As I advised the last time this fattest vs. fittest report rolled around: You may not be able to do anything about geography -- living in a "fat city" -- but you can apply the principles that I advocate to help you achieve high level health and avoid the traps that will condemn you to a lifetime of weight struggles.

One of your first most important steps toward achieving optimal health is to determine your body's unique metabolic type. This is an important aid in your efforts to start losing weight and learning more about the right kind of foods you would benefit from eating. What may be healthy for others is not necessarily healthy for you.

You can take the free online test and adjust your diet based on the results. It is impotant to remember that the nutritional typing test is just a jump start towards choosing your right foods. Ultimately, no matter what your nutritional type, you will adjust and fine tune your food choices based upon the way you feel after you eat. This is especially true if you are a mixed nutritional type.

Remember: Obesity and overweight are surely influenced by your own individual lifestyle choices; however, cultural factors are also major contributors.

Naturally, these cultural factors are most apparent when you compare the obesity rates of different countries that have totally different diets and lifestyles, but the United States is a diverse place in itself, and each city has its own unique culture and lifestyle.

Therefore, you will want to rethink your lifestyle based on the climate you live in, so you can build your exercise program put in Nov 2004 exercise recommendations accordingly. Simply put, it's easier to get out and be active if it's nice outside. Certain areas are just too hot in the summers or too cold in the winters to go outside and exercise. I highly suggest taking advantage of the nice days and going for long walks. However, if the climate is less than ideal, consider joining a health club or purchasing a couple of pieces of home exercise equipment. (I recommend an elliptical machine.)

One of the keys to exercising is making sure certain minimum thresholds are met. I encourage my overweight patients to gradually increase the amount of time they are exercising to 90 minutes a day. Initially the frequency is daily. This is a treatment dose until they normalize their weight, after which they will only need to exercise three to four times a week.

Finally, eating right and exercising should come naturally to you, regardless of where you may live. You can learn more about incorporating the right exercise program into your life by reading Paul Chek's newest book, How to Eat, Move and Be Healthy!, a perfect complement to my nutritional plan.

Chek's book challenges you to take control of your health and gives you the steps to designing your own individual nutrition and exercise program. You will find the many descriptive "how to" illustrations both easy to follow and implement into your exercise routine.

Related Articles:

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Keep Your Weight Down, Even if you Live in one of the Five Fattest States

The Recent History of Obesity in America