"It has been estimated that about 30% of American adults are now classified as obese.
That is quite a staggering number, and I have to admit I had no idea of the
seriousness in numbers until I read that. There's been a lot of talk lately on new
studies showing new factors in the apparent obesity epidemic, since obesity causes so
many deadly diseases, from heart conditions to cancer."
Obesity : The Health Link is Becoming Increasingly Apparent
Obesity and it's related health issues is a major concern to the medical field today, and researchers are
working hard to come up with the “obesity cure”. Not only that, but scientists seem increasingly baffled over why
obesity continues to be a problem that doesn't get better, but instead, seems to only get increasingly worse as
time goes on.
Obesity is classically defined as "the condition of being obese; increased body weight caused by excessive
accumulation of fat". More specifically though, individuals are considered clinically obese if they are an adult
male or female with a BMI (Body Mass Index, a body fat percentage measurement) of 30 or higher.
Any adult with a BMI between 25 and 29.9 is considered overweight, and not obese, and is still subject to some
of the health concerns associated with excess weight, but are not in as grave of danger as those who are
obese or morbidly obese. These categories are then further broken down based on the BMI, into "overweight"
and "overweight at risk". This of course, depends on the severity of the BMI imbalance, as well as height, age,
and overall health.
The health hazards and subsequent health issues associated with obesity are as follows :
Hypertension (high blood pressure)
Dyslipidemia, which has to do with healthy vs. unhealthy cholesterol
Diabetes
Thyroid Disease
Heart disease, heart attack
Gallbladder issues
Osteoarthritis
Sleep apnea and other respiratory (breathing) problems
*Increased risk of many different types of cancers
Stroke
* There has been more and more evidence piling up that many cancers are greatly influenced by our diet and
lifestyle, and risk is greatly increased when obesity is present. Recent studies show that obesity has a closer
association to breast cancer risk than originally thought, as well as prostate cancer for men.
Factors that researchers have come up with in the obesity epidemic have obviously primarily been linked to
poor diet and overconsumption of the wrong foods, but recently it was publicized that researchers are now
saying there are other contributing factors to obesity that had not previously been talked about as possibilities.
Another issue is that popular fad diets only give people temporary relief and often lead to additional obesity
problems by messing up metabolism even more.
Keep in mind, obesity is still primarily a weight problem that is associated with eating the wrong foods, and
having excess body fat due to excess calorie intake. These additional factors are just that - additional factors in
the obesity and overweight epidemic here in America these days.
They are not in any way saying they are the biggest factors, but rather they are smaller "supplemental" and more
overlooked factors, if you will, why Americans are becoming more overweight and obese as time goes on.
Some call these ideas far fetched, and an excuse to ignore the obvious reason for the increase in obesity,
which is that people are eating too many calories, and not being physically active enough. I tend to agree with
that assessment, but it's hard to also ignore that the changing times also present various factors that can
contribute to the upward weight trend.
Additional Overlooked Factors in Obesity and Excess Weight :
1.) Increase in Air and Environmental Pollutions - This is said to cause a hormonal imbalance, which can force
the body to store more fat.
2.) Birth-control pills - There has been an increase in the amount of women taking birth control pills in the past
ten to twenty years, and some birth control pills arguably cause women to gain weight more easily.
3.) Air conditioners & Controlled Temperature - Air Conditioners and heaters tend to make it easier for our
bodies to regulate their temperature, which means we burn less calories. When we have to work to keep our
bodies cool, or work to keep our bodies warm, we burn more calories. Also, in the heat and humidity, we tend
to be less hungry.
4.) Smoking - The decrease in overall smokers may also have something to do with weight increases, since
smoking typically causes a person to lose weight. This one is really far fetched, I think.
5.) Sleep Deprivation - Not getting enough sleep, and downright sleep deprivation can cause increased
appetite and decreased metabolism.
6.) Kids Born to Older Mothers - They are said to be "genetically set up" to be overweight. Whatever that
means. This one also sounds like a stretch to me.
7.) Less Women Breast Feeding - This has been implicated in only a few studies, although the actual link to
obesity is not clear.
8.) Eating Meat and Dairy with Hormones - This is another "theory", that added hormones to our meats and
dairy products are causing hormonal imbalances, which cause our metabolisms to go into a state of flux as
well as cause our bodies to store extra fat.
Obesity and Health