You’ll discover, after reading 2 sentences, that this isn’t a post about love or having one’s heart broken. Don’t be disappointed and read on, because what’s written below will not only mend a congested heart, but will save your life, pare.
Heart disease is a public health “Most Wanted”. It’s the No. 1 killer of Filipino men and women. in all probability, you already know that. And it’s likely that you also know the causes or factors that increase the risk of heart attacks. Let’s deal with details and focus on one factor — weight gain.
A study that tracked the health of 21,094 U.S. male doctors for two decades found that the risk of heart failure grew with weight gain. As reported in Yahoo News: “In men who are 5 feet 10 inches tall, for every seven pounds (3.2 kg) of excess body weight, their risk of heart failure rose on average by 11 percent over the next 20 years.”
This news is nothing new to me, as this is the usual line of my doctor. I must lose weight to lower the risk of having a heart attack, he says. He added that I must exercise, eat healthy food, drastically cut down stress, and basically stop living. Ok, I’m exaggerating (and my doctor is a good friend). He’s right, of course. This time I’m cutting on food intake and doing some exercise. Work-related stress is difficult to cut right now, so I’m starting with the driving-related stress. I always have this theory that Metro Manila driving is a major contributor of death (not by collisions or accidents) by increasing blood pressure.
