Obesity in America

Obesity is a condition in which the natural energy reserve, stored in the fatty tissue of humans, and other mammals, is increased to a point where it is a risk factor for certain health conditions or increased mortality. Obesity develops from the interaction of individual biology and the environment. Excessive body weight has been shown to predispose to various diseases, particularly cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus type 2, sleep apnea, and osteoarthritis. Obesity is both an individual clinical condition ans is increasingly viewed as a serious public health problem.

When children or adolescents are obese, they pose many serious health and social consequence that often continue into adulthood. Understanding and implementing preventive programs for youngsters is important to controlling the obesity epidemic

There are about 15.5 percent of adolescents and 15.3 percent of children who are obese. The increase in obesity among American youth over the past two decades is dramatic. . The AOA''s focus on childhood obesity has involved lobbying Congress to provide more funding for prevention programs, collecting research for further understanding, and convening experts at our conference to explore questions and seek answers.

Parents and health care professional in the U.S have used growth charts since the late 1970's to follow the progress in physical growth of infants, children and adolescents. In May 2001, the CDC developed new growth charts to include the child's body mass index.

Children who are overweight or obese are defined as being at or above the eight-five or ninety-five percentile of body mass index.

The AOA uses the ninety-five percentile as criteria for obesity because it: corresponds to Body Mass Index of thirty which is obesity in adults. The eighty-five percentile corresponds to Body Mass Index of twenty-five, adult overweight. That it is recommended as a marker for when children and adolescents should have an in-depth medical assessment. It also identifies children that are very likely to have obesity persist into adulthood. It is also associated with elevated blood pressure and lipids in older adolescents, and increases their risk of diseases. It is also a criteria for more aggressive treatment and is also a criteria in clinical trials of childhood obesity treatments.

There are also many adverse health effects associated with overweight children. Overweight during childhood and particularly adolescence is related to increased morbidity and mortality in later life. Some of these include but are not limited to : Asthma, Diabetes( type 2), Hypertension, Orthopedic complications, Psychosocial effects and stigma, and also sleep apnea.

Obesity is usually caused by people gaining weight when the body takes in more calories than it burns off. Those extra calories are stored as fat. The amount of weight gain that leads to obesity doesn't happen in a few weeks or months. Because being obese is more than just being a few pounds overweight, people who are obese have usually been getting more calories than the need for years.

Genes can also play a part in obesity. Some of your genes tell your body how to metabolize food and how to use extra calories or stored fat. Some people burn calories faster or slower than others do because of their genes.

There are some uncommon causes of obesity which are Thyroid gland problems or unusual genetic disorders.

One of the main causes of obesity is sedentary lifestyle. People aren't as active as what they use to be. Instead they have televisions, computers, and video games filling there time.

The number of people who are obese is rising. About 1.2 billion people in the world are overweight and at least 300 million of them are obese, even though obesity is one of the ten most preventable health risks, according to the World Health Organization. Among teenagers and kids who are six years or older, more than fifteen percent of them are overweight. At least 300,000 deaths every year in the United States can be linked to obesity.

You may be wondering how you can keep from being overweight or obese. Instead of riding in your car, go for a walk. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Walk or bike to places. If you have to drive somewhere, park farther away than you need to and walk the extra distance.Tackle those household chores, such as vacuuming, washing the car, or cleaning the bathroom. Alternate activities so you don't get bored. Limit your time watching TV or playing video games. Go dancing, it can burn more than 300 calories and hour!

If you are already overweight or obese then you should talk to your doctor or a registered dietitian. With their help, you can come up with a safe plan, based on eating well and exercising.