Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems. Body mass index (BMI) is a measurement used to compare weight and height, defines people as obese (pre-obese) when their BMI is between 25 kg/m2 and 30 kg/m2, and obese when it is greater than 30 kg/m2.
An estimated 5.5 million adults in Canada had a BMI of 30 or more indicated obese, according to the CCHS 2004. Men, women, and children are affected by obesity, but in Canada the Aboriginal Origin (off-reserve) had a higher significant obesity rare.
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/82-620-m/2005001/t/adults-adultes/4053591-eng.htm
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/82-620-m/2005001/t/adults-adultes/4144184-eng.htm
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/82-620-m/2005001/t/adults-adultes/4053592-eng.htm
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/82-620-m/2005001/article/adults-adultes/8060-eng.htm#1
Emotional Factor
People overeat for many reasons. Some simply love food. Many people subconsciously equate food with emotional comfort, and eat to cope with feelings of depression, failure, or low self-esteem. Some use food to reward themselves for minor accomplishments. Many people overeat simply out of habit. A particular problem these days is a dependence on convenience and junk foods, which supply lots of calories but very little nutrition.
Genetic Factor
Genes can directly cause obesity in disorders such as Bardet-Biedl syndrome and Prader-Willi syndrome. However genes do not always predict future health. Genes and behaviour may both be needed for a person to be overweight. In some cases multiple genes may increase one’s susceptibility for obesity and require outside factors; such as abundant food supply or little physical activity.
Social Factor
Food is often used as a centerpiece of social affairs in the west. We have business breakfast, luncheon, dinner, etc. We are obligated to attend social functions such as dinner parties, featuring sumptuous meals. Eating can often carry a sense of social obligation. Television watching and obesity are highly associated; the more of one, the more of the other.
Physical Factor
In spite of a decrease in average caloric intake of 40 percent in the last 130 years, the decrease in physical exertion has been even greater. In the majority of obese people, caloric intake habitually exceeds caloric loss from physical activity, movement, and exertion. Less/no exercising , eating and watching television is a major influence for obesity.
In my point of view, yes obese can be a mental and physical challenge, but I would say obese is a profit base strategy - an easy pray for all those manufacturers and promoting industries. For example ice cream or junk food industries, who do you think is their main buyer? I would say most of it is from the obese families. We would think that they would take in effect this disease and try to help society by promoting healthier food and services. When we go into a grocery store we buy chips, chocolate, pop, etc, when we go to cash out, we see magazines-weight loss this, loose 40lbs in 2 weeks, eat healthy etc. this is all promotion strategies one is making a profit of the other. Why isn’t our society helping this situation, again it’s another selfish way in which society thinks about money. They are not doing anything to help the situation ex Mcdonalds, Burger King, KFC, there only focus is profit, and not all about the health of economy.
An estimated 5.5 million adults in Canada had a BMI of 30 or more indicated obese, according to the CCHS 2004. Men, women, and children are affected by obesity, but in Canada the Aboriginal Origin (off-reserve) had a higher significant obesity rare.
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/82-620-m/2005001/t/adults-adultes/4053591-eng.htm
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/82-620-m/2005001/t/adults-adultes/4144184-eng.htm
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/82-620-m/2005001/t/adults-adultes/4053592-eng.htm
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/82-620-m/2005001/article/adults-adultes/8060-eng.htm#1
Emotional Factor
People overeat for many reasons. Some simply love food. Many people subconsciously equate food with emotional comfort, and eat to cope with feelings of depression, failure, or low self-esteem. Some use food to reward themselves for minor accomplishments. Many people overeat simply out of habit. A particular problem these days is a dependence on convenience and junk foods, which supply lots of calories but very little nutrition.
Genetic Factor
Genes can directly cause obesity in disorders such as Bardet-Biedl syndrome and Prader-Willi syndrome. However genes do not always predict future health. Genes and behaviour may both be needed for a person to be overweight. In some cases multiple genes may increase one’s susceptibility for obesity and require outside factors; such as abundant food supply or little physical activity.
Social Factor
Food is often used as a centerpiece of social affairs in the west. We have business breakfast, luncheon, dinner, etc. We are obligated to attend social functions such as dinner parties, featuring sumptuous meals. Eating can often carry a sense of social obligation. Television watching and obesity are highly associated; the more of one, the more of the other.
Physical Factor
In spite of a decrease in average caloric intake of 40 percent in the last 130 years, the decrease in physical exertion has been even greater. In the majority of obese people, caloric intake habitually exceeds caloric loss from physical activity, movement, and exertion. Less/no exercising , eating and watching television is a major influence for obesity.
In my point of view, yes obese can be a mental and physical challenge, but I would say obese is a profit base strategy - an easy pray for all those manufacturers and promoting industries. For example ice cream or junk food industries, who do you think is their main buyer? I would say most of it is from the obese families. We would think that they would take in effect this disease and try to help society by promoting healthier food and services. When we go into a grocery store we buy chips, chocolate, pop, etc, when we go to cash out, we see magazines-weight loss this, loose 40lbs in 2 weeks, eat healthy etc. this is all promotion strategies one is making a profit of the other. Why isn’t our society helping this situation, again it’s another selfish way in which society thinks about money. They are not doing anything to help the situation ex Mcdonalds, Burger King, KFC, there only focus is profit, and not all about the health of economy.
I'm very interested in the genetic factors contributing to obesity. Wish there was more research being done of this aspect of obesity. If some people could be identified as genetically obesity-suseptible early on it their lives then perhaps such knowledge would make them more conscious/careful of how much and/or what they are eating in the future.
ReplyDeleteThats very interesting. I think people should teaching their children to eat healthy, right from young. Its alot easier to keep doing something youve always done then to change them later on, excepically when it comes to food. I also think that healthy foods should be cheaper to purchase, lots of people who are obese is not just bacuse they eat badly and are lazy, or have genitcally inheirted, but beacuse foods like kd and sidekicks are cheap. People who dont have a lot of money don't care what nutrional value it has, as long as it feeds their faimlies.
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