Obesity

Obesity and Its Dangerous Consequences in the Long Run

January 13, 2010
By Marco Frankle

Being overweight or obese means an increased risk of a large number of health problems. These health problems are serious and range from diabetes to a sudden stroke. It is for this reason that it is necessary for a person to lose weight if he or she is overweight or clinically obese.

Data about Obesity worldwide

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), obesity is at second place, just behind smoking, as the leading cause of preventable deaths and diseases among people worldwide. It has become a major health threat mostly in developed nations where people generally have irregular or sedentary lifestyles and unhealthy eating habits. Most of the modern day job requirements also demand this type of lifestyle, so many people end up their day with a least physical activity.

Many nations of the world record about 20 % of their population as clinically obese and other half as overweight. The TVs and Computers have dominated our lives now, as we find it hard to get away from their effects. Our children also imitate these effects, as childhood obesity is another health threat that is fast coming up in many developed nations. In the UK, about 27% of children are overweight and this number is constantly rising.

Obesity: In the simplest words, Obesity is defined as an imbalance between number of calories we eat and number of calories burnt through various physical activities during a day. It is generally measured with the help of body mass index (BMI), which is a calculated by dividing the weight in kilograms of a person by his or her height in meters squared.

Causes of obesity: Primarily, the main cause of obesity among people is less physical exercise and unhealthy diet. In some rare cases, some genetic factors may also make people overweight or clinically obese.

Risks of obesity: The effects of obesity can expose you to serious health risks such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, headaches, vision problems, hypoventilation, gall bladder disease, high blood pressure, and polycystic syndrome in women.

What is an ideal body weight?

A person’s ideal body weight will depend upon on his or her body type, age, gender, height, the size of their bones, and muscles. You can check this with a registered doctor. They will calculate your body mass index apart from diagnosing the cause of your overweight problem.

According to the predefined BMI standards, a person with ideal body has BMI value within 18.5 – 25. Based on these standards, a person is:

Underweight if his or her BMI is less than 18.5
Overweight if his or her BMI is within 25-30
Obese if his or her BMI is within 30-40
Very obese if his or her BMI is greater than 40.

People who are overweight or obese certainly need a medical treatment, as physical exercise and healthy diet alone may prove inadequate. There are many treatment drugs for obesity and easily available on the market. You can take any suitable treatment after consultation with a doctor.

What are the ways to achieve an ideal body weight?

The traditional ways to achieve an ideal body weight include regular physical exercise and a well balanced calorie controlled diet. In some cases where people are very overweight or clinically obese, these methods may prove inadequate, so such people need to take a medical treatment as well.

The most popular treatment drugs for obesity are Reductil and Xenical. These are prescription-only pills that help people to lose their extra pounds quite effective. Reductil is an appetite suppressant and helps to reduce food cravings by acting on the brain whilst Xenical is a fat- absorbent that works in the digestive system of the body. Both these drugs are available in the UK, only on a prescription from a doctor.

If you make a habit of doing exercise daily and taking healthy food during meals or snacks time, then you can expect to maintain a healthy body weight. You can also keep off dangerous health risks that are associated to overweight or obesity problems.

Marco Frankle – Health webmaster and content writer of few online health related websites, has been providing health newsletters and articles. Through this article we tried to cover obesity problems and its dangerous consequences. How appetite suppressant and slimming pills are helpful in weight loss.

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