Being Overweight

We all know that obesity and being overweight contribute to an ever-increasing list of chronic illnesses. According to some studies, obesity and being overweight is quickly catching up to smoking as the number one cause of preventable chronic illnesses. It causes diabetes in young children and leads to lethargic lifestyles. Obesity and being overweight is overwhelming our health care budget. Some see it as a personal issue while others blame social and environmental factors. Any way you look at it, obesity and being overweight has become a focal point for concern.

But what if it’s not that big of a deal?

Take the case of Mary Anne Ferguson, a 58-year-old grandma. Today, she’s lifting weights at the YMCA, hoping to buy herself another 25 years.

“I want to live well into my 80′s or longer,” said the high-spirited grandma.

But Mary Anne stands only 5 foot 6 inches and weighs 186 pounds.

According to doctors’ charts, Mary Anne is actually just a smidgen away from suffering from clinically obesity and is certainly overweight. In addition, her cholesterol is high and her doctor is worried. Mary Anne is worried. But recent studies have claimed that we may worry too much. Take for instance these headlines in Newsweek and Globe and Mail, respectively, “You can be fat and healthy at the same time” or “Get Fat, Live Longer.”

Excuse me? Doesn’t this goes against all the common assumptions of obesity and being overweight.

According to David Feeney at the Kaiser Center for Health Research in Portland, “One of the things that happens as many people age, is that they start to lose weight and they are at risk of becoming very frail.”

He conducted a 12 year study on 11,000 Canadians and found that people who were overweight lived the longest, especially those over 60. So it’s actually riskier to be underweight in old age. You don’t want to be skin and bones when you get older, focusing on just mortality and disease statistics neglects several obvious downsides of being old and underweight. Frailty is a major issue and resilience seems to falter with weight as well.

This doesn’t mean you should sell your treadmill and relegate yourself to the couch during off-hours. Exercise in curbing complications associated with obesity and being overweight is still the best route to go, even if you don’t seem to be making any progress with your weight. In fact, studies show that compared to a normal weight couch potato, someone suffering from obesity or is overweight and walks for 150 minutes a week has a 50% lower risk of death. Exercise is truly a super-drug.

The following are some common complications associated with obesity and being overweight and all of them can be curbed with a steady work out routine.

1. Heart Disease – The most common and devastating side effect of obesity or being overweight.
2. Diabetes – Associated with the poor diet habits that cause obesity or one being overweight.
3. Sleep Apnea – A condition where you stop breathing, causing you to wake up suddenly
4. Respiratory problems – Similar to reasons for heart disease, the lungs are overworked in order to provide more oxygen where it needs to be faster. Plus, conditions such as high cholesterol in the arteries can make it harder for oxygen to move freely through your system.
5. Arthritis – A condition common to obesity and being overweight because of the added stress on joints.

Obesity Statistics

A 2003 Food and Drug Administration hearing on obesity had the Center for Consumer Freedom discussing how the three most commonly used statistics associated with the overweight and obesity epidemic are all seriously flawed. The three statistics are: 1) Obesity causes 300,000 deaths a year; 2) 61 percent of Americans are overweight or suffering from obesity; and 3) the economic cost of obesity is $117 billion a year.

A New England Journal of Medicine article in 1998 found that “although some claim that every year 300,000 deaths in the United States are caused by obesity, that figure is by no means well established… [and] is derived from weak [and] incomplete data.” Likewise, the assertion that 61 percent of Americans are overweight or suffering from obesity completely ignores the 1998 redefinition that took the counter-intuitive step of judging men and women by the same standard, thereby creating 30 million new Americans became overweight over night, this included the very fit president at the time.

As for the $117 billion a year on overweight and obesity-related complications figure, it was often said to have come from the Surgeon General himself, but as CCF’s testimony revealed, it was actually an excerpt from a study published in the journal Obesity Research. It admitted that, “We are still uncertain about the actual amount of health utilization associated with overweight and obesity,” they also added, “Height and weight are not included in many of the primary data sources…”

To nail the coffin on this figure, the authors also admitted that their flawed methodology in calculating the cost of overweight would inflate the cost estimate, resulting in a double or triple counting of the costs of overweight and obesity. It assumed conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, and a host of others were occurring independently when there is irrefutable evidence of the interdependence among these diseases.

