The Obesity and Overweight Epidemic

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Introduction

Numerous of studies prove that obesity becomes a worldwide epidemic. Popkin and Doak (1998) state that, in the last quarter of the 20th century, obesity emerged as a worldwide phenomenon in the developed and non-developed countries. It has been observed a huge increase in obesity proportion in many populations around the world regardless the differences in income, poverty, and education levels in these countries. Today, we will discuss the distinction between obesity and overweight, the globally extent of the epidemic, and the relationship between obesity and morbidity and mortality.

Obesity and Overweight

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) (2018) declare that obesity and overweight indicate that body weight is above the normal comparing to the body’s height. Overweight occurs when the body stores fat more than the normal level. Also, Overweight could happen when the body has extra muscle, bone, or water. On the other hand, obesity takes place when someone has excessive body fat. While Men are more likely than women to be overweight, Women are more likely than men to have obesity. Gaining weight occurs for plenty of reasons, the main cause for the most people is the daily intake calories are more than the burnt ones. That could happen as a result of lack or lower of body physical activities. Excessive weight gain leads to overweight or obesity.

According to Hales, Carroll, Fryar, & Ogden (2017) checking if the body weight is above, below, or in the normal range by calculating the Body Mass Index (BMI). The BMI is weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared. When an adult gets BMI more than or equal 30, that considers obesity. Hales et al. (2017) mention “BMI does not measure body fat directly, and the relationship between BMI and body fat varies by sex, age, and race” (p.6).

NIDDK (2018) mentions that BMI scale tells if the person is at a normal or healthy weight, overweight, have obesity, or have extreme obesity. The greater BMI you get, the greater risk for diseases and health problems you get, such as diabetes, heart problems, stroke, and kidney diseases.

A person who gets 18.5 to 24.9 in the BMI scale is in the normal or healthy range.
A person who gets 25 to 29.9 in the BMI scale is considered overweight.
A person who gets 30 to 39.9 in the BMI scale is considered to have obesity.
A person who gets 40 or greater in the BMI scale is considered to have extreme obesity.

The Extent of the epidemic

As mentioned above, obesity is a worldwide problem in higher-, lower-, and middle-income countries with higher- or lower- education level. In the higher-income and developed countries, The United States, Germany, and Finland had the highest levels of obesity and overweight in the last couple decades of the 20th century. The highest levels of obesity in in the same period of time in the lower- and middle-income countries occurred in the Middle East, Western Pacific, and Latin America (Popkin & Doak, 1998).

Overview around the world, the majority of adults in the United States, Australia, and most of Western and Eastern Europe are overweight, and more than 20% are obese. In 1999, in the United States, 61% of adults were overweight and 27% were obese. In Russia, 54% of adults are overweight. In Brazil 36% and in Malaysia, 27% were obese. In China 29.5% were overweight, and 4.3% were obese (O’Brien & Dixon, 2002).

Shifting to the second decade of the 21st century, according to NIDDK (2018) there is some groups are more likely to have obesity than the others among the black adults as a percentage of 48%, among the Hispanic adults a percentage of 42%, and among white adults as a percentage of 36% were considered to have obesity.

Morbidity and Mortality

Obese people are in a high morbidity and mortality risk which means they have a high risk to numerous of serious diseases, health conditions and death expectancy. These diseases include high blood pressure (Hypertension), high LDL cholesterol, low HDL cholesterol, or high levels of triglycerides (Dyslipidemia), type 2 diabetes, Coronary heart disease, stroke, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis (a breakdown of cartilage and bone within a joint),sleep apnea and breathing problems, some cancers (endometrial, breast, colon, kidney, gallbladder, and liver), low quality of life, mental illness such as clinical depression, anxiety, and other mental disorders, body pain and difficulty with physical functioning (CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP) (2017).

Obesity leads to all-causes of death. Implicitly, it’s the first thing in the causes of death list. Since it leads to all above mentioned diseases. O’Brien and Dixon (2002) state “In the future, mortality related to obesity is expected to exceed that of smoking” p.4s.

Conclusion

In sum, obesity and overweight have appeared as a worldwide epidemic phenomenon. We talked about the differences between obesity and overweight, the extent of the epidemic, and obesity and overweight leading to morbidity and mortality. Inference of different studies, the level of obesity and overweight will increase in coming years.

References

CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP).
(2017, August 29). Adult Obesity Causes & Consequences. In Centres for Disease control and Prevention . Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/adult/causes.html
Hales, C. M., Carroll, M. D., Fryar, C. D., & Ogden, C. L. (2017, October). Prevalence of
Obesity Among Adults and Youth: United States, 2015–2016. In Centres for Disease control and Prevention . Retrieved from https://marymount.instructure.com/courses/15015/files/726697?module_item_id=216464
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). (2018, February).
Understanding Adult Overweight & Obesity. In National Institutes of Health (NIH). Retrieved from https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/weight-management/adult-overweight-obesity/all-content
O’Brien, P. E., & Dixon, J. B. (2002). The extent of the problem of obesity. The American
Journal of Surgery, 184(6), 4s-7s. doi: https://ac-els-cdn-com.proxymu.wrlc.org/S0002961002011728/1-s2.0-S0002961002011728-main.pdf?_tid=c1609c10-1cbe-4f2a-a22e-6436e66434b2&acdnat=1549973148_c6751d6c58659a8e57b6ac329b425390
Popkin, B. M., & Doak, C. M. (1998, April). The obesity epidemic is a worldwide
phenomenon. Nutrition Reviews; Oxford, 56(4), 106-107. doi: http://proxymu.wrlc.org/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.proxymu.wrlc.org/docview/212314357?accountid=27975

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The Obesity and Overweight Epidemic

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