Same Calories, Same Amount of Exercise, Bigger Waistline

Same Calories, Same Amount of Exercise, Bigger Waistline
Why It's Harder to Be Skinnier Today Than 30 Years Ago

Researchers have found that millenials (born in the 1980s - 2000s) weigh more now than their parents did in the 70s and 80s, even if they were eating the same amount of calories and doing the same amount of exercise. BMIs of millenials were up 2.3 points higher in 2006 than someone of the same age in 1988. These studies show that weight loss is no longer as simple as calories in versus calories out. 

So what else is affecting our waistlines adversely?

Most evidence points to endocrine disruptors and excess hormones in our food and envrionment. Endocrine disruptors are things that can interfere with the hormone systems in the body. Examples of hormones include:

~T3 and T4 (thyroid hormones) - Regulate the body's metabolism

~Cortisol -  Helps the body react to stressful situations

~Estrogen - Female hormone (found in both men and women)

~Testosterone - Male hormone (found in both men and women)

~Leptin - Decrease of appetite and increase of metabolism

~Amylin - Helps you feel full and inhibits digestive secretion

The list goes on and there are over 50 different hormones circulating throughout the human body. After reading through the ones above, however, it becomes easy to see how changing the levels of hormones in the body can cause easier weight gain. Many hormones affect metabolism, fat storage, appetite, and digestion. Even if you are exercising a lot and eating very little, if your hormone levels are off, you might still be carrying around more weight than you want to.

Where do endocrine diruptors and excess hormones come from?

In today's world, it is very easy to absorb these things from our food and environment. 


The 5 biggest sources are:

~Meat Products - Hormones are added to meat products to help animals grow faster and eat less.

~Dairy Products - Cows are given hormones in order to produce more milk and to produce it constantly.

~Make-up and Beauty Products - Many endocrine diruptors in the forms of different chemicals are put into make-up, hair care products, and skin care products. This is one of the reasons women are more susceptible to autoimmune diseases.

~Food and Water Storage Containers - Many of the plastics contain chemical endocrine disruptors, which is why it is a good idea to switch to glass food and water containers.

~Non-Organic Food - Pesticides are huge endocrine disruptors. While they like to say that our body doesn't absorb them, it is easy to find research showing that our fat cells are more full of pesticides than ever before, and rising.



What can you do?

It is very important to buy meat and dairy products that are hormone and antibiotic free. Try to find beauty products that don't contain synthetic chemicals and try to wear and use less stuff on your body. Switch over to glass food and water storage containers. Finally, stop eating pesticides! Organic food is worth it. Not only does organic food contain higher nutrient levels which our bodies need, they contain much less chemicals than their non-organic counterparts. Making a change to even just one of these things will help decrease the effect on your hormone system!



yours in health,
dr samantha boldt