How to Spot Obesity
With the hype of weight loss taking over the world, people are thinking that obesity is only skin deep – ignoring how serious it is. Obesity should be the top one priority for nations around the world, since obesity is spreading in the speed of light and bring about an array of diseases with it.
Obesity is a disease that affects approximately 60 million people in the United States, where women are especially affected. Over one-third of women between the ages of 20 and 74 are obese, the majority of them being African American or Mexican American. With more and more pre-packaged food and less and less activity, the number of obese people in America has steadily increased since the 1960’s.
Obesity can be defined as have excess fat over your body. Anything more than a 20% fat is considered to be obesity. Obesity is one of the most notorious enemies for joints, since it places more stress on them than intended. This by time leads to arthritis and other bone diseases. Not to mention that fat makes people lethargic, consequently, adding more weight because of their inactive lifestyle.
Many people think obesity means that a person is overweight, but that’s not exactly true. An overweight person has a surplus amount of weight that includes muscle, bone, fat, and water.
An obese person has a surplus of body fat. Most health professionals concur that a man is obese if he has over 25 percent body fat, and a woman is obese if she has over 30 percent. Women physiologically have more body fat than men, so that why there’s a difference in percentage.
Side Effects of Obesity
With obesity, comes the increased risk of diseases such as high blood pressure, Type II Diabetes, heart disease, and breast, colon, and prostate cancer. In addition, obesity has been linked to mental health conditions such as depression or feelings of shame and low self-esteem.
High cholesterol is also one of the most dangerous results of being obese; it cripples the proper function of the heart and blood vessels. This in turn results in high blood pressure, strokes, and other heart conditions. Obesity can also cause apnea, a medical condition in which a person stops breathing during his sleep.
Obesity can be cured with a bit of patience and a lot of determination. As more people are becoming obese in the world, governments are starting to recognize this epidemic and looking for cures. If you are interested in getting rid of your obesity, your first step should be to talk to your physician and discuss you worries and options with him.
Health experts say that even losing 10 to 15 percent of your body weight can dramatically decrease the risk of developing these serious conditions. In addition, many obese people are discriminated against and targets of insults and other verbal abuse.
In 1840, Adolphe Quetelet, created the body mass index, a measure of a person’s weight scaled to his height thus showing the amount of fat stored on the body. A higher BMI (above 30) is considered to be obese and puts your health at risk.
Preventing Obesity in Any Age
A number of factors, such as poor diet, lack of physical activity, genetics, and certain medical disorders, cause obesity, but it can be conquered. One major obstacle to being more physically active is motivation and accountability. Find a friend with similar fitness goals and begin a simple exercise program together. It takes time to see the results, but your health is worth it!
