Weight Management Facts Los Angeles CA

1. About 142 million Americans—about 66.3 percent of the nation—are overweight or obese

2. More than 60 percent of Americans don't meet basic activity level recommendations, and 25 percent are completely sedentary.

3. According to the American Obesity Association, obesity (and unhealthy dietary habits and lifestyles that don't include much or any physical activity) is the second leading cause of preventable death in the United States.

4. According to the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), 40 percent of newly identified cases of anorexia are in girls ages 15 to 19, and over half of teenage girls use unhealthy weight control behaviors, such as skipping meals, fasting, smoking cigarettes, taking laxatives and vomiting. And the obsession with weight starts early—NEDA reports that 42 percent of first- to third-grade girls want to be thinner, and 81 percent of 10-year-olds are afraid of getting fat.

5. Children and teens who are overweight often have a lifelong struggle with their weight and are at high risk for developing diabetes, high blood pressure, diseased arteries, damaged hearts and liver damage.

6. If a woman's waist circumference divided by her hip measurement is greater than 0.8, she is considered to have a high amount of visceral fat, which is the type of fat that surrounds the internal organs. This is especially true if her waist measurement is more than 35 inches. This type of fat is associated with higher risk of certain diseases and conditions like diabetes and heart disease.

7. If you eat 250 calories per day fewer than needed to maintain your weight and exercise enough to burn an additional 250 calories a day, you will lose about a pound per week.

8. Your basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the number of calories your body needs just to maintain its basic functions. You need additional calories to provide energy for daily activities; the more active you are, the more calories you need. Several factors go into the calculation of your BMR, including your age, height, weight and gender. To get an idea of your BMR, go to http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator.

9. According to the National Institutes of Health, an estimated 33 to 40 percent of American women are trying to lose weight and 28 percent are attempting to maintain a weight loss.

10. Despite the ads that claim miracle weight-loss for some products, there simply is no magic formula for losing weight. Fad diets, like those based on cabbage soup, grapefruit or protein, may help you lose some pounds—often water weight—in the short run but they don't work in the long term because they're impossible and unhealthy to maintain. The truth is, permanent weight loss takes time and requires a permanent change in eating and exercise habits.

For the rest of this article, questions to ask your health care professional, information on diagnosis, treatment, prevention and more, click here.

Author: Editorial Staff of the National Women's Health Resource Center