OBESITY AND OVERWEIGHT

Obesity and Overweight

Obesity and Overweight

Introduction

Obesity in the United States and other countries are a significant and growing public health problem. Obesity is increasing in United States with a growing rate. Obesity among adults, adolescents, and children is increasingly encountered in clinical settings, and an awareness of current etiological models, assessment strategies, and intervention methodologies is necessary for the optimal management of this important health problem. Between 5 to 25 children per hundred are obese in USA. It comprises 15% of the children population. Obesity is an increase in excess body fats which leads to the growth of the body weight. Childhood obesity is a weight-for-height in excess of 120 percent. It is a chronic disorder which has multiple causes. (Calle, 2003)

Thesis Statement

A person, who has a high-body weight, is called obese and overweight. Overweight is experiencing extra weight of bones, muscles, fat or it can be overweight because of high rate of water. However, Obesity is experiencing the high portion of fat in the body. In this paper, I will elaborate descriptions, causes, effects that are related to obesity and overweight (Chambers & Wakley, 2002).

The definition of obesity and overweight

A person, who has a high-body weight, is called obese and overweight. Overweight is experiencing extra weight of bones, muscles, fat or it can be overweight because of high rate of water. However, Obesity is experiencing the high portion of fat in the body.

Body Mass Index

A consensus has emerged during recent years that a method for clinically defining obesity and overweighed is the body mass index (BMI). The formula for BMI is weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters (w/h2). Despite its widespread use, there are limits to BMI as a measure of weight status. For instance, it cannot be used as a specific indicator of the level of body fat on the individual, and it is influenced by factors such as age, gender, and exercise status. Older individuals tend to have a higher percentage of body fat than do younger individuals for a given BMI, and people who work out regularly. Prevalence statistics reported during the past few years reveal an astonishing increase in the level of overweight and obese individuals in the United States (World Health Organization, 2000).

The causes of obesity

Research suggests that the real problem of obesity and overweight started in the early 80s in most of the developed nations like the US. The problem extended in the decade of 90s, and we can say that different environmental changes contributed a great deal in the increase of obesity and overweight in these two decades in particular. For example, the decade of 80s brought in its wake a lot of demographic and other environmental changes that largely affected the nutritional habits of the people. Changes in the social structure and pattern of society, in these two decades, also contributed to the problem (Clinton, 1999).

People with dual-career or single-parent working families increased in the latter part of the century increasing the dependency of people on ...