What is obesity?
People become obese for several reasons, including: • Consuming too many calories. People are eating much more than they used to. This used to be the case just in developed nations – however, the trend has spread worldwide. Despite billions of dollars being spent on public awareness campaigns that attempt to encourage people to eat healthily, the majority of us continue to overeat. In 1980 14% of the adult population of the USA was obese; by 2000 the figure reached 31% (The Obesity Society). In the USA, the consumption of calories increased from 1,542 per day for women in 1971 to 1,877 per day in 2004. The figures for men were 2,450 in 1971 and 2,618 in 2004. Most people would expect this increase in calories to consist of fat – not so! Most of the increased food consumption has consisted of carbohydrates (sugars). Increased consumption of sweetened drinks has contributed significantly to the raised carbohydrate intake of most young American adults over the last three decades. The cons
Source: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases Obesity means that you have an unhealthy amount of body fat. Everyone needs some body fat, but too much fat can cause health problems. Overweight and obesity are defined using a tool called Body Mass Index (BMI). BMI is a way of estimating total body fat for most people. The easiest way to find out your BMI is to use a BMI table for adults (see below). There is also a handy BMI calculator at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute’s web site (see resources at the end of this FAQ). To find your BMI, you need to know your height and your weight. You can also take your weight in pounds, divide that number by your height in inches squared, and multiply the result by 703 to get your BMI.
Obesity is an excess proportion of total body fat. A person is considered obese when his or her weight is 20% or more above normal weight. The most common measure of obesity is the body mass index or BMI. A person is considered overweight if his or her BMI is between 25 and 29.9; a person is considered obese if his or her BMI is over 30. “Morbid obesity” means that a person is either 50%-100% over normal weight, more than 100 pounds over normal weight, has a BMI of 40 or higher, or is sufficiently overweight to severely interfere with health or normal function.
Obesity is a disease that affects nearly one-third of the adult American population (approximately 60 million). The number of overweight and obese Americans has continued to increase since 1960, a trend that is not slowing down. Today, 64.5 percent of adult Americans (about 127 million) are categorized as being overweight or obese. Each year, obesity causes at least 300,000 excess deaths in the U.S., and healthcare costs of American adults with obesity amount to approximately $100 billion. Obesity is the second leading cause of unnecessary deaths. • Despite its toll taken in death and disability, obesity does not receive the attention it deserves from government, the health care profession or the insurance industry. • Research is severely limited by a shortage of funds. • Inadequate insurance coverage limits access to treatment. • Discrimination and mistreatment of persons with obesity is widespread and often considered socially acceptable. Did You Know? • Obesity is a chronic disease
When you take in more calories than you burn off, you gain weight. How you eat, how active you are, and other things affect how your body uses calories and whether you gain weight. If your family members are obese, you may have inherited a tendency to gain weight. And your family also helps form your eating and lifestyle habits, which can lead to obesity. Also, our busy lives make it harder to plan and cook healthy meals. For many of us, it’s easier to reach for prepared foods, go out to eat, or go to the drive-through. But these foods are often high in fat and calories. Portions are often too large. Work schedules, long commutes, and other commitments also cut into the time we have for physical activity. There is no quick fix to being overweight. To lose weight, you must burn more calories than you take in.
