Archive for the ‘Obesity’ Category
Obesity
What Is Obesity?
Obesity is an excess proportion of total body fat. A person is considered obese when his or her weight is 20% or more above normal weight. The most common measure of obesity is the body mass index or BMI. A person is considered overweight if his or her BMI is between 25 and 29.9; a person is considered obese if his or her BMI is over30.
“Morbid obesity” means that a person is either 50%-100% over normal weight, more than 100 pounds over normal weight, has a BMI of 40 or higher, or is sufficiently overweight to severely interfere with health or normal function.
Beating obesity
Obesity has taken center stage in the healthcare industry over the recent years. With the increasing number of overweight to obese people worldwide, the understanding of the disease and all the medical complications it brings has been greater than ever before.
Obesity is now more of a life and death issue rather than just simply looking “bad.”
Misconceptions
There is a misconception that obesity is simply just going beyond one’s ideal weight in terms of pounds and inches. Studies have shown that obesity leads to a number of serious health conditions like diabetes, hypertension, infertility and heart disease. These collective health risks can therefore cause obese people to have a shorter life span as compared to non-obese individuals. Read the rest of this entry »
What can a parent do to combat childhood obesity at school?
- The next time you visit your child’s school and find your child’s classroom and teacher, ask a few questions.
- Ask if the school has a wellness council. What are they working on? Show that it’s important to you that the school is working to promote a healthy learning environment.
- Take time to check out the cafeteria, sneak a peak at the vending machines, and meet the physical education teacher.
- There are resources on the Alliance for a Healthier Generation Web site to help parents work with their school to make it a healthier learning environment.
