The 10% Solution
America's most prevalent serious medical problem:
an unhealthy weight

Nearly two-thirds of Alaskans are overweight or obese, and very much less healthy than we could be because of it. We ignore it at our peril, but Alaskans who have been here more than a few years have lived the experience of gaining several pounds in the winters, and the self-delusion that a little more activity in the spring will melt it away by the end of summer. The net result: more and more permanent weight gain.

The 10% solution should become your goal if you feel that you deserve to be healthier, deserve to maximize mental alertness and physical vigor and that only you can make it happen.

There is more and more evidence that losing as little as 10% of body weight has an incredibly positive effect on health. It is estimated that each pound has eight to ten miles of blood vessels. So losing 18 to 20 pounds has great benefit for your blood pressure, your weight-bearing joints, lowers your cholesterol and lessens your risk for diabetes. Concentrate not on how much you lose, but where you lose it. Measure your waist-to-hip ratio. Visceral fat is the first to go, so the health benefits are immediate.

Controlling appetite and cravings can be done. To my mind ÒThe ZoneÓ is the best all-around nutrition program. It is neither fat-phobic, nor carbohydrate-bashing, nor a protein love-fest. It is intuitive and Dr. Sears explains in easy-to-understand language the science that supports it. (Available in bookstores and at www.DrSears.com.)

For most of us, routine daily exercise is neither fun nor convenient. For youngsters it can be incorporated in recreation activities, but for adults who have to work, the balanced fitness program of flexibility, stamina and strength requires at least a three-day/week routine. Without a fitness program complementing the nutrition program research has shown that commitment to nutrition changes falter and any weight lost is gradually regained. Though exercise alone will not cause weight loss, it will help keep it off and motivate you by how much better you feel when youÕre physically fit.

We are creatures of habit. Unless a nutrition and exercise program is reasonable and modifies our existing routine in ways we can commit to, it will fail. Hence the failure of fad programs: they are unreasonable, or ridiculous, or unpalatable long term, or just canÕt be incorporated in our routine. The single most important habit to start the momentum of successful nutrition is to keep a food diary of everything that passes through your lips, no exceptions, brutally honest. It immediately individualizes your program for you as you merge what you are doing with your understanding of a ÒZone-likeÓ nutrition program.

To calculate your waist/hip ratio, MBI and other important necessary-to-get-started information, visit the excellent new Web site at the CDC (www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/obesity/).

Recommended Readings:
The Omega Rx Zone by Barry Sears Ph.D (the best of his books).
A Week in the Zone by Barry Sears Ph.D (a quick introduction to healthy nutrition).
I Am What I Ate . . . and I'm Frightened by Bill Cosby (a light-hearted humorous read reassuring in that you are not alone).
The Philosopher's Diet by Richard Watson (combined with Dr. Sears's books it will add useful insight to "How to Lose Weight and Change the World").
Fast Food Nation (A fascinating history with horrific consequence, but important if we are to understand also the politics and economics of food).

Bruce J. Kiessling, M.D.
Medical Director, Primary Care Associates
Eagle River and Anchorage