Best New Year Health Resolutions

When the clock strikes midnight on the last day of the year, the beginning of a new one is welcomed with cheer. So, what are you resolving to do?

The New Year brings with it new dreams and aspirations, but it's also when many people make their New Year Resolutions. Several research reports indicate that in 2011 the top pledges were related to weight, diet and health.

Losing weight is one of the most popular New Year's resolutions, but it's one that doesn't tend to be kept with most people giving up by February. To achieve your New Year resolution, it is essential that you keep the goals reasonable and stay focused.  The first step to losing weight in the New Year is to decide a realistic goal for yourself; a 3-4 kg weight loss per month is the recommended rate at which you should be aiming at.

How Can you Lose Weight

The best way to lose weight is to evaluate your Body Mass Index (BMI) and determine from this how much work is needed to be done. To lose weight there isn’t one successful formula for everyone; your weight loss regimes and techniques need to be customised as per your BMI.  These methods of weight loss can be followed to achieve the set goals for different BMI ranges.

Above 18.5 - 25 BMI: If your BMI value is anywhere between (above) 18.5 and 25, then you are within the healthy weight range. Keep following a healthy diet and exercise plan to maintain your weight and health.

Over 25 but lesser than 32.5 BMI:  You are considered to be over-weight in relation to your height. It is very important to consider making some lifestyle changes at this stage to shed the extra pounds. Having a weight-loss plan can make the journey of losing weight easier. Determine how many calories your body requires every day and then track your calorie intake. You can also enrol for weight loss programs which promote lifestyle changes and diet modifications.

Over 32.5: A BMI of over 32.5 is considered obese/morbidly obese. This is also known as the point of no return as it is very difficult to achieve long term, sustained weight-loss with a rising BMI, because the set point of energy equilibrium in the body starts shifting. This results in various abnormalities in the metabolic hormones which are responsible for maintaining this equilibrium. So it is vital to seek medical advice before you step into a pre-diabetic stage or a stage best described as the metabolic syndrome.

At this stage, most non-surgical weight-loss programs - based on a combination of diet, medication, behavioural changes and regular exercise - won't work for you. Such programs only work for one out of 20 morbidly obese individuals. Most who participate in such programs regain the weight within a year and subject themselves to serious health risks from a continuous cycle of weight loss and weight gain.

Should you Go for Weight Loss Surgery?

So if one hits a BMI of 40, it is imperative to seek clinical intervention and visit a bariatric surgeon. Bariatric surgery - or weight loss surgery - is a type of procedure performed on people who are obese, for the purpose of losing weight. This weight-loss is usually achieved by reducing the size of the stomach with an implanted medical device (gastric banding) or through the removal of a portion of the stomach (sleeve gastrectomy or biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch) or by resecting and re-routing the small intestines to a small stomach pouch (gastric bypass surgery). Bariatric surgery is known to resolve the metabolic problems in the body.

Long-term studies show that bariatric procedures cause significant long-term loss of weight, recovery from diabetes, improvement in cardiovascular risk factors, and a reduction in mortality from 40 to 23 percent.

Dr. Jayashree Todkar, Laparoscopic, Gastrointestinal and Obesity Surgeon Consultant, Ruby Hall Clinic, Pune and Dr L H Hiranandani Hospital, Powai, Mumbai.

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