“Waist management”

It appears that whenever the rains start our annual ritual of discussing waste management is set in drive mode; counting dead bodies who have succumbed to cholera and many other preventable causes. Waist management on the other hand rarely gets front page attention but as we may have read recently as our waist lines balloon, the cases of the menacing disease called Diabetes continues to increase. The number of days lost from work also continues to increase with lower back/waist pain being one of the major culprits.

It is about time to draw attention to “waist management” for a much healthier and wealthier world. A measurement such as Body Mass Index (BMI) may sometimes be deceptive but there is no hiding from measuring one’s waist circumference. The bigger one’s waist circumference the greater the risk of flirting with conditions such as:

• Diabetes

• High Blood Pressure

• High Cholesterol

• Osteoarthritis

• Some Cancers

• Cardiovascular Disease (Heart and blood vessel disease) including strokes and heart attacks.

The list continues unabated. A ballooned waist is a great indicator of being overweight or even obese and I can bet my last pesewa that you will not need a second opinion to confirm this diagnoses.

The trials of an “abused” waist do not end with the diseases above. Pain is another enemy of the waist and many people will describe an episode of severe waist pain as “the worst pain in my life”. Do not underestimate the crippling effect of this pain.

Poor posture has been criminalised in many instances of waist pain but stress, spread of certain cancers, degenerative disease, referred pain and infections are a few other causes.

WATCH THESE THINGS

• A soft mattress is a guarantee of future waist protest

• Sitting for long periods is a prescription for many lifestyle diseases and definitely an invitation to waist pain; take frequent breaks from sitting.

• Bending at the waist is suicidal. One day you may just not be able to straighten up your body. Put the strain on your thigh instead.

• Watching a movie in a couch may be thrilling but be careful especially if you put your head on the armrest and have the rest of your body “curved” – your waist and neck bear the brunt.

• Twisting at the core while your feet are firmly planted on the floor or your butt is fixed in a chair may lead to waist pain. It is best to turn your whole body to receive or pick an object or make proper use of your swivel chair if you use one.

• Carrying an anterior bulge is a sure bet for waist pain. We have to find the magic combination that gets rid off or prevents one from acquiring a “potbelly”.

Waist Management may not be that tedious after all BUT remember it is a life-long commitment. We should not wait for the rains to start and neither should we make it a political campaign slogan (not a bad idea though). Let us make all efforts to adopt these,

COMMON SENSE ADVISE FOR APPROPRIATE WAIST MANAGEMENT

• Exercise regularly

o Even brisk walking (with intervals) can be a wonderful start but for managing waist pain, ensure you have the right footwear

o Do not be caught exercising without “paying homage” to :

? Planks and reverse Planks

? Balance Training or Core Strengthening

• Watch your food portions, time and frequency of meals.

o Be careful of what you drink especially high energy/ high sugar content products will cause your waist line to explode

o Increase fruit and vegetable intake

o Cut down salt, sugar and fats and oils

o Never smoke nor inhale another person’s smoke and minimise alcohol.

• Get regular medical checkups so that diseases discussed above may be nipped in their early stage.

• Make sure you adopt the appropriate posture as often as humanly possible.

It is extremely important to keep not only our bodies clean, but our surroundings should also be well taken care of. We need to adopt the habit of speaking up when others are creating filth and just dumping them in inappropriate areas. At the end of the day the ill effects of bad choices made by others may harm us simply because we kept quiet “minding our own business”.

Next time when you hear or discuss waste management, remember your waist also needs to be managed to ensure a productive country and world.

AS ALWAYS LAUGH OFTEN, WALK AND PRAY EVERYDAY AND REMEMBER IT’S A PRICELESS GIFT TO KNOW YOUR NUMBERS (blood sugar, blood pressure, blood cholesterol, BMI)

Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel

Moms’ Health Club/Health Essentials Ltd

(www.healthclubsgh.com)

Dr. Essel is a medical doctor, holds an MBA and is ISSA certified in exercise therapy and fitness nutrition.

Thought for the week – “If you are over 50 years and have never experienced waist pain, then you belong to that rare group of gems. Keep up the good work.”