Obesity is a very common condition that is eating up the society without us really noticing it. In fact, the number of people affected with the condition more than doubled in the last few years; rising rates in both developing and developed countries has been found. The saddest part of it? A good population of children is involved.
Obesity 101
So, what is obesity? Obesity is a chronic condition where a person’s total body fat becomes excessive that it leads to reduced life expectancy and increased health problems. When you weigh 20% or more than your ideal or normal weight, you are considered, or expected to be, obese.
Obesity is deemed as a serious health condition as it comes along with not a few health risks that are all life-threatening. If you are obese, your likelihood of contracting heart disease, type 2 diabetes, osteoarthritis, and certain types of cancer increases. You may also experience numerous physical, emotional, and mental disturbances that are threats not just to your health but to your lifestyle as well.
Obesity is beyond overweight. They are measured the same way but come with a few different indications. When you are overweight, you are naturally far from your ideal or normal weight but not too far in the sense of becoming obese. Being overweight means that your BMI is between 25-29.9; hitting 30 or going beyond that will take you to the “obesity class”.
The Body Mass Index
The most effective measuring tool for obesity is BMI or the Body Mass Index. The BMI is a statistical guide of measuring the proportion of your height and weight. Your score, which will be based upon your current height and weight, will determine whether you can be classified normal, overweight, or obese. The rule is this: you should not go beyond the normal scores because doing so will make you susceptible to the health risks. You have higher chances of contracting life-threatening diseases if your BMI is higher than normal.
Then again, some critics question the effectiveness of BMI in establishing obesity. Sometimes, they say, it can be misleading. Measuring the score of a muscleman, for example, you may get a higher BMI but it would not necessarily mean that the person has excessive total body fat. Even with that doubt out, the BMI is still considered the most convenient and useful indicator of obesity, especially among ordinary people.
Diet and Exercise: the Cause and Treatment Option
Diet and physical activity are the beginning and end of obesity. The combination is one of the major causes and it is also one of the major solutions. Obesity is often caused by consuming too much calories and having too little physical exercise. To solve the problem, you would naturally need to cut down on your diet and monitor your calorie intake to ensure that you are not going overboard or more than what your body actually needs while revving up your workout. That is the basic. After getting through the obesity phase, it would be much easier to manage and seek therapy for the health conditions you might have acquired in the process of having a high BMI.
20% seems like such a low number to be calling someone obese. If it gets more people to lose weight and become healthier, I suppose it’s a good thing.