OVERWEIGHT AND ITS DANGERS

When a person consumes too much  food, especially carbohydrates and fat, than he actually needs to maintain his body mechanism and perform his daily activities, the excess calories generated by this  food is stored as fat. A person is considered overweight when this fat is about 10% in excess of the ideal fat for his height, and obese at over 20% excess. Obesity, the condition of being obese or seriously overweight, is a common but serious nutritional disorder, affecting the poor and rich alike.

Height body fat.

8-20% of body weight (men).

13-25% of body weight (woman).

Indicators of Obesity.

1. Triceps Skin fold Thickness: The measurement of the fold of skin at the back of the upper arm (triceps) can be used to determine whether a particular person is too fat (obese), normal too thin. The standard triceps skin fold  thickness for normal weight adult is 12.5mm for male and 16.5mm for female. Females are naturally expected to be fatter than males. Higher figures are indicators of overweight or obesity.
2. Waist measurement: Waist measurement is a reliable indicator of how fat or thin a person is. A woman whose wait measures more than 40 inches are considered obese.

Types of Obesity:

Obesity is classified into two types depending on when it manifest.

Toddler/Juvenile Obesity (Lifelong Obesity): This type of obesity starts in childhood. Some children are overweight right from womb, causing their mothers to undergo caesarean section. This is to say that obesity poses danger to life even at birth! In most cases, especially where there is no concerted effort at reducing calories intake, childhood obesity develops into adulthood and even become worse. This is because the child grows up with higher number and sizes of adipose tissues capable of storing more and more fat.click for more details on how to prevent underweight and obesity.

Children that are well fed in infancy would maximize their potential for growth and fatness better than those with little or no food. According to research, fat cells increase in number in the first two years of life and again just before puberty (12-15 years). Avoiding overfeeding children at these periods might reduce their potential for obesity.
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3. Adult Onset Obesity: This is the type of obesity that starts in adulthood. It is provoked by overfeeding or over indulgence in foods containing a lot of carbohydrates and fat; though the individual may have the genetic potential for it right from birth. An example is a skinny girl at 15 or 18 years who suddenly becomes fat and obese at 25 or 30 years after experiencing a change in status with improved economic and nutritional levels.

·         Fat Distribution

There is no human being without adipose tissues or fat cells. The role of fat in the body is very critical to life; that is, no fat, no life. Therefore, what we are talking about is not the total examination of excessive, unhealthy fat.

Fat are not evenly distributed throughout the body. Some parts of the body are natural locations for fat. These parts include the abdomen, the trunk (chest region), buttocks, thighs, hips, waist, cheeks, breast, calves, arms (especially the top parts) and nape of the neck.

Overweight or obese people two main patterns f fat distribution, with several shades in between. These two main patterns are: apple-shaped fat distribution(6.1) and pear-shaped fat distribution (6.2).

In the apple-shaped fat distribution, fat is mainly in the abdomen and trunk; making the person to look round or trunchal obesity.

Medically, people with apple-shaped or trunchal obesity are more predisposed to heart or cardiovascular diseases, such as arteriosclerosis and congestive heart disease due to the excess fat surrounding the heart.

APPLE-SHAPED.

PEAR-SHAPED.

The distribution fat in this pattern is mainly in the buttocks and thighs. Pear-shaped obesity is characteristics of women and is otherwise referred to as Gynoid obesity. Although pear-shaped obesity poses less cardiovascular risks, but it is commonly associated with low back pain and arthritis in women.

  maintain your weight and live a healthy lifestyle

Other patterns of Obesity.plate 6.2

Dangers of Obesity.

The dangers, (complications and implications) of obesity are medically, socially and economically significant. Hence the issue of obesity has for years attained global concern, making weight losing business a multibillion dollar business worldwide.

Some of the dangers of obesity

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Earlier death: The result of several independent researches worldwide, especially in the United states, show that obese people do not live as long as those who are not. About 300,000 people die yearly due to obesity related causes, making it the second leading cause of death after smoking.

Arteriosclerosis: This is the hardening and loss of elasticity of the arteries and veins due to large deposit of cholesterol. Cholesterol is a natural component of fat.

Hypertension: The strong link between obesity and hypertension has long identified and confirmed. The fatter a person becomes, the higher his risk of developing the silent killer, hypertension.

Coronary artery disease: Narrowing of the coronary (heart) arteries by fat deposit could result in coronary thrombosis and heart attack.

Diabetes Mellitus: Insulin, a natural chemical that is produced by the islet of langerhans in the pancreas is responsible for the complete metabolism of sugar and fat in the body. If the excess sugar being consumed by an obese person becomes too much for the insulin to regulate, the excess glucose simply accumulates in the blood causing a disease known as diabetes mellitus. Although we have juvenile diabetic patients, but obese men generally develop diabetes than obese women.

Stroke: Hypertension and coronary artery disease predispose obese people to stroke, which usually results in partial paralysis.

Cancer: Research have shown that obese men and women are more likely to develop cancer than their normal weight counterparts. While the men frequently suffer from colon, prostate and rectal cancer, the woman are prone to cancer of the breast, uterus, ovaries and bladder.

Low back pain/Osteoarthritis: The excess weight in the waist, ankle and knees could cause these parts to be swollen and painful, tending to a degenerative disease known as Osteoarthritis.

Varicose veins: Fat or obese people usually have on their legs and thighs veins that are swollen, enlarged, twisted, painful and usually ugly-looking.

Menstrual irregularity/infertility: Women with severe obesity are known to suffer from certain menstrual irregularities and infertility.

Skin disease: Fat or obese people are prone to such skin disease as acne (pimples), rashes, eczematous skin condition and allergic dermatitis.

Fatty Liver: Excessive fat accumulation in the liver could disturb its function and lead to liver failure.

Surgical difficulties: Obese people are more difficult to operate on surgical due to excess fat lining the skin. They also suffer more from postoperative complications like bedsores, deep venous thrombosis, and slow healing of wound.

Snoring/Sleep disorder: Fat or obese people suffer more frequently from breathing problems and sleep disorder such as snoring and restlessness than normal weight counterparts.

Stretch mark: Majority of fat or obese people have stretch marks on their body, which result from previous or present overstretching of the skin by fat deposits.

Sexual Dysfunction: Obesity is known to negatively affect the production of sex hormones in men, thereby causing decreased libido (sex urge) and sexual failure.

Expectant Mothers: Women who are obese or those who eat too much and become obese during pregnancy are highly disposed to complication of pregnancy and problems during delivery. They are also more likely to deliver an overweight baby (usually through caesarean section).

Fat Folds: Fat and obese people usually develop clumsy skin folds at the abdomen, arms and neck making them look uncomfortable in their clothing.

Agility: Obese people are not as agile or flexible as their normal weight counterparts. They cannot run, walk, climb, participate in several sporting or recreational activities or do house chores as easily as normal weight people. They get tired easily due to their excessive weight.

Psychological Distress: Many obese people are physiologically disturbed by their excess weight. Some of them become anorexic or several malnourished, while some become introvert and melancholic.

Economic/Social Implication: Obese people spend more money on several things than normal weight people, An obese person would desire a stronger bed and a thicker mattress; a bigger and stronger chair, a car with more sitting space, clothing with extra yards, e.t.c.

The above myriad of problems are enough reasons for any obese person to want to lose and people to strive to avoid being overweight or obese.

Interestingly, just losing 10% of your weight could improve your health and decrease these risks!click to get details on how to maintain healthy life and prevent overweight or obese.

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