Mega Red Packet

by Dr C.S. Foo Men turn into apples and women become pears. The twin factors of sedentary lifestyle and one meal too many lead to an expanding waistline, facilitated by male hormones. Females put on weight around the hips, buttocks and thighs. Interestingly, when the ovarian door closes in menopause, the distribution of fat becomes concentrated in the abdomen, once again auguring well for sexual equality. The body mass index (BMI) is popularly used to gauge obesity, but one can have normal BMI and yet carry unseen excess fat. Why all this fuss about fats? Obesity is obviously linked to a host of maladies but it is the dangers of hidden fat that needs to be urgently unmasked. Fat Cells There are an estimated 40 billion fat cells (adipocytes) in the adult body, soaring to thrice that level in some cases. Each fat cell contains essentially a large droplet of fat, much like a balloon filled with liquid. It was thought that fat (adipose tissue) is merely a passive sto...

You may have noticed that many people above thirty starts to develop a 'beer belly'. As visceral and subcutaneous fat starts to build up, most people do not realize the danger signs that their health is at risk. What is Visceral Fat? Visceral Fat refers to the fats that surrounds our vital organs and is located in the stomach area. It is not the fat that lies under your skin though. That is called subcutaneous fat. Visceral Fat is deeper within. Studies have shown that the more visceral fat you carry in your body, the higher your body develops insulin resistance, which leads to type 2 diabetes. High visceral fats also makes a person more prone to stroke, heart diseases and hypertension. Although visceral fat is easier to lose as compared to subcutaneous fat, most people pay no attention to it because they do not understand the dangers of how visceral fat can affect their health as it is hidden and not visible. They usually pay more attention to subcutaneou...

Diabetes mellitus, or commonly referred to as diabetes, is a group of metabolic diseases characterised by recurrent or persistent hyperglycemia (high sugar or glucose level in the blood). People with diabetes are either not producing enough insulin or their cells are unable to respond well to the insulin produced. Insulin is produced by the beta cells of the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas. In Singapore, diabetes affects 10 percent of its population and is one of the top six killers. The 3 main types of diabetes are: • Type 1 diabetes • Type 2 diabetes • Gestational diabetes Type 1 diabetes Type 1 diabetes results from the body’s inability to produce insulin, requiring the person to inject insulin. This type of diabetes is due to the loss of beta cells of the islets of Langerhans, which may be immune-mediated or idiopathic. There are no known preventive measures against type 1 diabetes. The cause of this type is partly inherited and then triggered by certain...

Hypertension or high blood pressure is a chronic medical condition where the blood pressure is constantly elevated. The blood pressure of a normal person is less than 120/80 mm Hg. Levels between 120/80 and 139/89 are considered as pre-hypertension. Hypertension is diagnosed when the levels are above 140/90 and usually 3 separate readings are taken over several weeks. The device used to measure blood pressure is called a sphygmanometer. It consists of an arm cuff, dial, pump and valve. Nowadays, battery operated sphgymanometers are available. This allows people who are of higher risks to own one for home used and monitoring purpose without the need of a health professional. However, they still need to go for routine check up and seek advice from their general practitioner What do the numbers in the reading represent? The first number represents systolic pressure, the pressure exerted by the blood flowing away from the heart while the second number represents the pressu...