Heart and Cardio-vascular

Tai Chi, the ancient martial art from China, may be widely known as a self-defense art, but has abundant health benefits that can help cure ordinary ailments to life threatening diseases, says Tai Chi guru Carlton Hill.  What is Tai Chi? How is it different from other martial arts? Tai Chi Chuan or Taijiquan is a five thousand year old martial art practised in China. Though, in present times, it is mostly practised for its health benefits. Tai Chi Chuan is unique because one can…

Arun M Sivakrishna's father did not smoke or drink, nor did he chew tobacco. He still got oral cancer. Arun shares a poem from his collection "Songs of a Solitary Tree" My dad had oral cancer as well other ailments related to heart conditions and diabetes. He lost his left jaw bone. The irony is he never used to smoke or chew tobacco or drink. He had an abscess in the liver that was operated. He joked to me: "you smoke, I gave my jaw..you drink and I had to give my liver"..…

There are many tasty, low-cholesterol foods available in hawker centres for you to enjoy while dining out. Just make the right choice recommends nutritionist Kohila Govindaraju. Living with high cholesterol? Confused what to eat in food court? Highly concerned about your saturated fat and cholesterol and planning to shift to low-fat foods? Research has proved that eating saturated fats and trans fat can elevate the blood cholesterol level that links to increased risk of heart…

Obesity can be managed with lifestyle, dietary and behaviour modifications: Lifestyle changes Stay your ideal weight for height. Make it your lifestyle. Take the stairs. Stop eating when 80% full. Have regular sleep time and an exercise schedule and adhere to it. Walk when it is not possible to exercise. Eat to live and not live to eat. Dietary changes Choose healthy food options – To allow for weight loss, consume fewer calories and opt for healthy food choices. Consume salad before food…

All of the measures mentioned under the management section apply to rules of prevention of obesity. Additionally: Maintain a food diary/log to track your calories and nutrient intake. It is important to learn how to read food nutrition labels and use them wisely to avoid empty calorie and ingredients that are unhealthy. Weigh yourself routinely. Avoid all sugary drinks like cold drinks, soda, fruit drinks, energy drinks and food and beverages with excess synthetic preservatives and additives.…

Treatment of Obesity includes: History: The doctor will take a detailed history to understand the familial traits, your lifestyle, diet, and mental health condition. Physical examination: The doctor then measures height, weight, and BMI. The vital signs are checked like blood pressure, heart rate, and temperature followed by auscultation of heart and lungs. Examination findings plus the lab findings determine the course of treatment if needed. Diet, behavioral and lifestyle changes (mentioned…

Tests for Obesity Diagnosis The measurement tools mentioned below are used to classify obesity. Blood tests for associated risk factors like cholesterols levels and blood sugar levels. Liver fat analysis. Bone density analysis. Body mass index (BMI): It is calculated as a person's weight in kilograms divided by the square of their height in meters (kg/m2). WHO/US criteria label BMI 25–29.9 as overweight and ≥30 as obese. Indian and Asia-Pacific guidelines lower these thresholds to overweight…

Phenotypes associated with Obesity: Normal weight obese (NWO): Normal Body mass index (BMI) + PBF > 30 (dual X-ray absorptiometry) + ↓ lean body composition of the left leg. Do not have metabolic syndrome. Metabolically obese normal weight (MONW): normal (body mass index (BMI), but have significant risk factors for diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular disease, which could be due to higher fat mass and plasma triglycerides as well as higher visceral fat and liver content. They…

Signs of Obesity Physical Signs of Obesity: Lack of good sleep. Sleep apnoea, snoring and daytime drowsiness. Back pain due excess weight Joint pains mainly knee joint due to excess weight bearing Excessive sweating. Heat intolerance. Increased incidence of infections in skin folds due to excess sweating and associated bacterial and fungal infections. Easy fatiguability. Feeling of shortness of breath (dyspnoea). Varicose veins (due to an increased pressure on veins from the fat there is…

Risk Factors of Obesity Genetics: Single-gene (monogenic) obesity: Rare cases of obesity are caused by changes in a single gene, such as MC4R. Polygenic obesity: Most obesity is multifactorial, meaning it's caused by many genes working together. Genetic mutations: Abnormal changes in DNA sequence can also contribute to obesity. Genes may be a significant contributor to one’s cause of obesity if they have most or all of the following characteristics: If one has been overweight for most of…