Lose Weight 'n' Flatten ur Tum: Obesity: in statistics

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Obesity: in statistics

People are getting fatter almost everywhere in the world.
The World Health Organization predicts there will be 2.3 billion overweight adults in the world by 2015 and more than 700 million of them will be obese.
Obesity is a modern problem - statistics for it did not even exist 50 years ago.

The increase of convenience foods, labour-saving devices, motorised transport and more sedentary jobs means people are getting fatter.
The body mass index (BMI) is the most commonly-used way of classifying overweight and obesity in adult populations and individuals.
BMI is defined as a person's weight in kilograms divided by the square of their height in meters (kg/m2).
Each BMI figure is classified within a range, eg 18-25 is ideal and over 30 is reckoned to be obese.
According to a survey of bodyshapes conducted in the UK in 1951, a woman's average waist size was 70cm (27.5in). A 3-D survey carried out by SizeUK in 2004 found the average woman had a waist measurement of 86cm (34in) and a BMI of 24.4, just inside the ideal range.
There was no comparative data for men in 1951, but the SizeUK survey showed the average man in 2004 had a waist of 94cm (37in) and a BMI of 25.2, technically just outside the ideal range.
But obesity is not just a problem for adults - the spread of obesity among children is also alarming experts.
At least 20 million children under the age of 5 years were overweight globally in 2005, according to the WHO.
Measuring children, aged 5 to 14 years, who are overweight or obese is challenging because there is not a standard definition of childhood obesity applied worldwide. Figures for children in England are shown here.
Childhood obesity is a big problem in the United States.

The following graph shows the trend in a number of countries around the world.

Experts are worried that the increase in obesity will lead to more health problems as people who are overweight have a higher risk of heart disease, Type II diabetes and other diseases including some cancers.
As most data sources do not distinguish between Type I and II diabetes in adults, it is not possible to present the data separately. The map below shows the prevalence of diabetes throughout the world in 2007.
Even if the prevalence of obesity remains stable until 2030, the American Diabetes Association, says that the number of people with diabetes will more than double.
It says the increase may be "considerably higher" than this if, as expected, the prevalence of obesity continues to rise around the world.

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*Obesity & Reproductive Health*

Reproductive health and infertility have gained much notoriety and public awareness has skyrocketed since the first test tube baby in 1978. The same can be said about the impact lifestyle-namely the relationship between diet, exercise and heredity-may have on overall health risk and infertility. However, only recently in the medical community, and less so within the lay public, has an association been described between one's weight, nutritional status and reproductive health. More at:
http://www.havingbabies.com/infertility-weight.html

What Is My Ideal Weight? How Much Should I Weigh?

A person's ideal body weight is determined by several factors, such as age, muscle-fat ratio, height, sex, and bone density. Some say your Body Mass Index (BMI) is the ideal way to calculate whether your body weight is ideal. Others say BMI is faulty as it does not take into account muscle mass, and waist-hip ratio is better. One person's ideal body weight may be completely different from another's. If you compare yourself to family and friends you risk either aiming too high if you are surrounded by obese or overweight people, or too low if everyone around you works as fashion models.Even comparing yourself with people outside your immediate surroundings may not work.The levels of overweight and obesity in one country, such as the USA or UK, are much higher than in The Netherlands. So a Dutch person may aim for a lower ideal weight than an American if all he did was to compare himself to other people.
More at: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/160316.php

Weight Loss that Works - There Are No Shortcuts

By Paige Waehner
A few weeks ago, my sister and I were talking about weight loss and she said, "When I was in my 20s, I worked out two hours a day and I was in the best shape. I should really get back to that - it really worked!" But, would that workout regime really work for her now? Not only does she have 2 kids, she's looking for a job. On top of that, two hours of exercise would probably be too much for most people - for the body, the mind and the schedule. Sure she could try exercising for two hours a day, but how long would she be able to maintain that kind of schedule? Not very long, she concluded.
That got me thinking - does something really work if you can only follow it for a short period of time?
If you follow a diet that takes you from, say, 2,200 calories to 1400 calories a day, there's no doubt you'll lose weight. And when you do, you may associate that success with the diet you're following, perhaps thinking - "Finally, something that works!"
However, we know that any diet will work and, for that matter, any exercise program works, provided you're burning more calories than you're eating. That means you could stand in the diet section of the bookstore, pick a diet book (eeny-meeny-miney-mo might be one method) and you'll probably find one that "works."
The question we ask ourselves when it comes to diets or exercise programs is often: Will this help me lose weight? Chances are, whatever it is, it will. The question we may want to ask ourselves is this: Can I follow this for the long-term?
That's one reason that making lifestyle changes is one way people find long-term success. You're working in changes for the life you already have rather than letting someone else dictate changes that may not fit, at least not for more than a few days or weeks.

Lose Weight 'n' Flatten ur Tum

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Obesity: in statistics

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