Lifestyle Diseases

Publish Date: December 9, 2006

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by Shiori Iwagaki

The major contributing factor to life style related diseases, typified by diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease, is often obesity. Therefore, we have to think about losing surplus weight.

When I was watching TV the other day, I found a program which tried to introduce a way to cook low-calorie dishes. It showed food images for a full hour. Then they let 3 overweight guests eat 3 full servings of curry-rice (Japanese style curry with rice). The dishes were made with lower calories than normal but that “tasting” totaled 1,800 kcal.

If you have a chance to visit to America, in which many people are struggling to lose excess weight, try watching TV. You will find it is filled with food commercials and medicines that are supposed to help you lose fat.

However, the best way to lose weight is not by eating low calorie food, but by reducing the amount of food you eat.

It is really difficult to reduce your meal portion sizes while surrounded by actual food or images of food on TV-- unless you have an unbelievably strong will. So, it is very important to keep away from this toxic food environment. But avoiding food advertising images is still not enough. Because if you who want to lose weight, changing your physical environment is not be enough. What is most important is to keep your mental environment free of unhealthy food images.

This is important for all of us. We have to find a way to shift our mental focus from food to healthier foci such as sports, reading or music.

Perhaps instead of calling them “life style related diseases” we should call them “thought related diseases”, for thought and emotion are the true root causes of these diseases.

If we are always worried and anxious we may eat as an outlet for these feelings. If we constantly think of failure and problems, we may eat as a way to distract ourselves from these thoughts. Therefore, it is our negative thoughts and emotions, and our inappropriate way of dealing with them, that is the true cause of obesity and “lifestyle related diseases”.

So our challenge is to shift our thoughts and emotions-- and to handle the negative ones in a better way. This is the best way to lose weight and gain health. We can enjoy the satisfaction of finishing a really fat book. We can enjoy the achievement of passing a difficult exam. We can enjoy the exertion and effort of sports. Of course, we can enumerate many more positive pursuits. The point is, changing our mental focus is the key.

There are many ways to cultivate a healthy mental environment. We don’t even have to wait. Today, or tomorrow, we can start to think in a different way.

contributing factor: (partial) cause

life style: way of living (eating, sleeping, etc...)

related: connected; caused by

typified by: including; illustrated by

diabetes: blood sugar disease

obesity: very fat, too much fat

surplus: extra; too much

the other day: a few days ago

calorie: energy unit from food

images: pictures

overweight: fat (adj.)

servings: plates of, dishes of, portion

tasting: very small serving

totaled: was a total of

excess: too much, extra

supposed to: should; probably will

reducing: making smaller

portion: amount you eat, serving

unbelievably: incredibly, amazingly

will: mental strength, mind strength

toxic: poison

avoiding: staying away from

to shift: to change (or move)

mental focus: what you concentrate on; what you think about

foci: plural of “focus” (more than one focus)

root causes: deep causes, true/original causes

anxious: nervous

an outlet for: a way to express; a way to get (feelings) out

constantly: always, frequently

to distract: to break concentration, to suddenly think about something else

inappropriate: incorrect; not good for the situation

dealing with: using; trying to solve (something difficult)

challenge: difficult task or problem

to handle: use; deal with; survive/solve a difficult situation

gain: increase, get more

achievement: success, victory

exam: test

exertion: hard effort (usually

physical)

enumerate: list; tell one by one

pursuits: actions, hobbies

the point is: the main idea is

the key: the most important thing/idea

to cultivate: to care for and help grow