Despite an abundance of diets, fitness DVDs and health-based media coverage, our population is growing in size.

Two-thirds of people in the UK are already overweight or obese, and some predictions for the future are sobering: the current generation may not live as long as their parents and the death toll from obesity may well surpass that from smoking.

One reason for this is that excess weight makes you more likely to develop heart disease:

  • Your blood pressure can increase and put a strain on your heart.
  • You can get levels of blood cholesterol and blood fats that result in the furring up of your arteries.
  • Your heart can enlarge as it tries to cope with the greater demands a larger body size creates.
  • You are more likely to develop Type II diabetes, which itself puts people at risk of getting heart disease.

Tips for a healthy heart
Here are a couple of starting points for a healthier heart and a healthier size.

  • You are the key. No diet or guru can change your relationship with food and exercise - only you can take on board a healthy lifestyle and stick to it.
  • Drink more water. Not only will it help suppress your appetite naturally (hunger is often a sign of thirst). It will also help you feel less tired, so you can be more active and give your heart a workout. Ditch the fizzy drinks and make a bottle of H2O a permenant accessory.
  • Forget take-a-ways and eating out. Discover the hidden health concious chef in you and cook from scratch. Avoid saturated fat and salt, which are bad news for your heart and arteries, and favour heart-friendly ingredients such as oily fish, soya, fruit and vegetables. Then invite some friends over for a sumptuous meal.
  • Chop up a colourful selection of fruit and vegetables and keep them handy for snacks.
  • Get moving. There is no pill to replace exercise - you are the answer. Walk at every opportunity, take up gardening, rediscover your childhood sports etc.
  • Involve your whole family (healthy habits start in childhood) and friends in your healthy lifestyle. 'The more the merrier' goes the saying and the more heart benefit too.

National Obesity Awareness Week runs from March 12-17. As Louise Diss, director of TOAST (The Obesity Awareness & Solutions Trust), says: "People don't always know what it is to be obese. Even being two to three stones overweight can have a large impact on your health."

For more information about losing weight, healthy living and heart disease, contact TOAST on 01279 866010 or visit the web site www.toast-uk.org