| The location of fat on your body is very | | | | |
| important. Those who carry fat mainly around | | | | Genetics |
| their waists may be more likely to develop | | | | |
| health issues than those who carry their | | | | A propensity to gain weight or remain trim |
| extra baggage in their hips and thighs. Even | | | | runs in family lines. Some research studies |
| if your BMI falls within the normal range, | | | | show that genetics play a larger role in |
| this is true. | | | | weight even than environment. Although some |
| | | | statistics show that if your biological |
| To measure your waist circumference, place a | | | | mother is heavy, than there is a seventy-five |
| tape measure around your naked abdomen just | | | | percent chance you will be heavy, it does not |
| above your hip bone. The tape should be snug, | | | | mean you should feel doomed because of your |
| parallel to the floor and shouldn't compress | | | | genes. Most individuals who are bilogically |
| your skin. Relax and exhale as you measure | | | | predisposed to be heavy or trim can certainly |
| your waist. | | | | overcome it. |
| | | | |
| Women with a waist measurement of more than | | | | Environmental Factors |
| thirty-five inches or men with a waist | | | | |
| measurement in excess of forty inches might | | | | Though genes are important, a person's |
| have a higher risk than people with smaller | | | | environment plays an important role as wekk. |
| waist measurements. | | | | An individuals's lifestyle, behaviors, diet |
| | | | and how active he or she is all are |
| Causes of Our Expanding Waistlines | | | | environmental factors. |
| | | | |
| There is often more than a single cause for | | | | Physical Activity |
| expanding waistlines. A few of the of the | | | | |
| factors may include: | | | | People who are very active require additional |
| | | | calories than those who are sedentary in |
| Age | | | | order to maintain their weight. |
| | | | Interestingly, physical activity actually |
| As you get older, your body's metabolism | | | | reduces one's appetite while at the same time |
| slows down somewhat and does not require | | | | increasing the body's natural ability to |
| quite as many calories to maintain its weight | | | | metabolize fat into energy. |
| as it once did. This is the reason you might | | | | |
| be forty years old with a similar lifestyle | | | | Psychological Factors |
| to when you were twenty but may notice a | | | | |
| slight difference: at twenty you did not gain | | | | Many of us are psychologically conditioned to |
| weight, but now at forty, you do. | | | | eat in reaction to negative emotions such as |
| | | | boredom, anger, sadness and stress, among |
| Drugs and Medication | | | | others. This also means binge-eating, where |
| | | | large quantities of food are uncontrollably |
| Some drugs like steroids and various | | | | consumed. |
| antidepressants may cause weight gain. | | | | |
| | | | Illness |
| Gender | | | | |
| | | | Rare illnesses can cause weight gain like |
| Women tend to experience unwanted weight gain | | | | hormone problems such as hypothyroidism, |
| more so than men. Men burn more calories when | | | | where a bad thyroid slows down metabolism |
| they are resting, this requiring more | | | | considerably. Depression and other rare brain |
| calories to maintain their ideal body weight. | | | | illnesses can also lead to the abuse of food. |
| In addition, when women enter the doors of | | | | More dieting information can be found at Zone |
| menopause, their metabolic rate decreases | | | | EZ Diet in a Box. There you will find expert |
| substantially, which is part of the reason | | | | advise from Zone Diet creator Dr. Barry |
| that females gain so much weight after | | | | Sears. |
| menopause. | | | | |