The ballooning number of obese people is becoming a worldwide concern as it reach epidemic proportions afflicting a growing number of people of all ages in both industrialized and developing countries. More than half a billion people are obese. The rate of obesity doubled since 1980 according to a new research published in the journal “The Lancet.” For the first time in history, majority of adults in some societies are overweight. In United States, 61 percent of adults are overweight. For Europe as a whole, more than half of the adult population aged 35 to 65 is considered obese.

Obesity percentage is also rising in developing countries. In Brazil, 36 percent of adult population is considered above their normal weight. Same is true for China which has a 15 percent obesity rate for its adult population.

Not only the percentage of overweight people is alarming but their ranks are expanding at a record rate as well. Record shows that there had been a 50 percent increase of adult obesity between 1980 and 1994 in the United States, making 50 percent of Americans way above their normal weight in just a 14 years gap. Surveys in China revealed that between the boom years of 1989 and 1992, the number of overweight adults jump from 9 percent to roughly 15 percent.

Research is undoubtedly needed in order to identify the causes of this record trend as well as to supply much needed information that could help evaluate and reverse the alarming increase of obesity cases.

Obesity Related Diseases and Health Problems

Health problems associated with obesity takes in many forms. Obesity damages human health by raising incidence of heart diseases, breast cancer, colon cancer, stroke and arthritis.

A heavier body weight increases resistance to the heart’s pumping of blood which results in an elevated blood pressure. The overall number of people with high blood pressure rose from 600 million to nearly 1 billion in 2008, fuelled by obesity, aging and expanding global population.

Obesity raises the stress joints which oftentimes cause lower back pain. Those who are obese are four times more likely to have diabetes than those who are on their normal weight.

As weight increases, life expectancy decreases. A broad-based study found that the risk of death within 26 years increased by 1 percent with each surplus pound of weight. It estimated that obesity-related illnesses cause 3 million deaths every year around the globe. These obesity-related health problems cost the United States $147 billion every year, amounting to 10 percent of all medical bills. More than half of adults in Europe are obese, piling to its already stretched healthcare budget.

How to Combat Obesity Challenge

Obesity should no longer be regarded simply as a cosmetic problem affecting certain individuals. It should now be addressed as an epidemic that threatens global well-being. Findings on the Lancet state that obesity is not just a problem of the wealthy nations; its presence has shifted toward middle and low income countries. Developing countries’ changing habits and adaptation of modern conveniences that are common in wealthier nations contributes to the reasons of global increase in obesity.

For many overweight, achieving a healthy body weight depends on both reducing caloric intake and burning more calories through exercise. While new strategies are needed, experts say that stopping the rising tide of obesity could be as simple as returning to very old habits.

Restoring exercise in our daily lives will not be easy but its benefits surely outweigh whatever reason you have for not doing so. Our health depends on creating neighborhoods that are conducive to walking, jogging and bicycling. It’s an urgent call to start developing a lifestyle that systematically restores exercise to our daily routines and healthy eating to nourish our body. The obesity epidemic and the health deterioration associated with it will continue to spread if we continue to live mindlessly to the modern “conveniences” of today.

Trackback URI |