Day 50

Over two-thirds of adults in the United States are overweight or obese, and over one-third are obese,according to data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2003–2006 and 2007–2008. Risk Factors for Overweight and Obesity type 2 diabetes coronary heart disease high LDL ("bad") cholesterol stroke hypertension nonalcoholic fatty liver disease gallbladder disease osteoarthritis (degeneration of cartilage and bone of joints) sleep apnea and other breathing problems some forms of cancer (breast, colorectal, endometrial, and kidney) complications of pregnancy menstrual irregularities Makes you think finding a way to prevent or reduce extra pounds makes a lot of sense, doesn't it?  We all need to love ourselves in spite of ourselves.  Find a WAY! What are overweight and obesity? Overweight: Overweight specifically refers to an excessive amount of                           body weight that may come from muscles, bone, adipose (fat) tissue, and water. Obesity: Obesity specifically refers to an excessive amount of adipose tissue.

Causes of Overweight and Obesity Essentially, overweight and obesity result from energy imbalance. The body               needs a certain amount of energy (calories) from food to sustain basic life functions.    Body weight is maintained when calories eaten equals the number of calories                the body expends, or “burns.” When more calories are consumed than burned,          energy balance is tipped toward weight gain, overweight, and obesity. Genetic, environmental, behavioral, and socioeconomic factors can all lead to overweight          and obesity.

Treating Overweight and Obesity

Overweight and obesity are risk factors for diabetes, heart disease, high blood       pressure, and other health problems. Since there is no single cause of all            overweight and obesity, there is no single way to prevent or treat overweight                and obesity that will help everyone. Treatment may include a combination of diet, exercise, behavior modification, and sometimes weight-loss drugs. In some cases of extreme obesity, bariatric surgery may be recommended.[2]

Estimates on Overweight and Obesity

The estimates on overweight and obesity in this fact sheet were taken from the       Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Data are based on the CDC’s         National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2003–2006 and 2007–2008.

Some of the overweight- and obesity-related prevalence rates are presented as          crude or unadjusted estimates, while others are age-adjusted estimates. Unadjusted prevalence estimates are used to present cross-sectional data for population              groups at a given point or time period, without accounting for the effect of different      age distributions among groups. For age-adjusted rates, statistical procedures are        used to remove the effect of age differences when comparing two or more populations    at one point in time, or one population at two or more points in time. Unadjusted estimates and age-adjusted estimates will yield slightly different values. 

This fact sheet is also available at http://www.win.niddk.nih.gov.

NIH Publication Number 04–4158
Updated February 2010

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And next post we will compare age variations among different groups of people,            and have a look of the cost of obesity. We don't come cheap!

For more details on the methods for deriving prevalence of overweight and obesity,      visit www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes.htm.