Obesity is a disease that affects approximately 60 million people in the United States, and women are especially affected. Over one-third of women between the ages of 20 and 74 are obese, the majority of them being African American or Mexican American. With more and more pre-packaged food and less and less activity, the number of obese people in America has steadily increased since the 1960’s. But what is obesity? Many people think obesity means that a person is overweight, but that’s not exactly true. An overweight person has a surplus amount of weight that includes muscle, bone, fat, and water. An obese person has a surplus of body fat.
Most health professionals concur that a man is obese if he has over 25 percent body
fat, and a woman is obese if she has over 30 percent. Women physiologically have more
body fat than men, so that why there’s a difference in percentage.
It is difficult to determine the exact percentage of body fat a person has, but estimates can be made in a number of ways. First, using a tweezer-like tool called a caliper, you can measure the thickness of skin folds on different points of your body and compare the results with standardized numbers. You can also use a small device that sends a harmless electrical current through your body and measures your body fat percentage. The most commonly used method to determine if a person is obese is to look at his/her Body Mass Index (BMI). A person with a BMI over 30 is considered to be obese, and a BMI over 40 is considered to be severely obese. It’s important to remember though that BMI could be misleading in pregnant or lactating women and in muscular individuals.
With obesity, comes the increased risk of diseases such as high blood pressure, Type
II Diabetes, heart disease, and breast, colon, and prostate cancer. In addition,
obesity has been linked to mental health conditions such as depression or feelings of
shame and low self-esteem. Health experts say that even losing 10 to 15 percent of
your body weight can dramatically decrease the risk of developing these serious
conditions. In addition, many obese people are discriminated against and targets of
insults and other verbal abuse.
A number of factors, such as poor diet, lack of physical activity, genetics, and
certain medical disorders, cause obesity, but it can be conquered. This information
is not presented by a medical practitioner and is for educational and informational
purposes only. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional
medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or
other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical
condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read.
Obesity and its Relationship to:
Anorexia, Bulimia, and Other Special Eating Disorders
Obesity itself is not an eating disorder, but people who are obese or who fear
becoming obese may develop one. Let’s take a look at obesity and its relationship to
special eating disorders.
Binge Eating Disorder - The most common eating disorder is binge eating disorder.
Approximately 4 million Americans have this disorder. Binge eating disorder is more
than just occasionally overeating. It is characterized by eating uncontrollably,
quickly eating an unusually large amount of food at one sitting, even when the person
is not hungry, and eating in secret because the person is embarrassed about the
amount of food he/she eats. More women than men have binge eating disorder, and most of the people who have it are overweight or obese. Binge eaters eat mostly sugar and fat, and as a result, they may be lacking certain vitamins and nutrients. Many of them are also depressed.
Treatments for this disorder include therapy and medications such as antidepressants.
Bulimia Nervosa - Binge eating is also present in another eating disorder, bulimia
nervosa. It is estimated that 1.1 to 4.2 percent of females will have bulimia nervosa
in their lifetime. Bulimics are caught in a binge/purge cycle. They binge eat, usually in secret, then purge to get rid of the calories just eaten. Purging may involve either self-induced vomiting after eating or using laxatives, diuretics, or enemas. People with bulimia may also exercise intensely for long periods of time in attempt to burn off the extra calories taken in during binge eating, or they may go for long periods of time without eating. Many bulimics do a combination or all of these things.
Bulimia affects more women than men and more young women in their teens and twenties
than older women. These women are usually obsessed with their weight and truly
believe that they are overweight even though most have a normal body weight. It can
cause a number of serious health effects, including anemia, dehydration, heart
problems, ruptured esophagus, stomach ulcers, and even death. Like binge eating
disorder, bulimia is treated with therapy and medications.
