Monday 10 March 2008

Oi... Fatty!


Overweight, fat, obese… however you put it, I’m more cuddly than doctors would like me to be.

I’m certainly not alone - 22% of Britons are obese and three-quarters are overweight. In many ways those stats are quite surprising… it’s been almost impossible to avoid the health drive that we’ve experience recently: 5-a-day, exercise this, gym-that… and yet, obesity seems to carry on growing! (no pun intended).

It’s not just the obvious shortness of breath that I can identify with, it’s the loads of the following common obesity-linked symptoms:

* problems with the joints and bones (such as slipped femoral epiphysis and bow legs),
* headaches and strained vision
* hypoventilation (leading to drowsiness during the day, snoring and even heart failure)
* gall bladder disease
* high blood pressure
* high levels of blood fats and diabetes.
* There are also marked psychological effects leading to low self-esteem.

(Source: BBC Health)

The Challenge

I want to see if it’s possible to put a lot of this behind me. I want to feel better, to lose the headaches, to reduce the risk of high blood pressure and to be able to jog up the stairs and not start sweating.

So, it’s time to make a change… and there’s no motivation like setting yourself a tough goal.

I am going to run the Ropley 10k Road Race on Sunday, 25th May 2008 – I’ve never run that kind of distance before (the last run of this kind I did would be a blue peter fun run when I was a nipper).

I am going to knuckle down and see what it takes to improve your fitness. Will having a firm target work? I have no idea.

Over the coming weeks I will post photos, comments and audio on here so you can follow my progress. Other members of the mid-morning team will also post their thoughts and encouragement here too, and you can join in as well by posting a comment on any post you fancy.

So, with a little over 10 weeks to go, I must admit I’m actually quite nervous…. Wish me luck!

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Disclaimer

The views expressed on this blog are not those of the BBC.