What is Obesity?

What is obesity? It is important to understand obesity if you or your family are seriously or even slightly overweight. Obesity has become a major health problem in most of the developed nations of the world and it is very easy to slip from being a few pounds overweight into the obese category.

The definition of obesity is having a BMI of 30 or over.

What is Obesity and Am I Obese?

To find out if you are overweight or obese, you can work out your BMI calculation , which will also help you determine if you are suffering from morbid obesity, with a BMI of over 40. You can look at different levels of obesity help available, from professional help to the help of friends and family, as well as self help.

However, BMI is not always an accurate predictor of obesity and for adults should be used in conjunction with waist measurement. With children, calculating BMI is more complex and a diagnosis of overweight or obesity should be made by a professional. If you care concerned about your children's weight, you should see your general practitioner for advice.

It's important not to become obsessive about weight, particulary in the case of obese children, as this can lead to depression and feelings of failure, which can lower self esteem. Remember that weight loss is a process and if you or your kids lose too quickly, the weight is likely to go back on again.

Rapid weight loss is only ever recommended under medical supervision and for people with a very serious problem. This is important for both children and adults.

What is Obesity in Childhood?

Childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions and so an examination of the causes and consequences of obesity in young people is important if we want to see our children and grandchildren growing up to become healthy adults.

However, recent childhood obesity statistics show that unless some drastic action is taken, many of them will develop incapacitating illnesses early in life. No parent wants to see their children suffering from debilitating problems, which if not kept in check, will result in many overweight people dying in middle age.

But what exactly is childhood obesity?  To determine whether or not your child is obese, you must see your doctor, as adult definitions of obesity cannot be applied directly to children. A child's BMI must be used in conjunction with age charts.

If your children are overweight, you can introduce obesity prevention strategies as part of day to day life. This doesn't have to be a trial or a punishment, but can be made up of interesting activities which the whole family can do together.

This will also help your children to become independent, healthy adults. the whole family can learn about healthy eating and give different tasks to different members. It's important to answer their questions,such as: what is obesity? why do I have to lose weight? how can I lose weight?  And it's important to give them all the support they need.

Kids can learn to make healthy interesting meals and this will also boost their confidence. Exercise doesn't have to be limited to football, running or going to the gym. There are many activities which involve exercise indirectly, such as gardening, going on a treasure hunt or nature ramble.

And there are plenty of sports and games which are fun and very far removed from the school playing fields. rollerblading, skateboarding and cycling are all popular with young people.

With new, fun and sometimes crazy new sports being invented all the time, it should be possible to find something which everyone enjoys. And if your children are older and at the stage where doing anything with parents is not cool, they can find their own preferred games.

The Effects of Obesity

Having answered the question "What is obesity?", it is now important to take a look at some of the effects which obesity has on the lives and health of people who are obese or who have obese family members.

The effects of obesity are wide-reaching, causing not only physical health problems, but also difficulties with self-esteem. Some of the main health problems associated with overweight and obesity are diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. Overweight adults are also at risk of less well known problems such as kidney stones, certain types of cancer and liver disease.

The American Diabetes Association funds diabetes research into many aspects of the disease, including genetic factors, behaviour and education.

Type 2 diabetes is associated with obesity and can result in serious complications. If you have developed diabetes, you need to take precautions to avoid these, by following a diabetes diet and ensuring that your diabetes management skills are good.

Make sure that you keep all your clinic appointments and contact your health team if you have any concerns. If you have not yet developed diabetes, remember that obesity prevention is one of the bests ways to avoid it.

To tackle the problem of increasing obesity rates, it is essential to understand the relationship between fast food and obesity and to develop healthy eating habits, as well as the ability to create meals using healthy recipes.

So understanding what is obesity and taking action to reverse it or prevent it is crucial for our health.