Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Why Losing Even a Pound or Two Matters

From Dr. Robert Schneider, MD*:

"Your heart, which is the size of your closed fist, is a small, overworked muscle, pumping 24/7. And for every extra pound of fat you carry, your body has to grow seven new miles of blood vessels -- primarily capillaries but also small arteries (arterioles) and small veins (venules) -- and your heart has to work that much harder. Put on two pounds and that’s fourteen new miles of blood vessels; fifty extra pounds requires 350 miles of new blood vessels. On and on, do the math.

But good news: the opposite is true. For every pound of fat you lose, your body sheds seven miles of blood vessels. They just re-absorb, break down, and get excreted. Lose two pounds and that’s fourteen miles of blood vessels gone, lightening your heart and body’s load.

Repeat this out loud to yourself: even a little is a lot. Let it be your mantra."

*[I]Robert G. Schneider, M.D. former Chief of Medicine in the Strategic Air Command, and  Senior Attending Physician Emeritus, Departments of Medicine and Cardiology of Norwalk Hospital.[/I]

1 comment:

  1. From January 2010 - December 2010, I lost 60 pounds. I can't believe that my heart gets to pump blood through 840 fewer miles of blood vessels. No wonder I have more energy!!!

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