OBESITY Introduction Obesity has become a growing epidemic that plaques people of different cultures worldwide.

Obesity is such a major health concern because it leads to several fa tal diseases. Obesity sufferers are prone to cardiovascular problems, diabetes, stroke and heart attack. Many of these health issues are called silent-killers bec ause the victim does not even know they have these diseases. Obesity is not only negatively affecting adults but it affects the younger generation as well. Chil dren and teenagers are becoming obese at alarming rates. It is said that if this trend continues our childrens generation will not live as long as their parents. This is a serious fact that is terrifying on every level. Obesity does not disc riminate as it takes out so many in its path. Obesity is preventable. The leading cause of obesity is the intake of caloric food consumed being more t han the output of energy the body exerts in a day. Our intake of food must match our output of energy. If these two numbers do not correspond then fat cells mul tiply and make a home in the tissues of the body. Once this occurs a person is o n a dangerous path leading to obesity. Other causes of obesity are a sedentary l ifestyle, a decrease in physical activities and manual labor. We live in a techn ological revolution. Gadgets make everyday tasks easier and therefore we have to exert less energy. This is a negative influence though, because it leads to the onset of obesity and severe health problems. Obesity is calculated by estimating an individuals Body Mass Index. A BMI test is a proven way to calculate obesity and its chance of occurrence. A BMI test calc ulates and divides a persons weight by their height. This gives a percentage and alerts the person to their rate and chance of being obese. An above normal BMI p ercentage is twenty-five percent or higher of a normal body weight. Many America ns fall into this category, causing America, to become a nation of obese people. There are many treatment options for people who are suffering from obesity. The best treatment is for an obese individual to decrease their calorie intake, to d ecrease their fat consumption, to only use clinically proven obesity treatment p roduct, to become more active and to participate in physical manual labor. All o f these factors form a winning therapy in order to fight obesity. Many people wi ll try weight loss pills, whether prescribed or herbal, but they only work in co njunction with a healthy diet and vigorous exercise program. People using these pills should be reminded of their serious side effects. Obese people also have t he choice to have surgery performed but this option is usually only used in seve re cases. It used to be that obese people were looked towards as signs of strength and fer tility. Today obese people are stereotyped as they are considered to be lazy and dull minded. These two factors are far from the truth. Obesity is a huge that p roblem that keeps getting bigger. Peoples waistlines are rapidly growing and this is leading to a lifetime of health problems. The sad thing is that obesity affe cts one generation after another. This is a raging epidemic that calls for stric ter government Definition Of Obesity The English word Obesity derives from the Latin Obesus meaning fat or plump. The first English use of the word was made in 1651 in Noah Biggs medical book Mataeotechni a Medicinae Praxeos. In medical studies, obesity is defined as a person having more than 20 per cent of ideal weight. Ideal weight takes into account height, age, sex and build of a person. According to National Health Institute, USA, the Body Mass Index of a p erson is the key factor to define obesity. As per NHI standard, a person with 30 pounds of more fat content in his or her body is considered obese. Body Mass Index, or BMI, is a health indicator of the diseases associated with o bese men and women. These health factors include silent-killers such as: diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Many obese individuals do not even realize they have one or more of these diseases. By waist measurement and BMI, body fat can be measured. Obesity is defined as a waistline of 35 inches or higher for woman and for men a waistline of 40 inches

or higher. The BMI formula calculates body weight and height. The formula works by dividing an individuals weight (Kg) by their height (meters squared). It can also be worked out by multiplying weight in pounds by 703, and dividing height i n inches. Again a division is necessary by height (inches). Obesity can also be defined as a BMI of 30 pounds over a person considered norma l weight. Weight standards are calculated according to a persons height. Excessiv e obesity is defined as a BMI of 40 or higher. There is another way of defining obesity. It is overweight, with a BMI of 25 to less than 30. A persons BMI of abo ut 25 kg/m (squared) corresponds to about 10 per cent over a normal weight. Broadly speaking, obesity can be defined as a bodys extra fat that is stored in t issues as a result of excessive consumption of caloric food, which is not compat ible with the routine manual labor undertaken. Simply put, what a person takes i n they must put out. This involves the physical act of eating in comparison with the level of physical movement. t regulations and a greater sense of personal responsibility. Obesity can be sto pped in its tracks and prevented. Causes Of Obesity Overeating Overeating is the main cause of obesity. When the consumption intake does not ma tch physical expenditure in a single day, obesity begins. The extra fat gained b y the negative subtraction of the tow factors mentioned above allows pockets of fat deposits accumulate within the human body. A man or a woman of such a high-c onsumption nature falls prey to extra fat, bypassing the normal metabolic condit ions of a human being.The extra energy produces fat which is reserved into tissu es. This imbalance in energy conservation leads to overweight over a period of t ime. Eating disorders, unscheduled timing of meals and a wide time gap between eating all increase the chance of being an obese. Genetic Besides overeating there are other reasons for getting weight. Some genetic diso rders, carried by generations lead to overweight. In these cases people are help less as they are biologically destined to have super weight. According to a stud y conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO), the people of Indian sub-con tinent are more prone to diabetes which presupposes an over weight condition. Some illness like hypothyroidism leads to obesity. Here too things are not in th e hands of the suffering people. Gender plays an important part to play in causing obesity. On an average, a man has more muscles than a woman. Since muscles consume more calories than other fo rms of tissues, a man uses more calories than a woman even when he is not doing anything. It proves that women are more vulnerable to obesity than men with same food inta ke. Age is also a vital factor. Older people lose more muscles and thereby they tend to get fatter than the youth. Elderly people thus become obese more than the yo ung generation. During pregnancy, women get extra weight. This weight gain may lead to obesity. This can compound with each pregnancy. Medication and Drugs Certain medications also lead to overweight. For example taking too many pain ki llers, sedatives, anti-depressants and typical antipsychotics cause extra fat to build in an individual. People should be very cautious in consuming such drugs. The less you take the be tter. Over consumption of alcohols also causes extra fat cells to develop. Lack of Exercise Sedentary lifestyle lacking in the realm of manual labor in the days schedule als o leads to obesity. Those who do not spend a few hours engrossed in manual works give way to becoming heavy weight. Lack of physical exercise also leads to the miserable fall out becoming heavyweight.

Wrong Diet A high glycemic diet, for example, a diet that consists of meals having high pos tpandial blood sugar causes a person to become obese. Heavy consumption of sugar y food raises blood sugar level which in its turn makes one overweight. A repeated attempt to lose weight by dieting is also risky. Eminent pop singer C arpenter died by practicing over dieting. Depression Higi level of stress are capable of leading to obesity. In this world of competi tion, it is hard not to become anxious, but too much of it is dangerous. Some pe ople overeat because of depression, hopelessness, anger and boredom, it is not t rue that obese have more emotional problems. What we want to say is that emotion s force people to take a particular eating habit that may not be healthy. Insufficient Sleep Insufficient sleep may also lead to danger. One should remember that sleep is a food for the body. Denial of this vital food necessarily leads to complications. Smoking Smoking is also extremely bad for a persons health. It leads to many serious med ical complications. But sudden cessation of smoking may also lead to danger. If a person makes the healthy decision to quit smoking they should talk to their do ctor about their quitting options. Ethnic Group Ethnic diversity plays a part in the growing epidemic of obese people among cert ain cultural populations worldwide. It is proven that some ethnic groups are mor e vulnerable to becoming obese than others. It depends on the food habit of the ethnic group in question. People having large adipose reserves are more likely to survive food shortages o r famines. On the other hand, these people are in a disadvantageous position in a society where food supplies are plentiful.