Muffin tops. Lard ass. Jelly belly. Sound familiar? Here is your no-diet secret weapon.

The words we use to describe those bits of our bodies we’re unhappy with.

The hips that ooze over the tops of our low-rise jeans, the bum that seems to spread ever wider when squeezed into this season’s white pants, the belly that jiggles under tight-fitting T-shirts. “Modern living is rapidly leading to a sedentary life. Urban, middle-class women, supported by advanced technology in the home as well as affordable domestic help, are succumbing to obesity,” says Dr Uton Muchtar Rafei, regional director of the World Health Organisation (WHO).

SLEEP
Who would have thought that missing out on a few hours’ kip could add centimetres to your thighs? Well, scientists now believe that sleep deprivation increases levels of a hunger hormone and decreases levels of a hormone that makes you feel full, which may lead to overeating.

Eve van Cauter, a scientist researching the hormones affected by sleep, says when we don’t get enough sleep, levels of the hormone ghrelin increase. Ghrelin tells our bodies we’re hungry. Leptin, the hormone which signals satiety, drops when we haven’t slept. In a study published in the Annals of Medicine, van Cauter limited 12 men to four hours sleep for two consecu- tive nights. Their leptin levels dropped by 18% and ghrelin levels increased by 28% — and they craved carbohydrate-rich foods.

Getting six to eight hours of solid sleep every night is your first step to keeping that hunger hormone at bay, and halting that nasty midnight snack habit.

STRESS
These days, we blame virtually everything on stress. But, in this case, there may be a good argument for it. The stress of feeling constantly rushed may lead you to eat fast food or sugary snacks to keep you going. It’s easy to munch on a jam donut while waiting out an early-morning traffic jam, but impossible to prepare a bowl of oats in your car.

The danger though, warns dietician Petro Rautenbach of Anne Till & Associates, is that convenience foods often leave us feeling hungry because the portion consumed is small in proportion to the kilojoules consumed. “For example, a single jam donut weighs 55g and yields about 800kJ, while a tossed tuna salad could weigh 350g and yields an equivalent 800kJ.

“One’s sense of satiety comes in part from the volume of food in one’s stomach. When we choose convenience high-fat and high-sugar foods that are low in nutrients and fibre, we easily consume high volumes because we never feel full or satisfied — this leads to excessive kilojoule intake,” she says.

And many of us use food (or alcohol) as a stress-reliever. “There’s a very strong case for linking stress to comfort eating, especially for women,” says clinical psychologist Cari Corbet-Owen in her book Mind Over Fatter Morsels. “One of the reasons women comfort eat more than men has to do with our biochemistry. Serotonin fuels the limbic system, which rules the emotional centre of the brain and determines how we see the world.

SECURITY
It’s a fact. Parents are too afraid to let their children ride their bikes in the neighbourhood; women can’t walk alone; spaces earmarked for recreation have become a haven for muggers. South Africa’s bestloved symbol of tourism, Table Mountain, suffered more than 30 muggings last year, and there have been several reported rapes and attacks in small parks along the peninsula. Similar statistics exist for recreational spaces in Johannesburg, and in KwaZulu- Natal holidaymakers staying at beachfront hotels have been warned not to jog alone.

So, kids stay indoors and watch DVDs while moms arrange to meet their friends at restaurants for kilojoule-rich fare rather than go on a hike. Exercise has been sacrifi ced for safety.

TECHNOLOGY
Turn on the TV — use the remote control; phone a friend — use your cellphone from the comfort of your couch; shop for groceries — order online; entertain the kids — pop in a DVD…

Modern technology has spawned a generation of sofa slouches. The devices designed to make life easier are having a detrimental effect on our health. To make contact, be entertained, or eat a meal, we barely have to move a muscle. So we’re burning fewer kilojoules. “While technology has reduced the time it takes to perform specific tasks, mechanisation has been accompanied by an increasing perception of lack of time or lack of control over activities that are beneficial to health. It is easier to ride than to walk, it is easier to eat a fast food meal than to prepare a salad,” says Dr Rafei.

Concern over how video games have impacted on children’s physical activity levels — and consequently led to escalating obesity statistics — has now led to the development of exercise machines which link directly to a child’s computer games console. To operate the game, the child must step or cycle. The game pauses when the child is inactive.

At Shape, we’re inviting you to carry our workouts and good nutrition advice on your cellphone. At weekends, plan family activities that revolve around exercise and the outdoors. One of the most family-friendly sports available, and gaining rapidly in popularity countrywide, is mountain-biking.

TRANSPORT
The pace at which we live means more of us rely on cars to get from A to B.

It is quicker to jump into your car than to walk to the bus stop or train station — and infinitely faster than walking to your destination. Yet researchers studying residents of Atlanta in the US found that for every extra 30 minutes commuters spend in the car, they had a 3% greater chance of being obese. It’s true that we’ve become so used to using our cars that we begin to believe we don’t have the time not to use them. Make a list of at least three times a week when you could substitute driving for walking or cycling. Walk to the shops, or at least park your car further away from the supermarket entrance than usual.

PILLS
Certain drugs, such as anti-convulsants, contraceptives or anti-hypertensives, have all been associated with weight gain. Discuss alternatives — or supportive eating plans — with your doctor.

CIGARETTES
Nicotine is an appetite suppressant that ups your metabolic rate. Women who give up smoking often eat to keep their hands busy. Take up a new hobby or exercise plan when you quit. Keeping busy will keep you away from the fridge.

CLIMATE CONTROL
Leading science journal, New Scientist, suggests that our ability to cool-down or warm-up our environment using technology, is robbing our bodies of energy expenditure. Before heaters and airconditioning units, our bodies would regulate their own temperatures — either through shivering or sweating. Cut back on heaters and aircon. You’ll save your waistline — and you’ll be helping our planet. Now that we have the info, it’s up to us to do something about it. Empowering ourselves is step one: taking action is the only way we’ll fight the obesity epidemic.