Once in a while as we walk down the road we come across a man or a woman who is characteristically different from his or peers, simply because of their bodies' girth. They are regularly looked upon as strange beings and are constantly giggled about. What is alarming is the fact that the world population of the obese is on such a steep rise that there is an imminent danger that those who laugh at them today would be among them tomorrow.
That precisely explains why the experts across the globe are worried about the situation. For, being obese does not only mean being aesthetically inferior but also means being far more prone to a great number of diseases than a normal man with normal weight.
Obesity is described as a condition in which the fatty tissues which are the natural energy reserve for our bodies increase so much as to heighten the risk of certain health conditions or increase mortality.
Obesity is a product of human-environment interaction and has come to haunt us, the humans, simply because we have progressively taken to a more sedentary lifestyle, almost completely bereft of physical activity.
Don't be surprised, for those rare occasions when your lift wasn't working and you had to take the stairs instead does not count for a 'physical activity'. Going out and playing a game or brisk walking everyday in the morning for an hour or so is what you must do to keep yourself healthy and fit.
Excessive body weight has been found to be so closely associated with diseases, particularly cardiovascular diseases, that medical practitioners the world over have starting treating obesity as a symptom of many diseases. It is being increasingly seen as a public health hazard.
Obesity is evaluated in terms of Body Mass Index (BMI), waist circumference, and the risk factors. However, so far as epidemiological studies are concerned, BMI alone is considered to measure the obesity.
BMI or Body Mass index is attributed to a Belgian anthropometrist and statistician, Adolphe Quetelet. BMI is calculated by dividing one's weight in kilograms by the square of his or her height in metres. Where the BMI is under 18.5, the person is considered to be underweight. If it is between 18.5 and 24.9, the fellow is considered to be of normal weight. However, a BMI between 25.0 and 29.9 characterizes an overweight person while if it is between 30.0 and 39.9, the person is downright obese.
