(and more alarmingly in children) and that this is causing almost a “Time Bomb” effect on Society with its association with High Blood Pressure amongst other things

OK this is by and large true but if we are not careful we can go too much to the other extreme. As they say two wrongs don’t make a right and not all body fat or the consumption of fat is evil.

In days of old, the consumption of fat was a treat and something to be eaten with Breads etc. In our haste to welcome in the Brave New World of the Fat Free Society we may have actually pushed the Pendulum too far the other way. Not all fats are bad and indeed our bodies need some fats from food in order to fully function at all. The consumption of fat is necessary for energy reserves and provides a natural supply of Vitamins A, D and E and also some essential Fatty Acids.

There is awful lot of talk about percentage Body Fat, Body Mass Index, Body Fat ratios etc. In this case the area we are concerned about is the overall amount of Body Fat as a percentage of total body weight. If, when you weigh yourself the scales tell you that your weight is 140 lbs and of this, 35 lbs od it is fat then your body fat percentage is 25%.

Working out your body fat percentage is essential to this aspect of lowering and treating High Blood Pressure. A quick way to accomplish this is to use a Body fat scale or Bioelectrical Impedance Analyser. These are appearing more and more now in Pharmacies, Drugstores and Fitness Gyms. They can also be purchased for use in the home also.

Keeping an eye on your body fat is the best way to making sure that you are losing fat and gaining muscle. The key here is not to measure this too often as Body Fat changes don’t often show up in small changes. Check everything every 4- 8 weeks and you should have a rough idea of where you are heading.