OBESITY

It means having an abnormal or excessive body fat that can damage a person's health. The fat accumulates in the body over time ,in people who have a very high calorie intake .

Overweight and obesity in adults is classified by the body mass index (BMI), which is a simple index of weight-for-height. It is defined as a person's weight in kilograms divided by the square of his height in meters (kg/m2).

ADULTS

For adults , obesity is defined as

• Underweight : If BMI is less than 18.5

• Normal : If BMI is 18.5 to <25

• Overweight : If BMI is 25.0 to <30

• Obese : If BMI is 30.0 or higher

 

 

CHILDREN

For children under 5 years of age

• Overweight : is weight-for-height greater than 2 standard deviations above the growth reference median

• Obesity: is weight-for-height greater than 3 standard deviations above the growth reference median

Children aged between 5–19 years of age

• Overweight: is BMI-for-age greater than 1 standard deviation above the growth reference median

• Obesity: is greater than 2 standard deviations above the growth reference median

 

HEALTH RISKS LINKED WITH OBESITY

 

Obesity means you a person's weight is approximately 20% more than the normal weight for the persons height!

 

Various health issues linked with obesity are:

 

CAUSES OF OBESITY

Persons body weight is determined by the balance between the calorie intake and energy expenditure.

• If a person calorie intake is more than that what is being burned  (metabolized), then the person gains weight (the body will store the excess energy as fat).

• If a person calorie intake is less than the persons metabolizes, then he or she will lose weight.

 

 

Child Obesity

TREATMENT

Successful weight-loss treatment of obesity can start by setting goals & following a comprehensive lifestyle management (i.e., diet, physical activity, behavior modification) .Opting for medicines and weight-loss surgery is the choice of treatment for people in whom lifestyle modifications are not successful.

 

 

PREVENTION

Eating a well-balanced diet and regular exercise can help prevent obesity and maintaining a healthy body weight.

Sixty minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise on a regular basis, without exceeding the daily recommendation of calories can manage the body weight & can prevent unhealthy weight gain !

 

MUST KNOW FACTS

• Worldwide prevalence of obesity has become more than double between 1980 and 2014

• People who have a habit of regularly eating dinner or breakfasting in restaurants, double their risk of becoming obese.

• Good cholesterol (HDL) can turn into a bad cholesterol and solidify into fat-clogs in obese patients.

• Lack of sleep can also cause weight gain of 2 pounds (0.9 kg) in under a week.

• Obese drivers are 78%more likely for a car crash

• When a person  loses weight, then most of the fat is breathed out as carbon dioxide while the rest is excreted as water.