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Obesity Health

The percentage of people who are overweight and obese is on the increase, there are more than 1 billion adults in the world who are over weight and 300 million of these are obese.

The percentage of young people who are over weight has more than tripled over the last few years and among children in the age group 6 to 19 years, over 9 million young people are thought to be over weight.

These are startling figures when you think about the consequences being over weight and particularly obesity has on the health, being over weight or obese can increase the risk of many diseases and affect the health, some of which include:

• Hypertension

• Type 2 diabetes

• Coronary heart disease

• Gallbladder disease

• A stroke

• Respiratory problems

• Some types of cancer such as breast cancer and colon cancer

Why is this on the increase?

Studies have shown that we are getting less and less exercise and eating more foods which are high in sugar and saturated fats, more people are eating less healthily instead turning to fast food or junk food as a major part of their diet.

This is often blamed on the world we live in today, people don’t have time to plan and buy foods that are healthier then cook them, it is so much more tempting to just order a take away and have it delivered.

Snacking also has a big part to play particularly with young people and children who are always on the go and can’t take the time out to eat proper healthy meals.

When does being overweight turn to obesity?

The term over weight and obese are terms for ranges of weight that are more than what is considered to be healthy for a given height. For adults weight and height are used to calculate a body mass index, this finds the amount of body fat.

An adult who scores between 25 and 29.9 is said to be over weight, if the person were to score over 30 then they would be classed as being obese. Other methods used to give an estimation of body fat are measurements of skin fold thickness and waist circumference.

Testing for obesity or being overweight

You can perform a simple test at home to determine if you are overweight or becoming obese, you can determine your waist circumference by using a tape measure and fitting it snugly around your waist.

This gives you a good indication of the amount of abdominal fat which can then give you an indication of the risk of developing health problems in the future.

The risk increases if you are a woman and your waist measurement is over 35 inches and in men if it is over 40 inches. If after taking this simple test you are concerned that you may be over weight then it is in your best interest to start doing something about it.

Gradually increase the amount of exercise done per day and start eating a more healthy diet with plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables and if you have to snack then snack on fruit or fresh carrot sticks instead of chocolate and cakes.

If you are a lot over the amount of inches recommended then it is advisable to see your Doctor and he will probably recommend that you see a dietician to help you.