An American Epidemic: Obesity

According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, an epidemic is a disease "affecting or tending to affect a disproportionately large number of individuals within a population, community, or region at the same time." Historically the term has been reserved to describe serious outbreaks of infectious disease but according to the CDC Foundation, medical professionals now routinely use "epidemic" to refer to the excessively prevalent condition of obesity among Americans today.

Defining the Problem

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention nearly one-third of Americans are obese. A recent Associated Press article noted that Mississippi owns the dubious distinction of currently having the highest rate of adult obesity at 32.5 percent, for the fifth year in a row. Three other states were reported to have adult obesity rates above 30 percent: Alabama, 31.2 percent - West Virginia, 31.1 percent - and Tennessee, 30.2 percent. Overall, according to the CDC over 60 percent of American adults are either overweight or obese and the obesity rate has doubled during the period 1980 and 2000. The definition of obesity is based on the body mass index (BMI), a calculation using height, weight, sex and age. For example a 5-foot, 8-inch male adult who weighs 195 pounds would have a BMI of 29.6, which is on the threshold of obesity. People with a BMI greater than or equal to 30 are considered obese. A BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 is considered healthy for adults and a BMI of 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight.

Not a Benign Problem

Obesity is not merely an appearance issue as the potential health problems that medical experts have long associated with obesity are both numerous and serious. In fact, according information published on the Web MD site, a person who is 40% overweight runs twice the risk of dying prematurely than that faced by those who are more height and weight proportional. This is due to the large number of potentially life-threatening conditions linked to obesity, including: Heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, Diabetes, Cancer, Gallbladder disease and respiratory problems like sleep apnea (when a person stops breathing during sleep) and asthma. The site goes on to observe that heart disease and stroke are the leading causes of death and disability for Americans and that overweight people are twice as likely to have high blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. In general medical professionals agree that the more overweight a person is, the more likely that he or she will have some serious health problems.

Causative Factors

While there are genetic and medical conditions that cause many people to struggle with weight, William Dietz, M.D., Ph.D., director of CDC's Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity says that the causes behind the precipitous rise in obesity in the United States is typically a lifestyle issue. He pointed to things like greater consumption of soft drinks high in sugar content, people skipping more meals and other dietary habits. Americans consume too much fast food and restaurants are serving overly large portions. With busy families having little time to cook healthy meals and eating out more, the dietary consequences are magnified. Finally, many of the time-saving prepared foods on the shelves of grocery stores aimed at those who do prepare meals at home typically contain high levels of sugar and fat. Poor nutritional habits however are only part of the problem.

Charlene Burgeson, health scientist in CDC's Division of Adolescent and School Health, says that another lifestyle factor, physical inactivity, is another big reason behind rising rates of obesity. As he observes, it is a simple matter that whether a person is overweight or not depends on the difference between the number of calories consumed and the number expended. Due to time constraints, regular exercise, such as walking, running or bicycling is no longer the natural part of many people's daily routine as once was the case. Also many schools have dropped recesses and physical education activities to provide more time for academics which is considered one of the contributing factors in the rise of child obesity.

Solutions

Understanding the prevalence of obesity and the serious threat it poses by way of the potential for developing one or more of the serious medical conditions associated with it is only part of the equation. Americans must somehow find the time in their busy lifestyles to incorporate regular physical exercise and more healthful eating into their daily lives. A recent poll conducted by America Online, although far from scientific asked responders to rate themselves with respect to weight. From the 19,784 people who participated in the poll, the following results were obtained: 8,764 (44%) rated themselves as overweight, 7,302 (37%) people stated that they were "just right", 2,872 (15%) people categorized themselves as obese and the remaining 846 (4%) stated that they were underweight. If the CDC numbers are believed accurate, it is likely that many of those who believed they were just overweight are actually obese by clinical definition. Like anything else, the more prevalent a condition becomes, the greater tendency there is for people to view it as the "norm" and to be lulled into complacency. One can easily learn their BMI by visiting the Web MD site at www.webmd.com/diet/calc-bmi-plus. There is a BMI calculator located there where after entering sex, age, height, weight and waist size you will be given your calculated BMI and a chart will be displayed indicating whether you are at an acceptable weight, overweight or obese.

Fortunately, even a modest weight loss can bring significant health improvements like lowering blood pressure, lowering cholesterol levels and reducing the risk of disease associated with high blood pressure and high cholesterol. If you learn that you are seriously overweight or obese, commit yourself to making the lifestyle changes necessary to have a normal, healthy life span. If you have never been an exercise enthusiast or feel you do not know enough about healthy nutrition consider joining a fitness center and perhaps think about hiring a personal trainer. A personal trainer can help you find an exercise regimen that you are more likely to stick with and besides expertise in exercise programs and motivation, most also have been educated on proper nutrition. The costs in time and money to commit to these things might be a small amount indeed when it is compared to the cost of needed medical care resulting from some of the serious conditions associated with being overweight. In case you didn't guess it earlier, I'm the 5-8, 195 pound guy used in the BMI calculation example. Learning the rather sobering fact that I'm on the threshold of obesity is more than enough motivation for me to make some serious efforts towards taking my own advice and adopting some healthy lifestyle changes. How about you?

Sources:

"Epidemic". Merriam-Webster Online. July 4, 2009.

"Obesity a Growing Epidemic". CDC Foundation. July 4, 2009.

"Weight Loss: Health Risks Associated With Obesity". Web MD. July 4, 2009.

Stobbe, Mike. "Mississippi Remains Most Obese State, CDC Reports". ABC News. July 4, 2009.

"Poll Based on Weight". America Online. July 4, 2009.

"WebMD BMI Plus Calculator". Web MD. July 4, 2009.