Related topics: body mass index
Obesity
hideObesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy. Body mass index (BMI), which compares weight and height, is used to define a person as overweight (pre-obese) when their BMI is between 25 kg/m2 and 30 kg/m2 and obese when it is greater than 30 kg/m2.
Obesity is associated with many diseases, particularly heart disease, type 2 diabetes, breathing difficulties during sleep, certain types of cancer, and osteoarthritis. Obesity is most commonly caused by a combination of excessive dietary calories, lack of physical activity, and genetic susceptibility, though a limited number of cases are due solely to genetics, medical reasons or psychiatric illness.
The primary treatment for obesity is dieting and physical exercise. If this fails, anti-obesity drugs may be taken to reduce appetite or inhibit fat absorption. In severe cases, surgery is performed or an intragastric balloon is placed to reduce stomach volume and or bowel length, leading to earlier satiation and reduced ability to absorb nutrients from food.
Obesity is a leading preventable cause of death worldwide, with increasing prevalence in adults and children, and authorities view it as one of the most serious public health problems of the 21st century. Obesity is stigmatized in the modern Western world, though it has been perceived as a symbol of wealth and fertility at other times in history, and still is in many parts of Africa.
For more information about Obesity, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with obesity
Livestock lead to better health in developing nations, rising consumption poses challenge
11 hours ago |
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In the face of reports about the ills livestock generate for the climate, environment and health, a new study published in the December issue of the journal Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability emphasizes that l ...
Expel chocolate milk from school lunches: activist
Dec 10, 2009 |
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Chocolate milk is "soda in drag" and should be booted out of US school cafeterias, a former celebrity chef turned school lunch lady has said.
Search results for obesity
Study shows how gene action may lead to diabetes prevention, cure
1hour ago |
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A gene commonly studied by cancer researchers has been linked to the metabolic inflammation that leads to diabetes.
Bacterial protein mimics its host to disable a key enzyme (w/ Video)
6 hours ago |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Bacteria use all sorts of cunning to trick hosts into doing their bidding. One con in their bag of tricks: the molecular mimic. In this ruse, bacteria or their agents look for all purposes like some native ...
Moderate weight loss in obese people improves heart function
8 hours ago |
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Obese patients who lost a moderate amount of weight by eating less and exercising more improved their cardiovascular health, says a study at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
Chinese-American and Korean-American women at highest risk for diabetes in pregnancy
8 hours ago |
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More than 10 percent of women of Chinese and Korean heritage may be at risk for developing diabetes during pregnancy, according to a Kaiser Permanente study of 16,000 women in Hawaii that appears in the December issue of ...
Obesity linked with poorer breast cancer outcomes
Dec 10, 2009 |
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Breast cancer patients with a high body mass index (BMI) have a poorer cancer prognosis later in life. Specifically, their treatment effect does not last as long and their risk of death increases.
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