Obesity (Final Essay in ELS)

Obesity
Ting-Jung, Lai

Nowadays, a lot of people suffer from obesity. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that at least 400 million adults (9.8%) are obese in 2005. Obesity is excessive increase of body adipose tissue mass which is called fat organization in the human body. The Department of Health and Human Services says that obesity can be measured easily by BMI and waist circumference. BMI is Body Mass Index which uses a simple formula: weight (kg) / [height (m)]2 . (Please see Table 1) It is a convenient way to analyze if you are overweight. People have to control their weight if their BMI is over 25. Another convenient way is to measure the size of waist circumference which can indicate abdominal obesity. Excess abdominal fat is a kind of obesity, so that we should notice it. The National, Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) classifies people as obese if the waist circumference is over 40 inches for a man and 35 inches for a woman. Because of several problems in daily life, activities and obesity related diseases, people should know the effects of being fat; therefore, they will know why they should control their weight.

Obesity can influence directly our daily life. For example, imagine that you are sitting on a bench in a park. The weather is sunny, the wind is cool and birds are singing. Suddenly, you break the bench because you are overweight. As a result, you are embarrassed. Going from bad to worse, you will be charged for repairs. Obesity can also cause a bad shape of your body. Obese people will be too fat to wear like something beautiful since fashionable dress is always designed for people whose weight is normal. Additionally, most boys dislike fat girls.
Thus, fat girls will lack boyfriends and vice versa. Worse, they probably have some bad nickname and classmates always play jokes on them.

Fat also limits a lot of activities. Since you are overweight, you cannot move fast. If you don't move fast, you don't play sports well. For example, you can never catch the goal in a football game or get a great grade in a marathon. Hence, you will not like sports and people will always consider you as a lazy person. Even you still like sports, you may lack teammates or some of your teammates would ignore you in the game because the team usually loses with you.

Obesity could increase the risk for many diseases and health conditions, including hypertension, coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes mellitus, and depression. If you are too fat, you probably have high cholesterol and Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels. (See Table 2) Cholesterol and other fats can't dissolve in the blood. They have to be transported by special carriers called lipoproteins. There are several kinds, but the important one is low-density lipoprotein (LDL). Too much LDL can form deposits and block your arteries. This condition is known as atherosclerosis. Further, you are at risk for hypertension because your vessels lose their elasticity. Eventually, you might suffer from myocardial infraction and angina because your heart lacks nutrition and oxygen from blood. Obese seniors might suddenly have a stroke as a result of fragile blood vessels. Research also shows the relations between obesity and diabetes mellitus. Doctors advise people to reduce the size of our waist circumference if it is over 40 inches for men and 35 inches for women. Sometimes obesity can cause psychological problems. Most obese people lack confidence and tend to live alone; consequently, they suffer from depression.

The impact of obesity is so significant and terrible that we should learn some ways to lose weight. First, it is useful to do exercise daily and set up a realistic schedule to exercise at least 20 minutes every day. Then eat something healthy, and quit eating junk food and drinking soda. Furthermore, never eat too much. You will find that you become healthy and energetic. However, if you have tried all these ways to lose weight and you are still obese, have an appointment with a doctor to seek help.

Obesity is a serious problem which we should overcome. It takes a lot of medical resources to solve the obesity related diseases. Being fat is such a public health problem that nobody could ignore it. It is not only a personal but also a public problem. If we want to have a healthy and better life, keep obesity away.


[Table 1]
BMI Weight Status
Below 18.5 Underweight
18.5 – 24.9 Normal
25.0 – 29.9 Overweight
30.0 and Above Obese
From: http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/healthyweight/assessing/bmi/adult_BMI/about_adult_BMI.htm

[Table 2]
The American Heart Association has set guidelines for LDL levels:
LDL Cholesterol Levels
Less than 100 mg/dL Optimal
100 to 129 mg/dL Near Optimal/ Above Optimal
130 to 159 mg/dL Borderline High
160 to 189 mg/dL High
190 mg/dL and above Very High
From: http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=183#LDL