I read this story in the Daily Mail (click here for story). It suggests that the reason 2 thirds of the UK population is overweight or obese, is because of central heating. The thinking goes, if we are in a warm cosy environment (like a centrally heated room) our bodies don’t have to burn so many calories to keep us warm. Now that is a very good theory, and it sounds totally plausible to me. It is true, the colder your body, the more calories it burns to maintain your body temperature…BUT GET REAL!
The reason more than half of us are overweight has nothing to do with the temperature, it is to do with eating too many pies!
Masai tribesmen – These guys are so fat because they live in a warm climate(!)
I dare you to go to Kenya and tell the Masai tribesmen (pictured on the right), that the reason you are fat is because you spend most of your time in a temperature of 20 -25 degrees! The climate there is a hell of a lot hotter, but you don’t see too many obese Masai. I’m sorry. I just got a bit pissed off when I read that story. It just struck me as another thing that can prevent people from improving their health by losing some excess weight. Please don’t over-complicate things any more than they already seem to be. The reason so many of us are over weight has nothing to do with:
- Central heating
- Big bones
- Glands
- Fruit(?)
- Genetics
- “Muscle weighing more than fat”
- Water retention
- Alien abduction
- Pixies/fairies/goblins
It is because
we consume more calories than we burn.
And the sooner we accept that and stop trying to find scape-goats, the sooner we can all help each other deal with it.
For basic info on weight control, follow the links below:
An absolute beginners guide to losing weight
10 simple rules to healthy eating
Influence on weight