Overweight or obese...

Lard bucket epidemic...


In 2001, Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office told Parliament that the prevalence of obesity in England had tripled over the last 20 years will continue to rise. Now most adults (63% men & 53% women) in England are overweight or obese.


Trends in overweight and obesity...

"About 46% of men in England and 32% of women are overweight (a body mass index of 25-30 kg/m2), and an additional 17% of men and 21% of women are obese (a body mass index of more than 30 kg/m2). Overweight and obesity increase with age. About 28% of men and 27% of women aged 16-24 are overweight or obese but 76% of men and 68% of women aged 55-64 are overweight or obese. Overweight and obesity are increasing. The percentage of adults who are obese has roughly doubled since the mid-1980's.”
I haven’t heard of Anne Collins but I think the site is a very good, clear one and if you follow the link there are dozens of other links (listed at the bottom of every page) that give full and informative view and plenty of good advice
Obesity is the excessive accumulation of adipose tissue to an extent that health is impaired...but there is a load of help out there! The extent to which one is overweight can be identified, amongst other things (body fat %, waist measurement/ waist-hip ratio, bone mass...) through the measurement of Body Mass Index or BMI. This is a simple calculation of your weight (Kg or lbs) divided the square of your height (metres sq or ins sq respectively). Or if you can’t be arsed to work it out there are plenty of sites that do it for you; here's one from the US.

As mentioned above waist circumference is another widely used measurement - to determine abdominal fat content. An excess of abdominal fat, when out of proportion to total body fat, is considered a predictor of risk factors related to obesity. Men with a waist measurement exceeding 40 inches are considered at risk. Women are at risk with a waist measurement of 35 inches or greater.

...and of course there are many factors that can cause excessive weight gain leading to obesity and poor health: Food Choices - Physical Activity vs. Sedentary Activity - Parental Obesity - Eating Patterns (skipping meals etc) - Parenting Style - Parental Eating and Physical Activity Habits - Demographic Factors that also encompass diets (Mediterranean / Asian or Oriental...) There are also a few genetic causes of the problem; however, the fact that obesity has increased so much in the last few decades appears to discount genetics as the main cause: according to Stephen O'Rahilly, professor of clinical biochemistry and medicine at Cambridge University, the influence of genetics on modern levels of obesity is insignificant:
"Nothing genetic explains the rise in obesity. We can't change our genes over 30 years."

Also, “...obesity is one of todays most blatantly visible, yet most neglected, public health problems. Paradoxically coexisting with under nutrition, an escalating global epidemic of overweight and obesity - "globesity" - is taking over many parts of the world. If immediate action is not taken, millions will suffer from an array of serious health disorders.From "Controlling the global obesity epidemic," World Health Organization

The choice is ours but we decide what our children eat…action this day!

S.O.
health