OBESITY
Aneta Urbańska HARROW COLLEGE
Communication Skills for Teaching 2013
Introduction Nowadays, more people are suffering from obesity than hunger. These statistics are scary and according to the Healthy and Social Care Information Centre, we find information telling as that over a quarter of adults in the UK were classified as obese in 2010. The World health statistics 2012 reports, that one in six adults are obese. These statics are terrifying. I want to demonstrate what obesity is and how we can diagnose it, what to do to avoid it.
What is obesity? On the Internet and in the dictionary we can find many definitions of obesity. I took my definition from Wikipedia. Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems.
Diagnosing obesity The Body Mass Index ( BMI) is the most common formula used to calculate obesity. A lot of people use the BMI to gauge how obese, underweight or normal they are .This is a measure based on height and weight for both, women and men, between the ages of 18 and 65 years .The formula below shows how you can calculate yours BMI .
CLASSIFICATION
BMI
UNDER WEIGHT
UNDER-18.5
OPTIMAL WEIGHT
18.5 TO 25
OVERWEIGHT
25-OVER
OBESITY
30- ABOVE
MORBIDLY OBESE
OVER40
The other way of measuring obesity is by measuring girth (Waist circumference and waist to hip ratio).This method is used more by doctors a BMI method as a better measurement of the risk of obesity and cardiovascular disease. It is recognised that the central fat held in the abdomen is more insidious than peripheral fat and acts as a toxic inflammatory organ. Another way of assessing obesity is Skin fold thickness .This type of method refers to the measurement of subcutaneous fat located directly beneath the skin by grasping a fold of skin and subcutaneous fat and measuring it using callipers. It is used to find out relative fatness and the percentage of body fat. Measurement needs callipers and some basic training.
Negative effects of obesity. Obesity has a lot of negatives effects on your healthy and lifestyle. People who are overweight often have a problem of self-confidence and are prone more to depression. There are plenty of diseases which cause obesity. The most common medical effects of obesity are high cholesterol, heart attacks, joint problems, deep vein thrombosis.
Factors causes’ obesity
There are several factors that cause obesity. I want to demonstrate the most important one, which is environment. Environmental factors are extremely relevant of body weight. Our environment doesn’t sanction healthy eating habits, for example, easy access to fast food, work schedules and oversized food portions ,these are a few of the reasons making us obese. These days people are working long hours, sitting in front of computers. When they have free time instead of using it to take part in some of physical activity , they prefer sitting on sofa and eating. Along with environment, genes and family history have been found to contribute to obesity: the physical activity habits and kind of food we get from our family home. Obesity tends to run in families. Research has shown that genes have a strong influence on a person’s weight .Although you can not change your genes, you can focus on the environment factors and habits that have a positive impact on you health
However, obesity can be caused by certain health conditions.. Hormone problems can also cause obesity as can some sort medications . Some medicines may cause you to gain weight. There is nothing we can do about that. Another factor is smoking. Some people find that food tastes and smells better after quitting smoking. They eat more to fill the emptiness after smoking. During
