Gaining weight starts stealthily, usually at a certain age – the limit comes early – 2024-04-28 20:47:54

Obesity and overweight are often associated with guilty images and assumptions about a person’s own activities, self-discipline or lifestyle.

The stigma of obesity can be paralyzing.

Gynecology and obstetrics specialist, weight management doctor Emilia Huvinen hopes that false images and assumptions related to fatness will be dismantled.

Huvinen has compiled his book Bad genes? (Minerva) researched information on obesity. According to the book, up to 70 percent of obesity has a genetic predisposition.

Many genes can predispose to obesity. Obesity caused by a single gene is rare. However, genes do not always inevitably lead a person to obesity.

In the book, Huvinen debunks myths about weight gain and weight management.

The constant feeling of hunger is actually our basic setting, because we still have the worry, developed during evolution, that we will run out of food. Adobe Stock / AOP

Water doesn’t make you lose weight

One weight management myth is that a glass of water before a meal curbs appetite. However, drinking water cannot fool the body’s feeling of satiety, and therefore this method is not very good for weight control.

Another myth introduced by Huvinen’s book concerns exercise.

It is difficult to exercise so much that the weight would decrease because of it alone. However, exercise has an effect, because it changes the body’s composition and metabolism. Exercise also reduces the accumulation of fat around the waist.

The third myth concerns the connection between obesity and life years.

According to the book, an unfit normal weight person has a higher mortality risk than a fit person with a body mass index over 30.

The book says that the lowest mortality is in the body mass index category 25–30, which means overweight or mild obesity.

Researched means that work

The book tells about many methods of weight control based on researched information.

Eating foods that maintain a feeling of satiety is worthwhile. For example, cheap and healthy oatmeal keeps hunger at bay for a long time.

Every day it would be good to eat so that a total of 30 different plants, fruits, berries and seeds should be eaten.

Huvinen admits that reaching the number can seem difficult. However, the amount can be full if you slowly add new species to your diet.

A decent breakfast and lunch help with weight control.

According to Huvinen, for example porridge and whole grain bread together with egg, cottage cheese, nuts and berries work well as an evening snack.

Weight control by sleeping

Huvinen warns about the effect of social time difference, i.e. jet lag, on health and weight.

This kind of jet lag can kick in if there is always a couple of hours difference between bedtimes and wake-ups on weekdays and weekends.

The more variable the bedtimes are between everyday and the weekend, the greater the risk of obesity. According to Huvinen, a difference of just one hour with one’s own internal clock increases the risk of metabolic syndrome by 30 percent.

If you sleep too little, losing weight can be even more difficult.

Instead, according to Huvinen, getting more sleep can help with weight management, because just one extra hour of sleep at night can balance the levels of the next day’s hunger and satiety hormones, reduce cravings for sugary and fatty treats, and balance blood sugar.

40 years as the limit

One factor in weight management that will inevitably come into play before long is age.

Huvinen says that according to studies, from the age of 40, weight starts to increase in women and men by an average of 300–500 grams per year.

In the book, Huvinen highlights the risk of using ultra-processed foods in weight management.

Studies have found that those who consumed the most ultra-processed foods had a 30-60 percent higher risk of obesity than others.

Ultra-processed food is largely industrially processed food, which is combined with a lot of saturated fat, a lot of sugar and salt, as well as a low fiber content and a low protein content.