It’s authors also incorrectly defined obesity, citing a BMI greater than or equal to 29, when the actual definition is greater than or equal to 30, thus incorrectly including an additional 10 million Americans to their obesity statistic.

The bottom line is being a few pounds overweight doesn’t mean you can’t be fit.

Consider the benefits of being overweight (and active), compared to normal-weight and inactive, as you get older:

1) One German study found that overall mortality is unchanged by overweight, but increased by 20% for obesity, and extreme obesity raises it by up to 200%. As people grow older, it becomes less of a factor.

2) The same study found that a larger BMI lowers the risk of bone and hip fracture.

3) A revised CDC report in 2005 found that contrary to the previous year’s report of 400,000 deaths associated with obesity, the actual number was at about 25,814 as a result of overweight and obesity.

4) Compared to a normal-weight couch potato, someone who is overweight and walks for 150 minutes a week has a 50% lower risk of death

5) A 12 year study of 11,000 Canadians found that people who were overweight lived the longest, especially if they were over the ago of 60.

Fighting Obesity

Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health. It is often the result of excessive calorie intake, lack of physical activity, and genetic predispositions.

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 extreme cases, surgery is performed or an intra-gastric balloon is placed to reduce stomach reduce stomach volume or bowel length. This leads to earlier satiation and the reduced ability to absorb nutrients from food.

Obesity is associated with an array of diseases, particularly heart disease, type 2 diabetes, respiratory diseases, sleep apnea, arthritis, and cancer. It is one of the leading preventable causes of death worldwide and health officials consider it as one of the most serious public health problems in the 21st century.

BMI is the leading indicator of obesity and is categorized thus:

1) < 18.5 BMI = Underweight
2) 18.5-24.9 = Normal weight
3) 25.0-29.9 = Overweight
4) 30.0-34.9 = Class I obesity
5) 35.0-39.9 = Class II obesity
6) > 40.0 = Class III obesity

In addition, some revised definitions include the following:

1) A BMI of 40.0-49.9 = Morbid Obesity
2) A BMI > 50 = Super Obesity

However, it is worth noting that BMI is highly subjective when considering people such as bodybuilders whose weight and height may classify them as overweight or obese, but they are actually mostly lean mass.

One of the focal points of the battle against obesity has been childhood obesity. Treatments used for childhood obesity mainly focus on lifestyle interventions and behavioral techniques. Surgery and medication is not FDA approved in this age group but has been used in some very extreme cases. It makes sense to begin with childhood obesity simply because they are the highest-risk group to become obese adults.

Childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the 21st century in both developed and developing worlds. In the United States, depending on the age group, rates of childhood obesity have double and tripled.

Rising childhood obesity has been blamed on everything from self-propelled transportation, lack of school physical education, and a drop in organized sports. However, the overwhelming majority of experts agree that when it comes to childhood obesity, genetics accounts for a minute proportion, but lifestyle habits is the number one cause of childhood obesity.

Childhood obesity often persists into adulthood, studies show that 70% of obese children go on to become obese adults and 80% suffering from childhood obesity go on to become obese adults if either or both parents are obese.

The following are the leading 5 ways to battle obesity:

1) The main treatment course is diet and exercise. Not only does this produce weight loss, but also lessens the chances of developing the many chronic illnesses associated with obesity.

2) Weight loss programs are a great way to find support to promote lifestyle changes. They have shown modest results in weight loss, but can go a long way in changing the mental state of someone suffering from obesity.

3) FDA approved obesity medication is available in two forms: orlistat, or Xenical, reduces intestinal fat absorption and sibutramine (Meridia) is a neuro-inhibitor which curbs your appetite.

4) Surgery generally takes the form of a band placed around the stomach or bowel shortening surgery. These options are reserved for those suffering from severe or morbid obesity.