Overweight
Obesity is a preventable disease of excess body fat. Extremely overweight individuals, those with a BMI of over 50, are relegated to the section of Class III obesity, or super obesity, which was also termed malignant obesity. 60 BMI and greater is classified as super-super obesity.
Typically, given a standard deviation of height, the actual weight of people with super obesity exceeds their ideal weight by about 225%, or approximately 200-plus pounds overweight. In comparison, being a few percent overweight may actually have some long-term benefits while being 20 percent or more above ideal weight is where negative weight-related. Being a few pounds overweight has been found to be the weight group with the best quality of life and longevity in old age. The benefits of being overweight are attributed to a higher resistance to diseases and illnesses in addition to the increased resilience against fractures and broken bones.
In the United States, a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that the number people categorized under super obesity had quintupled from 1986 to 2000. In 1986, one out of every 200 of the population was categorized under super obesity, in 200 that number was one in 50.
The number of people under the category of super obesity actually increased at twice the rate than the rise in normal obesity. Roland Sturm of the RAND Corporation, and chief author of the study, had this to say, “As the whole population shifts to the right [becomes heavier], the extreme categories grow the fastest. The traditional clinical approach of targeting high risk cases is only temporary and palliative in this situation, but cannot stem the trend.”
Waistlines, and obesity and overweight, is expanding in every country in the developed world. Consider this, seats in airplanes, movie theaters, and cars, especially American ones, have been steadily widened over the past half century to accommodate overweight and burgeoning bottoms. In addition, cup holders in cars and movie theaters have been made to fit unnecessarily large beverages. Usually, the only things that come in sizes so big are soft drinks from fast food vendors and convenience stores.
With overweight and various levels of obesity afflicting such an enormous number of people, super-sized coffin makers are reporting that business is brisk with demand on the rise.
Although most obesity and overweight treatment options will suggest exercise and diet, patients should realize that the primary goal of a new lifestyle is not to lose weight, but to improve their health.