For those obese as primary school children, it is 5-15 fold.
For those obese as adolescents, it is > 15 fold.
Overweight adolescents have a 70% chance of becoming overweight or obese adults.
Body mass index (BMI) is an internationally accepted way of measuring body weight relative to a person’s height. To calculate BMI you do the following:
BMI =
You then take the number you just worked out and use the table below to classify your body weight.
Ethical – there are no real ethical issues with being obese.
Social – There are many different social issues associated with being obese, if obese you are most likely going to suffer from exclusion and children will tend to get picked on by thinner kids. This will then lead to problems of low self-esteem and worth and may become depressed. They also when obese cant participate in many activities that other children can such as sports day and adventure activities.
Economic – If needing hospital treatment or seeing the Doctor they will be taking up the time and money from that service which could be spent elsewhere. It is also expensive to afford the huge amounts of food they eat but even more expensive if they try to go on a diet and spend lots on clubs and diet drinks and tablets. More money can be spent on computer games and DVD’s, which decreases the chance of a child wanting to go outside and play or do any sport.
Environmental – there are no environmental issues to do with being obese apart from chairs on buses and other facilities may need to be made larger to cater for them.
A well balanced diet is the key to good health and will keep you at the correct weight. "Well-balanced" means eating a variety of foods in the right amounts and right proportion. No one food has all nutrients that you need in a day; therefore, no one food is more important than any other. A balanced diet is a mixture of food that together provides sufficient nutrients for healthy living. It contains:
Water
Proteins – including the essential amino acids we require and which the body cannot synthesise)
Carbohydrates
Lipids (including the essential fatty acids)
Vitamins (both water-soluble and fat-soluble)
Minerals (also known as inorganic ions) e.g. Ca²+,Fe³+,Cl-
Indigestible fibre
The Healthy Diet Pyramid (below) helps show the proportions of foods that make up a balanced meal.
The daily need for each type of food is directly proportional to the size of its level of the pyramid. That means your meals and snacks should be made up mostly of food that appears at the larger lower two levels. Also, food that appears on the smaller upper levels should be eaten in smaller amounts.
Below is a table showing the recommended daily amount of nutrients for girls. Boys need the same amount of calcium and iron but much more calories and protein.
If you are obese due to many different causes there are a variety of metabolic problems associated with it. The best known is the increased incidence of type 2 (non-insulin dependent) diabetes mellitus, there are also other significant problems, including:
Hyperlipidaemia – elevation of harmful LDL cholesterol and triglyceride and reduction of beneficial HDL cholesterol, making heart problems and stroke more likely.
Gallstones
High blood pressure
High blood cholesterol, dyslipidemia
Insulin resistance, glucose intolerance
Coronary heart disease
Stroke
Congestive heart failure
Some types of cancer (breast, prostate, endometrial and colon)
Bladder control problems (such as stress control)
Osteoarthritis
Breathlessness, respiratory infections and sleep apnoea
Causes of obesity
There are many different reasons why people are obese this may be due to:
Genetics – tends to run in families but this may be due to sharing the same eating and lifestyle habits.
Genetic predisposition to be overweight rather than obese – many studies have found a link to obesity, showing that the pattern of deposition of fat – i.e. the way fat builds up around the body and the degree of overweight can both be inherited.
Genes – Body shape – normal weight children of obese parents have a lower metabolic rate (they burn more calories than average when they’re asleep, or else they burn fewer calories for the same physical activity) than normal weight children of non-obese parents. This suggests that obesity can be inherited but the fact that obesity has increased so much in the last few decades appears to discount genetics as the main cause.
Genetics – Leptin – A naturally occurring hormone that controls the appetite.
Genes – Hormones – A small amount of cases can be explained by glandular or hormonal problems. Sex hormones can affect obesity, in women changes in energy intake, desire for food and specific cravings occur at various stages of the menstrual cycle.
Gender – Men have more lean body mass (muscle) and less fat than women, so even at rest men burn 10-20% more calories than women.
Environmental factors – we live in an environment where people eat high fat, high sugar diets and take little exercise. We also have a fast food and convenience food culture. When your energy intake out weighs your energy output, you will put on weight.
Psychological factors – Many people over eat when they’re stresses, bored or angry.
Illness or drugs – some illnesses can lead to a tendency to gain weight.
Lack of physical activity – this is the most common reason for obesity in children, this is due to mainly watching too much TV, or playing too many computer games and not partaking in sports or just going outside.
Obesity is a complex issue and a serious illness rather than simply a weight condition. The causes of obesity are various and often interlinked with two or more of these factors affecting one person at any time, so it is hard to pinpoint the exact reason why they are the way they are.
In the future there are going to be more and more cases of childhood obesity unless something today is done about it. As each generation succeeds children seem to be getting heavier and larger.
