Today, an estimate one hundred twenty-seven million U. citizens or sixty-one percent of our population is obese. Our nation ranks highest for not only obese adults, but also children and adolescents as well. Obesity is an escalating epidemic of alarming proportions and the most severe health problems in the United States. Being obese has numerous effects on the body as well as the mind. Researches have found a number of ways to help the obese and prevent it from happening.
Obesity is a condition of excess fatness that results from an imbalance between energy consumed and energy expended. When the body takes in more food that it uses up, the extra is stored as fat deposits, resulting in overweight. Obesity subjects to shift in perceptions though, both on the part of health experts and the general public. Dr. Xavier Pi-Sunyer, one of the nation's leading experts on obesity points out:.
A population cannot be precisely divided into normal and obese . In the .
modern world, with the great intermixing of ethnic and racial groups, wide .
genetic heterogeneity exists. The heterogeneity is manifested by differing.
heights, body circumference, and heaviness of frame. It is undesirable.
to focus on a single number as the "normal" weight. (Akers 14).
In 1871 mathematician, Lambert Adolphe Jacques Queletet, proposed the body mass index formula, BMI for short.It is considered more precise and is an easy way to compare fatness of .
.
people of different heights regardless of gender. To be considered obese, one's BMI is between 30.0 - 39.9, severe obesity is a result from one's BMI to be 40.0 or higher. .
Many factors and contributions lead to obesity. Eating to much is a key role. Today, portion sizes have increased tremendously at restaurants and fast food diners. Our calories consumed went from 2,300 to a whopping 3,700. Marion Nestle, a nutritionist, explains:.
The department of Agriculture reports that the American food supply .