Fit-N-Wise Bariatric Solutions

FACTS ABOUT OBESITY

WHAT IS OBESITY?
Obesity is a disease that affects more than 1/3 of the adult American population. It is the second leading cause of preventable death causing 300,000 excess deaths per year. In the United States alone, 64.5% of Americans are classified as overweight or obese. People who are obese have about a 50-100% increased risk of premature death from related health problems compared to people with a healthy weight.

Obesity is defined as having an excess amount of body fat in relation to lean body mass. To determine obesity, a BMI chart is used. BMI, also referred to as body mass index, is a number calculated by dividing one’s weight by his/her height. If you have a BMI of 30 or greater, you are classified as obese. If you have a BMI of 40 or greater, you are classified as being morbidly obese.

Use our BMI Calculator located on the right to estimate your body mass index

CAUSES
Obesity has several contributing factors such as environment, lack of exercise, psychological, and genetics.

Environment
Environmental factors have a strong influence on our health decisions. In today’s society, we are busier than ever so we concentrate more on food that is fast, convenient, and tastes good. This causes us to eat high fat, processed foods. Not only are we eating fast foods, we are less active than we have ever been. Modern technology has replaced physical activity. We are watching more TV and spending more time on a computer.

There are several changes in our environment today that influence activity and eating patterns-more reliance on cars more transportation, more eating out, greater serving sizes, less physical activity. (TV, computer and video games, etc.)

Lack of Exercise (physical activity)
Lack of exercise plays a huge role in obesity. Physical activity has continued to decline with the rise in technology. We have replaced physical activity with other things such as watching TV, playing video games, and other computer related work. We also use modern technology to our advantage such as using a riding lawn mover versus and push mower. We tend to busy ourselves with more indoor activity than outdoor activity.

Psychological
Psychological factors may influence obesity. Many people tend to eat in response to certain emotions such as stress, anger, boredom, sadness, guilt. 30% of people who seek treatment for weight problems have a binge eating disorder.

Genetics
Genes may influence a number of weight-related processes in our body such as metabolism, hormones, blood glucose levels, and the way our fat is stored. However, people with obesity-related genes are not ordained to be obese, but are at a greater risk. In today’s environment, they may need to work harder at maintaining a healthy body weight than others.

HEALTH PROBLEMS
Obesity is associated with many health risks such as:

Type II Diabetes
High Blood Pressure
High Cholesterol
Heart Disease
Depression
Sleep Apnea
Acid Reflux
Osteoarthritis
Infertility
Cancer
Skin Infections
Back Pain
Gallstones
Fatty Liver
Respiratory Problems
Blood Clots

BMI Calculator
Height
Weight	lbs.

Your BMI	24, Normal