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Obesity has
become a focus of national
concern and the nation's No. 1
public-health problem.
Health experts from the National
Institutes of Health, Centers
for Disease Control, and
Prevention and the American
Heart Association, have warned
the publics of the dangers
associated with being
overweight. |
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Statistically, over
two-thirds of U.S. adults are
overweight, and about half of those
are fully obese. [1,
2] If this trend
continues, most of America will
become unhealthily and frighteningly overweight and/or obese within the
next couple of decades. The most
alarming trend is the steadily
rising number of obese children,
where one out of every six children
are now considered overweight.
Obesity is
defined as being more than twenty
percent above the average weight for
a person's age, sex, and height; or
having a Body Mass Index (BMI) of
over 30. The BMI is a height-weight
calculation that correlates body fat
with risk for disease. Obesity is
more than an aesthetic problem.
It is the second leading cause of
preventable death in the U.S.
(tobacco being first), and may soon
overtake tobacco as the leading
cause of preventable death.
Being overweight and/or obese are
major risk factors for many chronic
diseases including:
-
heart disease
-
high blood pressure
and stroke
-
some cancers
(uterine, breast, colorectal,
kidney, prostate, pancreatic, and
gallbladder)
-
arthritis
-
diabetes
-
gall bladder
disease
-
sleep apnea
-
sexual dysfunction
The primary cause
of obesity is dietary and
lifestyle practices, such as
overeating and lack of exercise. Many Americans are overweight
because they have sedentary
lifestyles and eat too much
processed, high-fat, high-sugar junk
foods. However, emerging
physiological theories of obesity
are suggesting that obesity
may not be just a matter of
inactivity and eating too much.
Obesity may also be associated with
certain physiological factors,
including;
low brain serotonin levels (causing
carbohydrate cravings), diet-induced thermogenesis and insulin
insensitivity (causing decreased
metabolic rate), impaired
sympathetic nervous system activity
(causing decreased metabolism), and
a low percentage of brown fat cells
(causing decreased metabolic rate).
Obesity has a
profound effect not only on physical
health, but also on emotional
well-being. Most conventional weight
loss programs have a high failure
rate, although some research indicates
success of long-term weight management
with regular exercise. One of the most difficult
emotional impacts of obesity and
dieting may be the disappointment of
regaining some or all of the lost
weight, and/or ending up weighing
more than dieting began.
According to National
Center for Health Statistics (3):
-
64 percent of
adults age 20 years and over are overweight or obese
-
30 percent of
adults age 20 years and over are
obese
-
15 percent of
adolescents age 12-19 years are
overweight
-
15 percent of
children age 6-11 years are
overweight
The main
symptoms of obesity include:
-
Weighing more than
twenty percent above the average
weight for a person's age, sex and
height
-
A Body Mass Index
(BMI) over 30
-
A BMI between 20
and 25 is considered a healthy
number for men and women. Any
number over 25 is considered
overweight
-
To figure out the
BMI, multiply the weight in pounds
by 700. Then divide this number by
the square of the height in
inches:
BMI = weight in
pounds x 700 divided by (height in
inches) 2
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