But, it doesn't stop there. One out of every six children, between the ages of two and fifteen, are obese in the United Kingdom compared to one in ten children a decade ago. The bad news is obesity has been linked to such diseases and illnesses as diabetes, hypertension, heart problems, and blood clots. Studies have even found that obesity can lead to a shortened life span.



The good news is you can fight obesity and learn to control your weight if you're willing to commit yourself to it. Following are several ways you can effectively control your weight:

1. Set goals: What do you want to accomplish? Do you want to add physical activity to your schedule? Do you want to cut out the fatty and sugary foods? Set your goals for losing weight before you do anything else.

2. Exercise regularly. The fact is only 40 percent of men in the United Kingdom and 28 percent of women exercise a minimum of a half an hour each week. Exercise is essential to weight loss and to maintaining your ideal weight. Exercising can be as simple as walking instead of taking the bus. Talk with your physician to devise an exercise regiment that is best for your needs.

A word of caution: Before you adjust your diet or begin a regular exercise regiment, be sure that you consult your physician first to determine how many calories a day you should intake and to ensure that you are healthy enough to begin exercising.

3. Drink plenty of water. Cut out the sugary drinks and those drinks that contain caffeine - both also contain plenty of fat. The general rule of thumb is to drink eight glasses of water a day.

4. Create a meal plan. Some medical experts advise, rather than eating three meals a day, eating small meals throughout the day. Talk with your doctor to determine what is best for your individual needs.

5. Surround yourself by those who support you. Combating obesity and losing weight isn't easy, and it's essential that you have a strong support system. In addition to friends and family who support you, you may also want to consider finding a support group in your local community. Support groups are an excellent means of sharing the ups and downs of weight loss with others who are going through the same thing.

6. Keep a daily journal documenting how you've dealt with food each day: For example, write down what you ate, how you felt before you ate, and how you felt after you ate. A daily journal will help you identify behaviours you want to avoid (i.e. overeating because you're upset) and will ensure you remain focused on your goals.

7. Diet Correctly. The word diet strikes fear in the heart of many of us, but diet doesn't have to be a bad word. Learning how to eat healthy is a diet habit that we can do for the rest of our lives.

Most people think of diet as being something that you do until your lose a certain amount of weight, and then you go back to regular eating. This is the precise reason why most diets fail; they are impossible to sustain in the long run.

Learning how to diet right will help you get to a healthy weight and stay there. Staying away from fad diets is vital to losing weight successfully. Low carbohydrate diets are a good example of this.

Millions of people swear by the latest low carb craze, but how many of us know a friend or co-worker who had lost a shocking amount of weight in a short period of time, only to gain it back in an even shorter period? Carbohydrates are an important part of a complete and healthy diet, so they certainly can't be omitted forever. While your body may lose weight while on the diet, you're bound to gain it back when you start eating carbs again.

Everyone knows that too much fat is a bad thing. While certain fats are very good for us, many people on low carb diets are getting too much of the bad fats, i.e. animal fats. It is a shame that people are so concerned with losing weight that they lose sight of the fact that their wonder diet may actually be doing their body harm.

Losing weight can be a struggle, but you don't have to go through it alone. Follow the preceding tips, and you'll be well on your way to a new, healthier you. Remember, in the end, losing weight is all about you becoming healthier: It's not about becoming thinner.