Obesity – An Overview
Obesity is a disease that affects approximately 60 million people in the United States, and women are especially affected. Over one-third of women between the ages of 20 and 74 are obese, majority of them are 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. But what is obesity? Many people think obesity means that a person is overweight, but that’s not exactly true.
Obesity Problems
An overweight person has a surplus amount of weight that includes muscle, bone, fat, and water. A person with obesity problem will have 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. It is difficult to determine the exact percentage of body fat a person has, but estimates can be made in a number of ways.
First, using a tweezer-like tool called a caliper, you can measure the thickness of skin folds on different points of your body and compare the results with standardized numbers. You can also use a small device that sends a harmless electrical current through your body and measures your body fat percentage.
Body Mass Index
The most commonly used method to determine obesity is to look at his/her Body Mass Index (BMI). A person with a BMI over 30 is considered to be obese, and a BMI over 40 is considered to be severely obese.
It’s important to remember though that BMI could be misleading in pregnant or lactating women and in muscular individuals. With obesity, comes the increased risk of diseases such as high blood pressure, Type II Diabetes, heart disease, and breast, colon, and prostate cancer.
Obesity - Mental Health Conditions
In addition, obesity has been linked to mental health conditions such as depression or feelings of shame and low self-esteem. 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 people with obesity problem are discriminated against and targets of insults and other verbal abuse. A number of factors, such as poor diet, lack of physical activity, genetics, and certain medical disorders, cause obesity, but it can be conquered. |
