Lifestyle habits that weigh on your weight

Your weight should be a yearlong, even lifelong, period of awareness and prevention of obesity.

Obesity is a growing global concern, and is a major cause of death. It has been linked to cancer, heart disease, diabetes and many other lifestyle-related illnesses.

Here are the four lifestyle habits that play a major factor on your weight.

1 Got milk? Got excess pounds. A study has indicated that it is more difficult for an individual to lose weight if the diet contains a high amount of milk protein. Scientists at Cornell found out that the body generates more heat (thus consuming more calories) when it is functioning on a diet that is lower in animal protein, thus making it easier to lose weight.

2 More physical activity. Health experts have pointed out that increasing physical activity not only helps control stress and food cravings, but also speeds up metabolism. Consequently, less physical activity leads the other way.

3 Carbs help you lose weight. Carbohydrates should make up the bulk of the diet (between 55 and 70 percent). They provide the most efficient and readily available source of energy for our bodies.

Dr. Neil Nedley, a preventive medicine expert and author of “Proof Positive,” said that “the brain and nervous system tissues use carbohydrates almost exclusively for energy. Carbohydrates will act to detoxify harmful substances that are manufactured by or taken into our bodies.”

He added that “complex carbohydrates are abundant in vegetables as well as in whole grains such as rice, whole grain pasta and potatoes.”

The PCRM said that “a diet rich in complex carbohydrates and fiber is the best way to address the problem of obesity, which is one of the major reasons for the insensitivity to insulin that characterizes diabetes.”

It suggested eating healthful carbohydrates, such as whole grains, pasta, brown rice and sweet potatoes, but said that white bread and white rice are not as healthful a choice because they have lost much of their fiber and other nutrients and tend to have a higher glycemic index.

4 Plant-based diet during pregnancy. Babies born to mothers who love meat may become stressful and obese.

In 2012, Inquirer Science/Health interviewed balik scientist Custer Deocaris about babies benefiting from the mother’s plant-based diet. He cited a study by Malaysian scientist Hamid Jan titled “Higher intake of fruits and vegetables in pregnancy is associated with birth size,” which showed that babies born to mothers who eat more meat than fruits and vegetables become more stressful.

“The HPA, or hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (or stress response), of the baby is altered by pregnant mothers’ vegetable consumption. Obesity, too, can be programmed in the genes by maternal overnutrition. Weirdly, what you eat while you’re pregnant determines how your baby will eat when it becomes an adult,” he said.