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What is obesity
What is obesity?
You should not confuse obesity with being overweight. There is a huge difference between carrying a few extra pounds and having a large amount of excess body fat. Obesity can be determined by a doctor or can even be determined at home, in both cases you will probably use your body mass index (BMI). Your BMI takes into account your height and weight to give you a number. A person with a BMI in the 95th percentile for their gender and age in considered overweight. Obesity is a term used for those people who are extremely overweight. There are exceptions to this formula though, such as body builders who have extra weight due to large amounts of muscle mass.
A person gains weight when they eat more calories that they burn. People who are obese have usually been in this habit for years, and as a result have gained and stored large amounts of fat in their bodies. Some people argue that obesity is genetically based. This is true although nobody knows how much genes contribute. Obesity is known to run in families, but it could be due to genetics or to the environment the child is being accustomed to.
It is probably an interaction between the two. Some weight gain can also be attributed to emotional eating. People tend to eat more when they are upset, anxious, sad, stressed out, or even bored. Once a person is in this cycle, it can be tough to break. But by far, the largest contributor to obesity is a sedentary lifestyle. Because fat builds up if a person does not use as many calories as they consume, being sedentary just adds fuel to the fire. Leading a sedentary lifestyle and eating fatty and unhealthy foods is the worst combination of habits a person can acquire.
Obesity is on the rise. About 1.2 billion people in the world are overweight and at least 300 million of them are obese, even though obesity is one of the 10 most preventable health risks, according to the World Health Organization. In the United States alone, more than half of the population is considered overweight and one in five are obese.
Obesity has negative effects on both the body and the mind. People who are obese are at a much higher risk for serious heart problems, as well as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, hypertension, type II diabetes, asthma, sleep apnea, and joint pain. The list is a long one and can go on exponentially because obesity compounds any health problems that one encounters. People who are obese also have a higher occurrence of depression. Obesity also makes a person feel tired and uncomfortable.
Obesity can be overcome. Having a healthy diet and exercising regularly can prevent and help reverse weight gain. Dieting is also another solution to obesity. Some people also choose to have surgery which can be very effective but can also lead to complications. The key to stopping obesity is to learn healthy patterns early. If a person is already beyond this point, the best thing they can do is consciously make a lifestyle change and stick with it.
Author: Arlene Siqueira
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