The True Facts About Obesity
What are the true facts about obesity? Well, first off, what is the definition of obesity?
A
person has traditionally been considered to be obese if they are more
than 20 percent over their ideal weight. That ideal weight must take
into account the person's height, age, sex, and build. Obesity has
been more precisely defined by the National Institutes of Health (the
NIH) as a BMI of 30 and above. (A BMI of 30 is about 30 pounds
overweight.)
For children, this is more difficult still, as they
are constantly growing upward. However, our concern is that they are
also growing outward. The problem today is that the outward growth is
not proportional to the upward growth.
We can't really go over the facts about obesity, without also covering the obesity statistics (in the US at least). Does fast food cause obesity? Click here to find out.
For starters, let's cover just the general obesity statistics. How does this sound to you?
- 58 Million Overweight; 40 Million Obese; 3 Million morbidly Obese
- Eight out of 10 over 25's Overweight
- 78% of American's not meeting basic activity level recommendations
- 25% completely Sedentary
- 76% increase in Type II diabetes in adults 30-40 yrs old since 1990
- Obesity rates doubled from 1980-2000!
- Almost 61% of children ages 5-10 who are overweight have at least one marker for heart disease
If you want to read more about what the CDC has to say on the facts about obesity, Download this article
Things don't look so bright, do they?
If
you want to know what the facts about obesity for children, then click
here. We really hope that you are understanding what the problem is
with being obese.
However, if the facts about obesity aren't enough to scare you, go check out the effects of being obese.
Financial Facts As if the facts on obesity weren't bad enough from a health standpoint, chew on this:
- States, as well as the federal government could be Bankrupted by health care costs attributed to obesity!
- The lap-band surgery can cost as much as $30,000 to help people lose weight
- The cost of getting a gastric bypass surgery can cost as much as $25,000
- The
average person spends $6000 per year on food and dining. The average
obese person is likely to spend almost double that!
- Research on
obesity shows that almost $93 Billion (yeah, with a B) was spent on
health care for overweight people...in 1998 (and it's rising)
- Obese people will pay, on average, $395 more per year for health care costs than their normal weight counterparts.
- Health care costs for obese and overweight people have surpassed that for smokers and drinkers!
Discouraged?
Don't
be. There's plenty of hope to reverse the trends of obesity at large,
and specifically, childhood obesity. We want you to have the best
chance of winning this fight, so please sign up for our newsletter
below. We will focus weekly on the facts about obesity, causes of
obesity, obesity prevention, and the effects of obesity.
Another
thing to remember is that just because childhood obesity is considered
an epidemic, it does not have to be. Nor will it be a permanent
problem...as long as we all take action. So please, sign up for the
newsletter and stay with us so you too can help combat this pesky
situation. Your waistline, and your wallet will be happy you did.
|
|