Who says obesity is bad? All the riots and turmoils which have taken place so far have been directed by lean and hungry people (hungry for food, power or money); obese people are peace loving. What is bad is the statistical figures related to the obesity!!! Read on, the mere reading may cook up a recipe for weight loss in your mind and this will be the first step towards your dream destination. At least it will sow the seeds and set the ball in your stomach rolling for further plans.


   These statistics are not to scare anyone but to alarm the reader.


   Obesity is not a disease; it is a family of diseases. Various cohort studies have positively established the correlation between obesity and certain chronic diseases. Fattiness, diabetes type-2, hypertension, coronary heart disease, gallstones, osteoarthritis, hypothyroidism – these are the pigs belonging to the same family. One invites another and when he goes, another will also march out.


   Studies indicate that central obesity is more sinister than overall obesity. The easiest exercise for such butterball individuals is the exercise of the tongue which they do religiously and the most difficult drill for them is to take their chair back away from the dining table. They detest the word ‘BMI’ like anything. For such puff-balls, waist circumference or waist-to-hip ratio is a better indicator than BMI. The figures coming out from the developing countries are more alarming than those issued by the developed countries. Irrespective of the country, one can positively state that individuals from higher socio-economic strata are more vulnerable to this epidemic of metabolic syndrome owing to their sedentary activity, consumption of high-calorie diet, processed food, alcohol and psychological disturbances which count for the higher prevalence of obesity in such families. About 90% of the food seen on the shelves of supermarkets today didn't exist 100 years ago. People were eating just as much 100 years ago but they were not so obese. Food mixed with artificial preservatives and chemicals is the big handsome culprit.

    OBESITY: ALARMING STATISTICS


   Let’s begin with the children. The incidence of childhood obesity is now at the epidemic level. The number of kids affected by obesity is tripled in the last three decades. Education, like charity, must begin at home and it is the duty of parents and not teachers or their family doctor to instill healthy habits in children and prevent them from digging their graves with their own teeth.


-    17% of the children belonging to the age group 2-13 years are obese. The highest growth rates are found in countries like US, Canada, Australia and Saudi Arabia.

-    19% of children belonging to age group 13-19 are obese.

-    22% of children belonging to age group 19-26 are obese. These figures are doubled in 10 years.

-    Around 35% of the middle-aged population is obese. Females > Males

-    More than 40% over the age of 60 are suffering from metabolic syndrome due to obesity.

-    BMI of more than 35 reduces the life expectancy by 10 years.

-    Each kilogram of addition in the body weight increases the risk of developing hypertension by 4.5%. A reduction of 7 kg body weight reduces the risk of hypertension by 30%.

-    Gargantuans who have BMI > 30 run a 3 times higher risk of developing coronary heart disease (CHD). This should not be surprising because coronary arteries are naturally narrow, so a small rise in blood LDL, VLDL or cholesterol can significantly narrow their lumen.

-    It has been noticed that abdominal obesity is a better indicator in cases of strokes, and hence people with a waist-hip-ratio > 1 are twice as likely to suffer a stroke as compared to those with a waist-hip-ratio < 0.8.

-    Protect your pancreas! Your risk of developing type-2 diabetes increases 8 fold with a BMI of 25-30, 20 fold with a BMI of 30-35 and 40 fold with a BMI of 35 and above. Three-fourths of cases of diabetes mellitus can be prevented if a BMI is successfully maintained below 25.

-    Unlike breast cancer, obesity is strongly suspected as a precursor of endometrial cancer in women and colon cancer in men.

-    Obesity has been recognized as a potent risk factor for osteoarthritis when bearing body weight becomes unbearable for hip and knee joints.

-    All in all, the mortality rate increases two-fold if BMI increases by 5 units.

   In order to have perfect natural health and natural sleep, one has to have a natural diet. Any invention, intervention, interpolation or interaction which leads human beings away from nature is bound to invite chronic diseases. 

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