Obesity Health

Something about obesity?
( 5 Mar 2009)

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What exactly do you want to know about obesity? “Something about obesity” is extremely vague, and can range from what is obesity to its causes and its effects on one’s health, as well as how to fight obesity. Since you have not specified exactly what information you are looking for, we will just briefly touch upon all the points mentioned.

Obesity is different from simply being overweight – the latter simply means that your weight is slightly over the ideal weight. Obesity on the other hand means that you are extremely overweight; overweight means that you have a BMI (body mass index) of more than 25 kg/m2, while obese means that you have a BMI of more than 30 kg/m2. A BMI of around 20 kg/m2 is considered to be normal and healthy.

The main causes of obesity are a faulty diet and a lack of physical exercise. Dietary problems usually involve an excessive intake of fats, and sometimes of carbohydrates too, particularly simple carbohydrates of the sort found in cakes, pastries, and junk food. Physical exercise usually primarily refers to actual exercise, but any strenuous physical activity counts, and an overall sedentary lifestyle can greatly contribute to obesity. In rare cases, obesity can be genetic, or the result of some disease or medical condition.

Obesity has quite a drastic effect on a person’s health and causes a wide range of problems ranging from cosmetic ones such as stretch marks and cellulite to painful conditions that affect the back and joints, as well as life threatening conditions such as heart disease and cancer. Obese people are particularly susceptible to cardiovascular problems and diabetes, but obesity can affect almost every aspect of a person’s health, and of the preventable causes of death is near the top of the list.

The most effective way in which obesity can be fought is of course to address its causes directly. Since the primary causes are a poor diet and lack of physical exercise, these are the things that need to be changed. The most effective and reliable diets, with the minimum risk of side effects, are low fat diets and low calorie diets. In low fat diets, the focus is on reducing fat intake by avoiding fatty foods and choosing low fat substitutes whenever possible. In low calorie diets, the focus is on overall calorie intake. Along with diet control, exercise is absolutely essential. It can usually start out as simply walking briskly for half an hour a day, and then progress to more intense work outs as your body gets more fit.

answered by G R on 5 Mar 2009, 11:38:33

Obesity Health

Something about obesity? ( 5 Mar 2009)

Something about obesity?
( 5 Mar 2009)