What is obesity?

Obesity is defined as a Body Mass Index greater than 30. The body mass index is a ratio of an individual’s height and weight.  For example, a 5’9” male with weight greater than 170 lbs. classifies him as overweight, and a weight greater than 200 lbs. classifies him as obese. A 5’5” female weighing more than 150 lbs. is also classified as overweight and a weight greater than 180. lbs classifies her as obese.

The Reality

During the past 20 years, obesity rates among adults have risen significantly in the United States. In 2005–2006, data from the National Center for Health Statistics show that 34% of U.S. adults 20 years of age and older are obese. The percentage of young people who are obese has approximately tripled since 1980. In 2003–2006, 16.3% of children and adolescents aged 2–19 years had a body mass index greater than or equal to the 95th percentile for age and sex on the CDC growth charts.

What are the causes of obesity?

The highlight of the study has emphasized that unhealthy diet and physical inactivity can cause obesity and contribute to or aggravate many chronic diseases and conditions, including type 2 diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, stroke, and some cancers.

In 2005, few adults met the Healthy People 2010 objectives for fruit and vegetable consumption. Only 33% consumed fruit two or more times per day and even fewer (27%) consumed vegetables three or more times per day. Over one third (34%) of adolescents in grades 9–12 had a soft drink (not diet) at least one time per day during the previous 7 days.

Despite the proven benefits of physical activity, less than half of American adults in 2007 engaged in enough physical activity to provide health benefits. In 2007, 65% of young people in grades 9–12 did not get the recommended amount of physical activity; 35% watched television for 3 or more hours on the average school day.

Good nutrition and physical activity can prevent obesity

Regular physical activity is an important component of weight control efforts. Proven community approaches to improve physical activity include:

>> Community wide campaigns

>> Point-of-decision prompts such as signs placed by elevators and escalators that encourage people to use nearby stairs

>> Physical education in schools

>> Nonfamily social support interventions

>> Individually adapted health behavior change programs

>> Creating or improving access to places for physical activity combined with informational outreach

>> Changing street-scale or community-scale urban design and land use policy and practice

>> Reducing the time children spend watching television appears to be effective for helping to control their weight

>> Replacing foods of high energy density (high amount of calories per weight of food) with those of lower energy density (such as fruits and vegetables) can be an important part of a weight management strategy

>> Decreased consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages appears to be associated with lower body mass index or weight

Is there hope for the future?

Recognizing and accepting that a problem exists is the first step towards resolving the problem of obesity. Increasing opportunities for healthy eating and physical activity are important initial steps we can take to promote health and wellness.

There is definitely hope for the future, and this rests on the ability of the individual to understand the consequences of obesity; and choose to prevent these chronic complications by adopting healthy eating habits and tolerable physical activity.

DR. NOEL FAJARDO

Dr. Fajardo is a gastroenterologist in Las Vegas, NV. He recently opened his private practice, Las Vegas Gastroenterology. For more info, go to www.lvgastro.com or call 1-877-LVGASTRO.