is now recognized as a serious chronic disease; in my post titled Is obesity a disease or a risk factor for other conditions? I had discussed the magnitude of…

Does obesity hit a point of no return?

Introduction In my post titled What is obesity – is it merely about BMI? I had discussed, how obesity is defined, the composition of the human body, and fat patterning as well as factors affecting total body fat and fat patterning. Obesity is now recognized as a serious chronic disease; in my post titled Is obesity a disease or a risk factor for other conditions? I had discussed the magnitude of…

Weight Loss Maintenance After Weight Loss.

Introduction Before I discuss the main topic of weight loss maintenance, it would help to give you a brief overview of obesity. The world is in the grip of an obesity epidemic. In my post ‘What is obesity – is it merely about BMI?‘ I had defined obesity as “excessive body fat accumulation (not weighing too much), which is associated with clear risks to health.”   In my post, Is obesity a disease…

Weight loss maintenance: keeping off pounds.

Introduction

The world is in the grip of an obesity epidemic. In my post, Is obesity a disease or risk factor for other conditions?I had discussed the magnitude of obesity and had also highlighted that today most of the major international and national health organisations, including the World Health Organization (WHO), World Obesity Federation, and American Medical Association recognise…

Say NO to Fad diets

Introduction  

The world is in the grip of an obesity epidemic; additionally, a “fad diet” industry has arisen. Worldwide obesity has tripled since 1975. It is a chronic and multifactorial disease and one of the most important causes of morbidity and premature mortality worldwide. In my post, Is obesity a disease or risk factor for other conditions?I had discussed the magnitude of obesity and…

Keto Diet – Debunking the Myth

Introduction

Obesity continues to be a major worldwide health problem, despite the efforts of the medical community. Intensive lifestyle interventions can achieve weight loss that is sustained over the long-term. Diet is an important component of any lifestyle intervention programme. The dietary plan that restricts energy and fat is the most common strategy and based on it, several other…

Very-Low-Calorie Diets – All You Need to Know! Very-low-calorie diets are the most intensive dietary intervention for obesity and the single most effective intervention to induce rapid weight loss.

Introduction

In my post Diet Plan for Weight Loss – It’s going to be a journey, I had described various options for treatment of obesity. As highlighted there, the core principle of any obesity treatment is that it must shift the balance between energy intake and energy expenditure – treating obesity requires creating a state of negative energy balance, therefore a reduction in energy intake…

Diet Plan for Weight Loss – It’s going to be a journey.

Introduction

Before I discuss the diet plan for weight loss, the subject matter of this post, it would be worthwhile to discuss certain salient aspects of obesity. Obesity is a multifactorial disease and is the result of a complex interplay of genetic, environmental, metabolic, physiologic, behavioural and social factors; the underlying mechanism is a sustained positive energy imbalance(i.e.…

Weight Training Program Design for Optimum Health.

Introduction

For most people, the term ‘exercise’ means aerobic activities like walking, jogging etc. The benefits of weight training (also commonly known as strength training or resistance training; the terms will be used interchangeably) are either overlooked or at best minimized to that of building muscles and improving sports performance. However, we now have a better understanding of the…

Aerobic Exercise Prescription for Optimal Health Benefits

Introduction

In my post, Health Benefits of Exercise: a grossly underutilised therapy, I have discussed the various health benefits associated with physical activity, as a result of which exercise is now aptly being recognised as ‘medicine’. However, to derive optimal health benefits from exercise, an exercise program needs to follow certain parameters, similar to drug prescription, such as…