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At least one-third of Americans are 20% or more overweight.
Fat should account for up to 25% of body weight in a healthy woman, and 17 percent in a health man.
Individuals who weigh more than 20% above their supposed "ideal body weight" may be judged as obese.
Obesity significantly increases the risk of premature death, heart attack, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, arteriosclerosis, gall bladder disease, arthritis, and certain cancers.
20-50% of adult Americans are currently on a diet; $30 billion is spent on diet aids annually.
According to the CDC, a 10 percent weight loss will reduce an overweight person's lifetime medical costs by $2,200 to $5,300.
Each year 300,000 people die from obesity-related diseases.

Obesity is implicated as a risk factor for many different disorders

  • Diabetes mellitus
  • Artery hypertension (high blood pressure)
  • Impaired heart function
  • Myocardial (heart) infarction
  • Cholesterol or triglycerid problem
  • Gallstones
  • Respiratory diseases
  • Peripheral vein detriment (varicose veins)
  • Some cancers like breast, colon and prostate cancer
  • Skin diseases
  • Digestive alterations
  • Urinary incontinence
  • Orthopedic injuries
  • Sterility and infertility

The main causes of being overweight or obese are eating too much and/or not being active enough. If you eat more calories than your body burns up, the extra calories are stored as fat. Everyone has some stored fat. Too much fat results in being overweight or obese.

Other factors that may affect your weight include your genes (obesity tends to run in families), your metabolism (how your body processes food), your racial/ethnic group, and your age. Sometimes an illness or medicine can contribute to weight gain.

Children become overweight for a variety of reasons. The most common causes are genetic factors, lack of physical activity, unhealthy eating patterns, or a combination of these factors. In rare cases, a medical problem, such as an endocrine disorder, may cause a child to become overweight. Your physician can perform a careful physical exam and some blood tests, if necessary, to rule out this type of problem.

Click to see if your weight is in the danger zone

Acupressure and Acupressure: Many studies have found both acupuncture and acupressure to have beneficial effects on weight. Acupuncture is believed to promote weight loss by stimulating points on the body that boost serotonin levels. (Elevated serotonin levels are thought to suppress appetite.) One well-designed study found that people who received electrical acupuncture of the ear (auricular acupuncture) experienced a reduction in appetite.

The ear is considered a microsystem of the body. Every part of the body — including internal organs, the brain, bones, etc. — is said to be represented on the ear. It is suggested that we can contact the "energy" of the body and target specific organs by placing tiny needles in certain points of the ear. .

Herbs: Many herbs such as kola nut, bitter orange, ginseng, astralgulus and licorice root can help you lose weight. Peppermint tea aids digestion and green tea are excellent for rejuvenation. Certain aid weight loss. Ginger, cayenne pepper & mustard increases metabolism; cinnamon, bay leaf and clove control blood sugar levels and diminish cravings. .

 
Obesity, Excess Weight and Electro-Acupuncture
...Electroacupuncture was given to 62 children with constitutional exogenic obesity and the children's body mass and lipid metabolism were monitored both before and after the treatment....
Acupuncture and Weight Loss: Relief for Anxiety and Cravings
...After eight weeks, Dr. Kuruvilla and his team discovered that those who received acupuncture while decreasing their caloric intake and exercising daily lost an average of 10 pounds, while the control group (no acupuncture) lost an average of three pounds...
Treatment of obesity by acupuncture
...Twenty-four subjects ranging from 5 to 33% above ideal weight were weighted during a 3-week control period, and then treated for the successive 9 weeks with acupuncture therapy given in three different loci, and in random order for 3-week periods...
Acupuncture And Obesity
...Acupuncture treatment weekly for 8 weeks (15 minutes per session) with needling of the Shen Men, mouth, stomach, small intestine, and endocrine points. Patients also consumed a 2000-calorie/d diet and increased physical activity...
Acupuncture for Weight Loss
..acupuncture is effective in making it easier to lose and maintain that loss if the patient is willing to change their lifestyle...
  Service the San Francisco Bay Area since 1994. Voted the best acupuncturist in Sunnyvale!
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