Elderly Health Service

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Self-help Tips for the Elderly

Obesity

The human body contains certain proportion of fat for maintenance of body temperature and for reserve. However, if there is too much fat, it will increase the workload of many organs. Obesity not only affects one's appearance, it is also a cause for many chronic illnesses e.g. stroke, coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, gallstones, diabetes mellitus, hernia, osteoarthritis and varicose veins.

Causes

Energy from food provides fuels for daily activities and to maintain body temperature. When the amount of energy absorbed is more than what is necessary, the extra energy will accumulate in the body in the form of fatty tissue.
Common reasons for gaining weight include:
1. Eating too much
2. Insufficient physical activities e.g. after retirement, if there is no adjustment in the diet, the inadequate energy use will lead to excess
3. Hereditary factors or disease e.g. thyroid disease
4. Side-effects of medications

Means to lose weight

The principle of losing weight is straightforward: eat less and do more. This must be practised continually with patience and the weight loss should not be too rapid: not more than 2 lbs per week. If necessary, consult a doctor or dietitian for low calorie diets.
Reduce energy absorption by eating less food of high calorie content e.g. fatty, fried food and snacks.
Increase energy consumption by regular exercise. Any type of exercise helps e.g. hiking, swimming, exercise bike, jogging, Tai Chi, ball room dancing, etc.
There are many misconceptions about losing weight. The followings are some examples of ineffective and unrealistic methods of losing weight:
1. taking appetitie suppressants: they can be dangerous.
2. skipping breakfast: not effective and harmful to health and
3. avoiding rice and eating protein foods only: actually the calorie content of rice is not very high. Many dishes especially those cooked with a lot of oil, contain much higher calorie.