A brisk walk help reduce the risk of obesity

Mongkol yesterday led public health officials in a 2.4-kilometre walk as part of a monthly campaign to encourage officials, and the public, to do exercise.

Mongkol said the fats stored in abdomen caused fat acids to pour into liver, affecting insulin and blood sugar levels and thus increasing the risk of diabetes than those with no big belly. Once diabetes had been contracted, the patient was at three times the risk of coronary artery disease and stroke, he added.

To avoid such life-threatening afflictions, Mongkol advised people to exercise more, eat more vegetables and avoid sweet, salty or fatty food. People wishing to maintain their current weight should exercise three times a week for more than 30 minutes a time, and those wanting to lose weight should do aerobic exercise for more than 45 minutes per session along with weight-lifting to create muscle. Those aged 40-50 years old should exercise five times a week and the best way was to take a brisk walk for an hour a day, which would reduce the risk of obesity by 24 per cent, he added.

He cited a study programme in which overweight people who started to walk for half an hour a day, five days a week and ate low-fat food lost 5-7 per cent of their weight. A four-year follow-up found that the prevalence of diabetes among the subjects was lowered by 5-10 per cent and they reduced abdomen fat by 30 per cent on average.