Obesity,a condition that results from accumulating too much fat,leading to an increase in body mass to size ratio,can be dangerous to health, yet subtle to come at,as most persons consume a lot of fatty products with little or no exercise/physical fitness to counterbalance the fats accumulated...


WHY TALK ABOUT OBESITY?

Over the years,obesity has been a worldwide issue,most especially in the United States of America. More than one billion adults are overweight and about 300million of them are obese,with 66% adults in the US being overweight and 33% obese

In some African countries, obesity level is rising above 5%. Although in some places, it's not high,the risk is increasing as the day passes by



WHY THE INCREASE IN OBESITY LEVEL?



You may have been wondering what the major causes of obesity might be. Is it inherited or acquired? Can it be passed down to generations yet unborn?

Well,medically, although your genes(inherited traits) play a role in your body weight,there are other major causes,skyrocketing being the consumption of fatty food(fast food and sugary snacks) coupled work little or no exercises.

Having a link with obesity increases the chances of other medical/health problems,ranging from heart diseases to strokes,depression,high blood pressure,hypertension,which can greatly influence your lifestyle,quality of living and possibly in most cases,although rare; premature death.


IS OBESITY THE SAME AS OVERWEIGHT?

Although these two terms are being used together, most times interwoven,they both have different meanings when used appropriately.

In order to determine if one is overweight or obese,one has to know his/her Body Mass Index (BMI),which can be gotten by calculation. To do this,you divide your weight in Kilograms(Kg) by the square of your height in meters(M).

As an adult,BMI between 25 and 29.9 is considered overweight while BMI of 30 and higher is obese


IS THERE A SOLUTION TO OBESITY?


An attempt to reduce the high risk of obesity is more than controlling one's diet and daily exercise routine . According to the World Health Organization (W.H.O),proper and widespread sensitization is "key" to curbing this threatening condition.

Ways of doing this include;

*Encouraging healthy living and proper workout/fitness schemes

*Formulating and enforcing public policies that promote the cut down in use of fatty food items

* Supporting the masses with health care professionals to assist those who need drastic weight loss and avoid being obese

* Creating centers for physical fitness at subsidized rates

* Encouraging sporting activities


WHAT CAN YOU AS AN INDIVIDUAL DO TO PREVENT OBESITY?


# Consume more vegetables and fruits

# Cut down of fatty food items

# Daily routine of physical fitness exercises

# Avoid eating junk food at all costs

#Eat less,exercise more.