Reporting in.

Here is my story.

I'm the 60 year old husband.

My 60 year-old husband is very overweight, mostly around his belly. I have tried over the years to get him to lose weight but he is very stubborn. He was a fit footballer until his early 20s, but since stopping sport has gradually put on weight. He likes his beer, and loves his food. I am worried about his overall health and the possibility of heart attacks down the line. Any suggestions?

Answer:

I can understand your concern over your partner's health. Being overweight (especially if a man's waist measurement is more than 100cm) raises the risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

The good news though is that losing excess weight and doing regular exercise can reduce the risk of these health problems.

One of the main challenges is motivation for change. Some choose not to alter their lifestyles because they are in denial about their state of health or they are unaware of the health implications of carrying excess weight. Others see it as being all too hard.

Yet even small changes can be beneficial. Becoming more active (eg, climbing stairs at work and walking to the corner store), taking up exercise like a daily 30-minute walk and slowly eating less calories and saturated fat can all have profound effects on long-term health. And often the lifestyle changes can be introduced gradually so it's not too much of a shock to the system.

Perhaps as a first step you could encourage your husband to see his GP for a check-up. This consultation may include tests for blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes if these have not been done for a while. One organisation I have found which can help men to lose weight is GutBusters.

So, here goes.

Hi welcome to a fellow Aussie ,nice to see a bloke here ,I found you after you visited our Aussie chick site ,please feel free for your lovely wife or yourself to drop in and say Hi.
There are a few men on the site (my Hubbie should be one of then lol ) look after yourself and good luck with dropping that extra weight
Butter Ball No More

G'day ladies, thanks for calling into GutBusters.

Just been reading this article, what do you think?

Aussies 'kid themselves' about weight.

More Australians are overweight or obese than 10 years ago but many are kidding themselves about how fat they really are, a study shows.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) national health survey of almost 26,000 people found 62 per cent of men and 45 per cent of women are overweight or obese.

However, only 32 per cent of men and 37 per cent of women see themselves that way.

A decade ago, a similar survey found just over half of men and 37 per cent of women were classed as being too heavy.

In the latest study, done in 2004/05, the problem was most pronounced in the older age groups.

In the 55-64 age group, 72 per cent of men and 58 per cent of women are classified as overweight or obese.

But at the younger - and opposite - end of the scale, one in 10 women aged 18-24 are considered underweight.

CSIRO Human Nutrition's senior research dietician Manny Noakes said the high number of overweight men who failed to see themselves as fat was particularly worrying.

"More men don't acknowledge that they have a problem than women and that's a major issue," said Dr Noakes, co-author of the CSIRO's Total Well Being Diet which has sold more than 500,000 copies.

"In general it is true that men tend to bury their heads in the sand.

"Women are very interested in their weight because it's an aesthetic thing. Men tend to be less interested."

Dr Noakes said talking to men about the positives of losing weight, such as being able to play more with their children and the possibility of better sexual function, may work better than focusing on negative issues such as heart disease and diabetes.

Paul O'Brien, director of Monash University's Centre for Obesity said the progressive increase in the number of overweight and obese Australians since 1995 was frightening.

"In spite of all the efforts that we've made to prevent the problem, we haven't even started to slow down the increase of the problem," he said.

"It's frightening to think that almost everybody will be overweight if we keep going the way we're going.

"It's also frightening that all the publicity about the need to eat better, the need to exercise and be active hasn't made any impact at all. In fact, we're losing ground."

Prof O'Brien said he would like to see general practitioners regularly measuring their patients' height, weight and waist circumferences as part of annual health checks to make patients more aware of the problem.

The ABS survey also found more people are drinking alcohol at risky levels compared with the previous study done five years ago.

In the week prior to the interview, 13 per cent of adults had drunk alcohol at levels considered high risk, compared with 11 per cent in 2001.

The highest proportion of risky drinkers were in the 55-64 age group with 18 per cent of men and 13 per cent of women drinking alcohol at levels hazardous to their health.

Levels of smoking remained virtually unchanged since the last survey with about one in four adults hooked on cigarettes.

Source: AAP News Service

G'day folks.

Reporting in for Weight Check Parade.

Still going, slow but steady.

G'day folks.

Reporting in for Weight Check Parade.

Still going, slow but steady.

Still here.

Hi BlueP
Great to hear that you are still in their fighting the good fight .
I am sad to say I have not been looking after me, so I will try to get back to the healthier me I really need to be, thanks for the inspiration to get back to it. I think I need a good Butter ball no more

Hi Blue, Congratulations on your loss. Slow and steady is the way to go. If it takes longer, hopefully we'll learn how to maintain it, right. Interesting article, I think here that there isn't as much societal pressure on men to worry about their weight. So if they're a few pounds heavier, it doesn't bother them as much as it does most women. Just my opinion of course.

My husband has been losing weight along with me. It has been much slower for him mainly because he didn't need to lose as much as I did. But he's just cut back on sweets and candys and is eating the same thing I do at dinner. Still he's lost about 35 lbs without a lot of big changes.

Good luck on your continued success!

Thanks Tammy and best wishes to you and your husband.

Still going.

Still going.

Still going and it's now the Cricket season.

Cheers.

Still here.

The way to go - GutBusters

Fitness means less belly fat - Click here for Report