Obesity: Billions Served

Did you know that over one billion people are now overweight?

Research by Aline Jelenkovic Moreno states, "Obesity is seen as the great pandemia of the 21st century. Recent data point to more than a billion adults in the world suffering from overweight, of which 300 million are clinically obese. What is more, the rates of child obesity show a worrying increase, with more than 155 million children and adolescents being overweight, of which 40 million are clearly obese."

 

Can you believe that more than a BILLION people are overweight?  It has been long understood that the U.S. population is about two-thirds overweight, but now it seems our country's unhealthy habits have spread globally. This is a rather large wake-up call.

For obesity to be one of the top diseases (and causes of death) in the world should come as an outrage. Besides quitting smoking, it is one of the most preventable diseases in the world to fight against.

Why not just casually try to put an end to obesity? Well, we are bombarded from every angle by food manufacturers promoting unhealthy foods and diets. The fact that obesity rates have increased as food becomes more processed and unnatural is not a coincidence.

Plus, exercise is seen as a luxury for those who have the time.

Unfortunately, being active is not a luxury anyone can afford not to indulge in. The fact that most people sit for the majority of the day is a good indicator that at least 30 minutes a day of moderate to vigorous activity is needed.

In what way can we reverse the obesity numbers and prevent them from climbing.

In order to create permanent change we must look at weight loss and maintaining a healthy weight as simply a by-product of valuing health. Right now, the majority of people place convenience (which includes processed foods, fast food, and medication) above living a healthy lifestyle. This leads to not wanting to put in the extra effort needed to eat well, exercise, and live an overall healthy life.

Unless we're willing to change our individual and collective view of how we live our life, then we may be headed for higher obesity rates and all the effects it carries along with it.

I for one will continue to spread the word about how to live a life based on eating well, proper exercise, and stress reduction, which in turn will provide you with a life-time of healthy benefits - I hope you'll help me in spreading this word!

Causes of Morbid Obesity

The reasons for obesity are multiple and complex. Despite conventional wisdom, it is not simply a result of overeating. Research has shown that in many cases a significant, underlying cause of morbid obesity is genetic. Studies have demonstrated that once the problem is established, efforts such as dieting and exercise programs have a limited ability to provide effective long-term relief. Science continues to search for answers. But until the disease is better understood, the control of excess weight is something patients must work at for their entire lives. That is why it is very important to understand that all current medical interventions, including weight loss surgery, should not be considered medical cures. Rather they are attempts to reduce the effects of excessive weight and alleviate the serious physical, emotional and social consequences of the disease. Contributing Factors The underlying causes of severe obesity are not known. There are many factors that contribute to the development of obesity including genetic, environmental, metabolic and eating disorders. There are also certain medical conditions that may result in obesity, such as intake of steroids and hypothyroidism. What's more, our society has become increasingly inactive while our healthy food consumption decreases. High-calorie food and lack of exercise all contribute to the American population's becoming more and more overweight. Genetic Factors Numerous scientific studies have established that your genes play an important role in your tendency to gain excess weight. The body weight of adopted children shows no correlation with the body weight of their adoptive parents, who feed them and teach them how to eat. Their weight does have an 80 percent correlation with their genetic parents, whom they have never met. Identical twins, with the same genes, show a much higher similarity of body weights than do fraternal twins, who have different genes. Certain groups of people, such as the Pima Indian tribe in Arizona, have a very high incidence of severe obesity. They also have significantly higher rates of diabetes and heart disease than other ethnic groups. We probably have a number of genes directly related to weight. Just as some genes determine eye color or height, others affect our appetite, our ability to feel full or satisfied, our metabolism, our fat-storing ability and even our natural activity levels. The Pima Paradox The Pima Indians are known in scientific circles as one of the heaviest groups of people in the world. In fact, National Institutes of Health researchers have been studying them for more than 35 years. Some adults weigh more than 500 pounds, and many obese teenagers are suffering from diabetes, the disease most frequently associated with obesity. But, interestingly, a group of Pima Indians living in Sierra Madre, Mexico, does not have a problem with obesity and its related diseases. Why not? The leading theory states that after many generations of living in the desert, often confronting famine, the most successful Pima were those with genes that helped them store as much fat as possible during times when food was available. Now those fat-storing genes work against them. Though both populations consume a similar number of calories each day, the Mexican Pima still live much like their ancestors did. They put in 23 hours of physical labor each week and eat a traditional diet very low in fat. The Arizona Pima live like most other modern Americans, eating a diet consisting of around 40 percent fat and engaging in physical activity for only two hours a week. The Pima apparently have a genetic predisposition to gain weight. And the environment in which they live, the environment in which most of us live, makes it nearly impossible for the Arizona Pima to maintain a normal, healthy body weight. Environmental Factors Environmental and genetic factors are obviously closely intertwined. If you have a genetic predisposition toward obesity, then the modern American lifestyle and environment may make controlling weight more difficult. Fast food, long days sitting at a desk, and suburban neighborhoods that require cars all magnify hereditary factors such as metabolism and efficient fat storage. For those suffering from morbid obesity, anything less than a total change in environment usually results in failure to reach and maintain a healthy body weight. Metabolism We used to think of weight gain or loss as only a function of calories ingested and then burned. Take in more calories than you burn, gain weight; burn more calories than you ingest, lose weight. But now we know the equation isn't that simple. Obesity researchers now talk about a theory called the "set point," a sort of thermostat in the brain that makes people resistant to weight loss. If you try to override the set point by drastically cutting your calorie intake, your brain responds by lowering metabolism and slowing activity. You then gain back any weight you lost.