Obesity

Obesity is one of the most common health problems in developed countries. It can occur at any age, but it is most prevalent among men and women in their 40's and 50's. In a research done, life insurance records indicate that people who are overweight do not live as long as people of normal weight.

A person is considered Obese if their weight is more than 20% over their ideal weight. Another way of diagnosing obesity is the proportion of the fat in the body. Ideally, a man's body-fat percentage should range between 12% to 20%, while a woman's should range between 20% to 27%. Thus, a muscular athlete may weigh over 250 pounds (112.5 kg) but not be considered obese because the proportion of fat in his body is only 15%.

Calories and Weight Control: Food energy is measured in units called calories, or kilogram-calories. People who consume 2,000 calories a day will remain at the same weight as long as they expend 2,000 calories a day. However, if their intake of calories exceeds their expenditure of calories, the excess calories will be stored as fat. Every pound of fat in the body stores 3,500 calories. Thus an extra 24 calories a day, as in 1.5 teaspoon of sugar, will add 25 pounds (11.7 kg) of fat over a period of ten years. Obese people actually derive their excess calories largely from fat. A single gram of fat provides 9 calories, while the same amount of protein or carbohydrate provides only 4 calories.

Do lean people never overeat? Some lean people may actually eat far more than their fat companions, but their physical activity, muscle tone, and their metabolism may ensure that they have no excess calories to be stored as fat. Most obese people usually have a type of work or activities that doesn't burn much of the calories they have taken in, while lean people uses most of the calories they have taken in by doing a more active physical activity and thus maintain a normal weight despite a generous intake of food. Whatever the reasons, lean-people remain lean because they do not eat beyond their calorie expenditure.

Ways to measure body fat:

• One of the most accurate ways to measure body fat involves immersing a person in a special water-filled tank to determine the body's volume. This, together with the weight, is then used to calculate the percentage of body fat.

• A simpler method, known as the pinch test, measures skin fold thickness. If there is any doubt as to whether a person has excess fat, it can be resolved by grasping the skin and underlying tissues at the bottom of the ribcage. A skin fold that is more than an inch (2.5 cm) thick indicates an excess body fat.

Common location of excess fat in men and women: Men and women differ in the sites where their excess fat is deposited. A potbelly, for example, is more likely to occur in men because their fat cells are concentrated in that area. In women, fat cells are more or less evenly distributed. There is no such thing as special fat tissue called cellulite. The dimpling that sometimes occurs in fatty regions is related to the elasticity of the skin. The underlying fat tissue in these areas is no different from the fat tissue elsewhere in the body.

Other Causes of Obesity.

• Heredity. Although little is known about the role of heredity in obesity, it is known that if one or both parents are overweight, their children will probably be overweight. Studies of identical twins have shown that even though the twins were separated at birth and raised in different homes, they still resemble each other in weight many years later.

• Diabetes. Adult-onset diabetes (not the juvenile form that occurs mainly in children and young adults) is almost always accompanied by obesity due to high calorie intake and low physical activity. Exercise together with a restricted diet can virtually cure many causes of this form of diabetes.

Other Negative Effect of Obesity:

• Overweight people tend to have more accidents and be greater risks for surgery.
• Research has indicated that overweight women may have more fertility problems and a reduced chance of survival from breast cancer.
• Many overweight people, especially children and teenagers, suffer social and emotional problems.

Disorders that are common to obese person: Gastrointestinal problems, metabolic problems, vulnerability to tumors, sexual problems, respiratory problems, high blood pressure, heart disease, strokes, diabetes, varicose veins, back and joint pains, gallbladder problems, etc.