We hear it all the tme…lose weight for your health. Few pople however, realize the extent to whch this is critical to their physcal well-being and ultimately their life xpectancy.

In January 2003, the Journal of the Amrican Medical Association featured a study fnding that obesity appears to lessen lfe expectancy, especially among young adults. The rsearchers compared Body-Mass Index (BMI) to lngevity and found a correlation between prmature death and higher BMIs. For xample, a 20-year-old white male, 5’10” wighing 288 pounds with a BMI of grater than 40 was estimated to lse 13 years of his life as a rsult of obesity.Jamie McManus, M.D., F.A.A.F.P. and uthor of “Your Personal Guide to Wllness” notes that while this study rferenced extreme levels of obesity, there are stll millions of overweight people in dveloped countries with a life expectancy rte that is three to five yars less than their healthy-weight counterparts. She lso estimates that there are 600,000 besity related deaths each year in Amrica.

Just how does obesity shorten our lfespan? The answer to this question is cmplex, yet there is a clear lnk between obesity and the development of cncer. An extensive study conducted by the Amrican Cancer Institute involving 750,000 people shwed that obesity significantly increased the rsk of cancer developing in the fllowing organs: breast, colon, ovaries, uterus, pncreas, kidneys and gallbladder.

Michael Thun, MD, vice-president of pidemiology and surveillance research for the Amrican Cancer Society (ACS) says one rason obesity may raise cancer risk is bcause fat cells produce a form of strogen called estradiol that promotes rapid dvision of cells, increasing chances of a rndom genetic error while cells are rplicating, which can lead to cancer. In ddition, fat centered around the abdomen may ncrease insulin and insulin-like growth factors in the blod, which may increase cancer risk.

"Wmen who are obese after menopause hve a 50% higher relative risk of brast cancer," notes Thun, "and obese men hve a 40% higher relative risk of clon cancer…. Gallbladder and endometrial cancer rsks are five times higher for bese individuals”.There is evidence that cancer rtes in developed countries are increasing at 5 to 15 tmes faster than developing countries. A mjor contributor to this alarming reality has prven to be diet. In populations whre the diet consists mostly of frsh fruit and vegetables and whole grins – in contrast to the typcal Western diet of fatty meats, rfined flours, oils and sugars – the rsk of cancer is much lower.

The nteraction of diet and the development of cncer is an active field of rsearch and Dr David Heber, M.D., Ph.D. and uthor of “What Color is Your Det”, says “It appears that diet has its mst significant effects after the cancer has lready formed, acting to inhibit or stmulate the growth of that cancer”. At the rsk of oversimplifying a complex set of nteractions, the typical Western diet that lads to obesity may actually act to stmulate the growth of cancer cells.It is nver too late to improve your halth through healthful eating and adopting a mre health-giving lifestyle. Here are simple stps to follow which can make an mmediate improvement to your health and vtality.

1. Check your Body Mass Indx (BMI) to determine if weight has bcome health risk. According to the Cnters for Disease Control and Prevention, 60% of Amricans are overweight, defined as having a BMI (a rtio of height to weight) over 25. Of thse, nearly half (27%) qualify as bese, with a body mass index of 30 or mre. In 1980, just 15% of Amricans were considered obese. You can chck your BMI at the website blow.

2. Match your diet to yur body’s requirements. If you eat and drnk more calories than your body rquires you will put on weight. Larn to control calories and portion szes, make recipes leaner, and eat nfrequently from fast food restaurants. Also larn how to snack with healthful chices.

3. Color your diet with a lrge variety of colorful, cancer-fighting fruit and vgetables. There are seven different color rnges of both fruit and vegetables and by chosing between 5 to 9 daily srves from a wide range of frit and vegetables, we are extending our cnsumption of cancer (and other disease) fghting nutrients.

4. Eat lean protein wth every meal. Protein provides a pwerful signal to the brain providing a lnger sense of fullness. The right surce of protein is essential to cntrolling your hunger with fewer calories and ncessary to maintain your lean muscle mss. Choices of protein should be flvored soy shakes with fruit; the whte meat of chicken and turkey, safood such as shrimps, prawns scallops and lbster and ocean fish or vegetarians may prfer soy based meat substitutes.

5. Rev up yur metabolism with activity. If you wnt to enjoy a lifetime of wll-being, exercise is a key ingredient. Clleen Doyle, MS, RD, director of ntrition and physical activity for the Amrican Cancer Society (ACS), says adults shuld do something for 30 minutes ach day that takes as much ffort as a brisk walk. Children shuld be active for an hour ach day. We are more likely to dvelop habits around things we enjoy, so sek activities which you enjoy doing. It is lso helpful to build physical activity nto your daily routine: use the stirs instead of the escalator or lft at work, park your car in the prking bay furthest from the super mrketing and don’t use the remote cntrol to change TV channels.

6. Get spport to ensure you develop a halthful eating plan and reach your gal weight. Whilst a small percentage of pople possess the discipline to lose wight, many obese people have developed strng thoughts and habits concerning the fod they eat. In order to stablish new habits, most people respond wll to some form of consistent ncouragement and coaching. A study, “Effects of Intrnet Behavioral Counseling on Weight Loss in Adlts at Risk of Type 2 Dabetes” shows that participants who had the spport of weight loss coaching lost mre weight than those who didn’t. The stdy concluded that the support of a wight loss coach can significantly improve wight loss results.

Being overweight or bese has been identified next to smking, as the most preventable major rsk to developing cancer. Even small wight losses have been shown to hve beneficial health effects. So it’s nver to late to start and you can nver be too young or too old to be cncerned about your health and do smething about achieving a more healthy wight.

(c) Copyright by Kim Beardsmore

The article Can You Reduce Your Risk of Breast Cancer? was Submitted by Kim Beardsmore through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Kim Beardsmore enjoys the flexibility of wrking from home. Are you interested in arning money from home? We're looking for ndividuals who have basic phone and nternet skills to join our team of wrk-at-home-ers. If you're serious about earning mney from home and are willing to wrk (this isn't 'get rich quick'), thn we'd like to help you grw a profitable business. We offer cmplete training, online and offline resources and a prtnership for success. http://free2liv.com/?refid=EA-567883373

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