Fitness Files: Merry Christmas ... and now, a healthy new year

My last article quoted WebMD, which pegged the average American as 23 pounds overweight.

So what?

Current ads feature plus-sized models. Mumus are out, and large-size stretchy jeans are in. The message is, “Wear heft proudly.”

Yes! Accept ourselves. Reject movie-star stereotypes of toothy smiles, tight behinds and cleavage topping tiny waistlines.

However, the question remains: What does 23 extra pounds do to a person? Is there any reason for concern? I returned to asking Google.

Harvard’s helpguide.org came right up and smacked me with facts. In “How Excess Weight Affects Your Health,” Harvard gives way too much information.

Seems the researchers combined data from more than 50,000 men and 120,000 women and noted the occurrence of illnesses compared with body mass index, or BMI.

That very morning, I’d gobbled chocolate chips and salted peanuts with tea, after an orange, banana and oatmeal. So the results of the study were, to quote Harvard, “sobering.” Here are just a few of its findings on the effects of being overweight:

Depression: “Obese people have a 55% higher risk of developing depression.”

Sleep apnea: “daytime sleepiness, high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke.”

Diabetes: “About 90% of type 2 diabetics are overweight or obese…. Untreated, leads to grave health problems … 7th leading cause of death.”

Heart disease, stroke: Even 22 pounds of excess weight boosts blood pressure, which translates into a 24% increase in stroke risk. And modest amounts of excess weight can increase the odds of heart disease, but obesity can increase the risk to 45%.

Cancer: Some experts say obesity is the second leading cause of cancer deaths after cigarettes. High BMI is inked to cancer of the esophagus, colon, rectum, breast, ovary, prostate, gallbladder and stomach. Oh, dear.

Lifespan: Following nearly 1.5 million adults 19 to 84 years old, the New England Journal of Medicine found that the risk of death increased “from 44% higher for mildly obese to 250% higher for those with a BMI of 40 to 50,” which is considered morbidly obese.

The Harvard article features a diagram titled “Excess Weight Causes Many Health Problems.” It shows asthma, blood clots, disk disease, reproductive problems, sexual disfunction and dementia as health risks of being overweight.

Here’s what irritates me.

This long list of misery is a bonanza for the pharmaceutical companies. Big Pharma is making way too much money if it can afford all those TV ads. And to think the average American is paying, with extra poundage, for those commercials pushing pills for reflux, diabetes, sleep problems, arthritis of the hips, knees and ankles and depression.

Cutting into the drug companies’ enormous profits is reason enough to take off weight. And then there’s that extra payoff of getting rid of the potential for diseases resulting from lifestyle choices.

Not so easy to do. However, I did put away my chocolate chips and salted peanuts and stop for a full minute, recognizing that overfull acidy feeling for what it is. I’m a pig and if I keep it up, it’ll cost me. A lot.

Newport Beach resident CARRIE LUGER SLAYBACK is a retired teacher who ran the Los Angeles Marathon at age 70, winning first place in her age group. Her blog is [email protected].