Thankfully, Surgeon General has issued a warning about plague of obesity that has been considered to be as significant or moreso than warning issued about hazards of cigarette smoke.

As long as you are carrying extra weight (beyond acceptable upper limits of body fat), you increase your risks for a variety of health complaints. These complaints and risks include conditions such as diabetes, heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure, osteoarthritis, and more. ----- Definition of Obesity and Overweight

Obesity has been defined as an abnormal accumulation of body fat in proportion to body size. Overweight persons, although still technically obese, will have a body-fat proportion that is intermediate between normal and obese. (1) ----- Some Common Excuses for Being Obese

This section will probably ruffle feathers of some people who read it. It is not meant to be demeaning or belittling. Rather it is meant to shed light on some of “unhealthy” thought patterns that contribute to obesity, its consequences, and other conditions.

A lot of people will say to themselves and others something like “Yeah, I’m a bit overweight but I feel okay about it” or “Maybe I’m carrying a few extra pounds, but so is everyone else” or even “I might be fat, but I can lose it anytime I want”.

Other things that you might hear someone else say are things like “Jeez, you look pretty good …” “for someone who just had a baby” or … “for someone who has had three kids” (my wife absolutely hates hearing those ‘compliments’) or … “for someone who hasn’t played hockey in ten years.”

Then of course there are “medical” excuses. “I’ve got metabolic syndrome”, “ever since my surgery, I’ve had no energy”, “my knees hurt”, “I have arthritis”, “It’s hereditary”, “I’ve got asthma” …

All of above probably have a seed of truth in them for many people. However, more often than not, these excuses are a way to avoid doing something that you don’t want to do, such as getting more exercise, or controlling your eating habits.

Why does this occur? Because we are in D.E.N.I.A.L. (an addictions counselor/mental health worker told me that it stood for Don’t Even (k)no(w) I Am Lying). ----- Lifestyle Factors

Today’s life is, no doubt, incredibly hectic and seems to be getting moreso every passing year. Gone are days when most people in our society must do heavy physical labour every day just to survive. Automation has created many labour saving devices. This in turn has created a largely sedentary, inactive society. Look at kids today. Instead of being outside playing shinny or a game of pick-up basketball, or any of thousands of other outdoor activities, they are inside playing video games or getting mesmerized by T.V.

Polyphasic sleep - also known as Uberman's sleep Schedule, consists of six daily naps taken every four hours instead of one long sleep every night (monophasic sleep)

The naps can last from a minimum of 10 minutes up to 30 or 40 minutes. 25 minutes is considered optimal.

The polyphasic sleep concept is based upon fact that we have a 4 hour ultradian rhythm operating alongside our normal 24 hour cycle. This ultradian rhythm means that we go through a complete mini-cycle every 4 hours. Usually at following times: 4am, 8am, noon, 4pm, 8pm and midnight. Have you ever experienced dip in energy at 4pm?

Those following polyphasic sleep schedule usually sleep from 10-30 minutes every 4 hours . This goes on for whole 24 hours. A modified version of this is also practiced, where 3 hours core sleep in early morning is followed by 20 minute naps every 4 hours. Individuals can adapt cycles to better suit their lifestyle.

Mammals living in dangerous environments practice polyphasic sleep schedule. Their survival may mean remaining alert to danger throughout day and night. Astronauts are also taught it in case they need to deal with emergency situations. The army also trains some troops in polyphasic sleep.

The type of sleep experienced by polyphasic sleepers is mostly comprised of stage 5 REM. Thus earlier stages of sleep are largely bypassed allowing user a few more hours of 'awake time' each 24 hours.

This is a gradual process though. At first naps may not be largely NREM which may explain 7 to 10 day stage where some polyphasic sleepers feel heavy, grumpy, spaced out and can't concentrate.

The Advantages of Polyphasic Sleep.

Polyphasic sleep has been called "sleep of genius" Famous folk such as Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, Napoleon. and Winston Churchill have used this schedule in some form or another.