Obesity at a Glance

With the hype of weight loss taking over the world, people are thinking that obesity is only skin deep - ignoring how serious it is. Obesity should be the top one priority for nations around the world, since obesity is spreading in the speed of light and bring about an array of diseases with it.

Obesity can be defined as have excess fat over your body. Anything more than a 20% fat is considered to be obesity. Obesity is one of the most notorious enemies for joints, since it places more stress on them than intended. This by time leads to arthritis and other bone diseases. Not to mention that fat makes people lethargic, consequently, adding more weight because of their inactive lifestyle.

High cholesterol is also one of the most dangerous results of being obese; it cripples the proper function of the heart and blood vessels. This in turn results in high blood pressure, strokes, and other heart conditions. Obesity can also cause apnea, a medical condition in which a person stops breathing during his sleep.

Obesity can be cured with a bit of patience and a lot of determination. As more people are becoming obese in the world, governments are starting to recognize this epidemic and looking for cures. If you are interested in getting rid of your obesity, your first step should be to talk to your physician and discuss you worries and options with him.

How to Spot Obesity

In 1840, Adolphe Quetelet, created the body mass index, a measure of a person's weight scaled to his height thus showing the amount of fat stored on the body. A higher BMI (above 30) is considered to be obese and puts your health at risk.

Doctors consider excessive fat around your waist a harbinger to chronic diseases. Going beyond size 35 in women and size 40 in men could endanger your health and well being.