The Power of Metabolism - A Giant Problem

Sections

Chapter: A Giant Problem

Introduction

The material reality of our body dictates inescapable patterns of genetic and metabolic order. It has been evidenced that through the ages human beings gradually adapt through changes in their metabolism in response to their eating habits and culture. In addition, our body needs physical activity for its proper functioning and thus regulate the energy balance that results in a healthy body weight and composition.

The transformation of our imaginary about weight and our healthy body shape has undergone a radical change in the last century; at the beginning of the last century it was understood that body composition with a high fat content was synonymous with health and abundance, while today it is understood that being slim and fit or with a body composition with a low body fat content ensures a healthy life and distanced from pathological and disease processes.

As social beings we develop and function within a socio-economic model or system that in recent decades has increased the promotion and advertising of food products that facilitate the increase of fat tissue in the body mass. The consequences of such unrestraint have led to obesity at epidemic levels, both in children and adults. On the other hand, the promotion and marketing of quick and supposedly miraculous remedies to lose weight and reduce fat tissue has also found its market, but with dangerous, transitory and inappropriate results.

As a plastic surgeon, I have been able to appreciate the magnitude of the metabolic dietary problem, which is usually accompanied by physical inactivity. In addition, the psychological effect of a self-perception that tends to diminish self-esteem and facilitates the development of apathy and depression that do not allow to get out of the trap of overweight and obesity. My patients in the search to improve their self-esteem request cosmetic surgical procedures, for which sometimes they are not good candidates, due to the high content of body fat tissue. Thus, a system is needed that both controls weight, decreases body fat mass and improves overall health. Such a system requires the acquisition of knowledge and understanding of food processes and dietary routines in quality, quantity and frequency in order to achieve effective, persistent and healthy results.

Through his practice and research trajectory, Frank Suarez has achieved for more than a decade successful results through healthy nutrition education, motivation and effective follow-up. This process of struggle and persistence has matured with the publication of The Power of Metabolism, which gives us the opportunity to compress more than ten years of experience and effective practice of a systematic and dynamic method to achieve results regarding overweight, obesity and optimize our health by understanding our metabolism.

It is important to understand that there is no easy or quick way out of the problems of obesity and overweight. Therefore, knowledge of our metabolism is a useful and necessary tool for an energetic and healthy life. Frank in this book manages to integrate practical knowledge that everyone should have.

Dr. Carlos Portocarrero Plastic Surgeon