Anorexia Nervosa - On the opposite side of binge eating is anorexia nervosa. It
affects around 1 to 2 percent of the female population. Anorexia is characterized by
self-starvation and obsession with food, weight, and appearance, weight loss of 15%
or more below the normal body weight, and an intense fear of being fat. Many of them
look emaciated, but they’re convinced they are fat.
Because anorexics literally starve themselves, their bodies are severely depleted of
nutrients. As a result, they develop muscular atrophy, dehydration, low blood
pressure, and brain and organ damage to name a few. As many as 10 percent of
anorexics die. Most anorexics deny they have a problem until the problem gets so bad
that they have to be hospitalized. Because anorexia is so life-threatening, the first
stage of treatment is getting body weight back to normal. Once this is on track,
therapy and medications are used. Eating disorders are serious disorders and should not be taken lightly. If you suspect you have one or think someone you love does, please seek help. It could be a matter of life and death.
UNDERSTANDING YOUR WEIGHT
A pound of fat represents approximately 3500 calories of stored energy. In order to
lose a pound of fat, you have to use 3500 more calories than you consume. Although
this seems like a simple formula remember that your body is a thinking organism
designed to protect itself. If you were to try to reduce your intake by the entire
3500 calories in one day, your body would register some type of alarm and think that
there is a state of emergency. Immediately your metabolism would slow down and no
weight loss would be achieved. It's better to spread your weight loss out over a
period of a week, so that you aim to reduce your caloric intake by 3500 to 7000
calories per week, resulting in weight loss of one to two pounds per week.
It's generally not recommended to try to lose more than two pounds in a week.
Attempting to do so may cause health risks, and on top of this you're unlikely to be
successful. In the example of attempting to lose two pounds per week, you can use a
basic method of calorie counting to help you accomplish your goal. To do so, you need
to figure out how many calories a person of your age, sex, and weight usually needs
in a day, subtract 500 from that amount, and follow a diet that provides you with
that many calories. For example, if you would ordinarily need 3000 calories in a day, you would follow a 2500-calorie a day diet. Next, figure out how much exercise a person of your weight
would need to do to burn 500 calories per day, and engage in an exercise plan that
will help you achieve your goal. The result is simple: 500 fewer calories consumed
and 500 more calories expended equals a 1000 calorie per day deficit, which, over the
course of a week adds up to 7000 calories, or two pounds. Although individual results
may vary, the bottom line is if your body is consuming fewer calories than it's
expending, then weight will be lost.
HOW TO CALCULATE YOUR NEEDS
In order to eat fewer calories than you need, you have to determine how many calories
you actually need. Adults can calculate their approximate energy needs using the
following formula:
A. Body weight multiplied by 12 (for men) or 11 (for women)
e.g., 150 lbs. x 12 = 1800
B. Activity One third body weight multiplied by the number
of hours you don't sleep, typically 16 hours
150 lbs. x 1/3 = 50 x 16 = 800
C. Required Calories A + B 1800 + 800 = 2600
Thus, we determine that a 150-pound man requires approximately 2600 calories per day.
The "Basal Metabolic Rate" is the number of calories a man of that weight would burn
just to keep the heart beating, the lungs pumping, etc. You would just burn your
basal metabolic rate worth of calories if you slept all day. Thus the "Activity"
calculation is approximately the amount of calories a person would expend by spending
his or her whole day sitting around. If you are engaging in activities other than
sitting all day, you can increase your activity hours by the number of hours you are
actually active.
Adult females can calculate their approximate energy needs using the same formula,
except that the "Basal Metabolic Rate" is determined by multiplying body weight times
11 instead of 12. Children and teenagers require more calories by body weight, but
the amount varies by age and by individual child. It is best to consult a physician
before altering a child’s diet, however activity and exercise increases won’t hurt
the average youth of today, and will show some benefits of controlling obesity.
Overall, this gives you a general idea of what a calorie is, how it relates to
weight, and how the body turns calories into fat. This is not of course a complete
diet plan. However understanding your body is a definite prerequisite to making the
changes necessary to conquer obesity.
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