What Does It Mean To Be Obese?


How can you know if you are obese, and how to avoid obesity

obese, obesity

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE OBESE?

Being obese and overweight is not exactly the same thing. You can be overweight and not be an obese, because a person is considered an obese when it has a large amount of extra body fat, and not only a few extra pounds.

Obese people are very overweight and that puts them at risk for serious health problems.

HOW CAN YOU KNOW IF YOU ARE OBESE

To determine if you are an obese, the doctors often use the BMI that's a body mass index measurement. To calculate your body mass index the doctor needs to measure your height and your weight, and then it will compare your BMI with the BMI of other people of your same age and gender.

If your BMI is between the 85 th and the 95 th percentile you are considered at risk of overweight. If your BMI is above the 95th percentile, it means that your weight is bigger than 95 % of people of your same age and gender, and this is considered to be overweight (with the exception of people that have a large muscle's mass like a bodybuilder, that might have a BMI bigger than the 95th percentile due to their extra muscle weight).

Obesity is the term used for extreme overweight.


WHAT CAUSES OBESITY

You gain weight when your body takes in more calories than it burns off. Then those extra calories are stored as fat.

You can't become an obese in a few weeks or months, it usually takes years of getting more calories than you need

Some people (very few indeed) become obese because that's what they have inherited in their genes from their parents. Some genes tell the body how to metabolize food and how to use the extra calories that you have stored as fat (that's why some people burn calories faster than others).

But most of all people become obese because they like to eat the same kind of food and in the same amounts that their parents used to do. So the worst that you can inherit is not a gene, it's a bad habit (like snacking in front of the TV).

And you can also inherit the way that you think about having overweight (some people urge their children to eat in excess "to grow big and strong").

Obese families also feel the same about doing (rather not doing) exercise.

Yes, certain illnesses, like thyroid gland problems can produce obesity, but they are very unusual genetic disorders.

Emotions can be the reason for being skinny and obese at the same time, because some people tend to eat more when they are upset, anxious, sad, stressed out, or even bored, and some tend to eat less.

And if you tend to eat too much, then you may feel bad about it and then eat more to deal with those bad feelings. This creates a dangerous cycle that's not so easy to break.

How sedentary is your lifestyle?

This is a very important factor, one of the most important factors in weight gain. Television, computers, cars, quick foods not cooked on the house, remote controls and video games make people less active today than they used to be, and all this helps to gain weight.


ARE YOU AT RISK OF BECOMING OBESE?

About 1.2 billion people in the world are overweight and from that number, at least 300 million are obese, and the percentage is rising even though obesity is one of the most preventable health risks. In the United States (according to the World Health Organization) more than half of the adults are overweight, and almost one in five are obese

Among teenagers and kids 6 year and older, more than 15% are overweight.


HOW DANGEROUS IS TO BE OBESE?

In the United States, every year at least 300,000 deaths can be linked to obesity, being women slightly more at risk of becoming obese than men.

Obesity is really bad news, it makes you feel tired and uncomfortable, it can wear down joints, it gives problems in hips and knee joints that may require surgery, and it also adds extra stress on other parts of the body.

Obesity is also allocated with breathing problems (such as asthma and sleep apnea), and it can also produce high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes in young people.

As they get older, obese people are more likely to develop heart problems, bladder problems, stroke, problems in women reproductive system, and increase the risk of breast and colon cancer.

In addition to all said, obese people are more likely to be depressed, when they feel sad (or even angry) they eat to make themselves feel better, this makes them feel worse and the vicious cycle starts all over.


HOW TO AVOID BECOMING OVERWEIGHT OR OBESE

First of all maintain a healthy weight through good eating habits and regular exercise.

How much exercise?

It's enough with 30 minutes a day. You can walk, swim, stretch. Do what you like most (or hate less).

Some habit changes that can help you are:

* Take a walk with your dog two or three times a day (if you have it, he will be delighted)

* Avoid the elevators, try to use stairs whenever you can

* Walk or bike wherever you can instead of using an car

* If you use a car, do not park to close to where you go

* Wash your car once a week, clean your bedrooms, vacuum and take care of other household chores (they all burn calories)

* Limit your TV and video games time

* Run, bike, skate or dance, everything that requires body movement burn calories

* Dieting over and over is a bad idea, change your eating habits and stay at your healthy weight

* Drink water instead of soft drinks, bear or wine

* Avoid fast-food places

* Don't super size your servings, keep them regular

* Don't eat while you watch TV

* Try to have not more than 3 hours and not less than 1,5 hours between your eating times.



IF YOU ALREADY ARE OBESE OR OVERWEIGHT

The first thing that you must do is to go and see a doctor, he is the only one that can come up with a healthy plan, don't starve yourself and don't ask for a god diet to your friends, go and see a professional. If you are a teenager, remember that you are growing, and so you need to keep eating regularly

A support group can also help you a lot, and ask help to your friends and family, tell them that you want to lose weight and that they mustn't offer you what you mustn't eat.

It can be tough dealing with the family habits, but my CD Adelgaza Ya! (it's in Spanish) can help you loose weight if that's what you are looking for.

Remember that the most important part of having a normal weight is to stay healthy and not to look in a certain way, you have the body that you have and you can't change that. Learn to love your body and maintain it healthy!.

Written by Dr. Roberto A. Bonomi

You will find all that you need to know about, self help, stress control, weight control, stop smoking, mind control, relax, motivation and meditation with subliminal messages at Dr. Bonomi's web site: http://www.drbonomi.com and you can post free your own articles, or find free articles for your web site or ezine at http://articles.drbonomi.com

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