Obesity
Obesity is
a medical condition where excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it
may have a negative effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or
increased health problems. In Western society, people are considered obese when
their body mass index (BMI), a measurement obtained by dividing a person's
weight by the square of the person's height, exceeds 30 kg/m2, with the range
25-30 kg/m2 defined as overweight. On the contrary, some East Asian countries
use stricter criteria.
Obesity may
increase the possibility of various other diseases, like heart disease,
diabetes, sleep apnea, cancer, osteoarthritis, etc. The factors which cause
obesity include a combination of excessive food energy intake, lack of physical
activity, and genetic susceptibility. However in a few cases, it is also caused
primarily by genes, endocrine disorders, medications, or psychiatric. On
average, people who have obesity have a greater energy expenditure than thin
counterparts because the energy is required to maintain an increased body mass.
For obese
people, dieting and exercising are the main treatments. Diet quality can be
improved by reducing the consumption of energy-dense food and by increasing the
intake of dietary fiber. With a suitable diet, anti-obesity drugs may be taken
to reduce appetite or decrease fat absorption.
A gastric
balloon may also assist with weight loss, or surgery may be performed to reduce
stomach volume and/or bowel length, leading to feeling full earlier and a
reduced ability to absorb nutrients from food.
In modern
society, obesity is considered as one of the most serious public health
problems of the 21st century by authorities. It attracts more
and more concern of people in recent years. So there are increasing number of
people, especially in western countries, doing exercise to enhance the health
of their body and to prevent obesity.
Picture from the
following website:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/06/11/global-obesity-epidemic.aspx
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