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Am I Overweight?
Unfortunately, a list of serious problems persists in modern-day society, and others emerge. Although we are already developed beyond our imagination, we keep on struggling with simple things, such as our looks, weight, what others think of us, and all sorts of things around this. Identifying these issues as “symptoms” of being overweight is possible.
Symptoms are in quotation marks because these are only conditions that can be associated with excess weight; the actual symptoms are something far more dangerous. But before we go into that, we’ll start from the beginning.
What is overweight?
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), overweight is: “abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a health risk”. This definition, by itself, doesn’t say much about what overweight means, but at the same time, it does. Being overweight means that when the accumulation of fat in our body is excessive, it starts posing a threat to our general health, ultimately making it dangerous.
Being overweight is common in areas where abundant food supplies and lifestyles are sedentary. Who should always consider the child’s best interests before anything else?
A healthy body requires fat; this is obvious for the proper functioning of hormonal, immune and reproductive systems, shock absorption, and energy. There is such a thing as being underweight, which is also unhealthy and dangerous (with diseases such as bulimia and anorexia associated with it).
However, the accumulation of large amounts of fat will lead to loss of flexibility, movement, and overall physical condition and will take a toll on the appearance of the body. Ultimately, these changes can lead to several other overweight problems.
According to the latest study conducted by the World Health Organization, the Global Burden of Disease Study in 2013, excess weight has reached the proportions of an epidemic worldwide, with more than 2 billion adults being overweight in
the year the study was conducted (2013), this is almost 30 per cent of the entire population of Earth. The study also showed that the numbers increased across all age groups.
The risks of being overweight
Being overweight, unfortunately, carries a lot of risks with the title, and it’s not something that merely damages people on an emotional and psychological level. Still, it carries serious health hazards that need to be considered.
The type of health hazards that can come from excess weight are many: diabetes, high blood pressure, strokes, cancer, sleep apnea, osteoarthritis, liver disease, kidney disease, and it can even convey problems with pregnancy. While some of these are scarier than others, they are all dangerous and should be avoided at all costs.
It is generally accepted that the risks of being overweight and the risks of obesity are the same, except that when it comes to obesity, things are taken to a whole new level; however, from a healthy weight to overweight, the risks of death increase from 20 to 40 per cent, and at the age of 40, it is generally accepted that overweight removes at least three years out of life expectancy.
Regarding type 2 diabetes, 80 per cent of people that suffer from the disease are overweight or obese. It is unclear why overweight and obese people are so likelier to contract the condition than “normal, healthy” people who are not very likely to do so. It is, however, believed that being overweight makes cells change, giving them more excellent resistance to insulin.
Insulin is a hormone that carries sugar from the blood to the cells. If an individual is resistant to insulin, his blood will have high sugar, causing insulin-producing cells to work extra hard, ultimately leading to cell failure. Losing weight and exercising regularly will help control blood sugar levels and help prevent other severe medical conditions that could “tag along” with type 2 diabetes.
While there is a worst scenario than being overweight, it is still not an ideal one to be at, and Who should take proper measures against these health hazards. These hazards should be attacked, damaged and eliminated before doing the same with people with excess body fat.
How to know if you’re overweight
With serious health issues associated with excess weight, Who should always ask, “Am I overweight?”. Although people assume that being overweight only affects “fat people”, this is not true. Individuals who physically look normal and attractive may be overweight, depending on their height and actual weight. So the question is, how do I know I’m overweight?
There is, however, a way to determine whether or not an individual is overweight. This method consists of calculating the Body Mass Index (BMI) to determine whether or not the individual is overweight based on his results. The only information required for this calculation is the weight and height of the individual.
From the scores achieved, underweight is from 18,5 and below; average weight is between 18,5 and 24,9; overweight is between 25 and 29,9; and from 30 up, the individual is considered obese.
There are also BMI charts available that Who can quickly consult for information regarding weight and well-being in an individual. These charts usually cover more than two units of measurement.
Who should also consider the waist size to detect whether or not an individual is overweight? Having too much fat around the waist increases health risks more significantly than in any other area.
Men should not have a waist more than 40 (1 meter) inches. Women should not have a waist over 35 (90 centimetres) inches, or they will have increased chances of developing heart diseases related to obesity and overweight.
Social impact of being overweight
A noticeably overweight individual will have a huge disadvantage over other “normal” individuals. Because they have excess weight, they are usually considered lazy, mentally inadequate, and judged based on false knowledge. There are many reasons why an individual can end up being overweight, but there are no objective reasons for him to be picked on based on that.
When it comes to teenagers and children, being overweight is one of the main reasons bullying occurs. Usually, teenagers and children deemed “fat” (even if they are not) will suffer so many criticisms and end up being the target of so much verbal abuse that they might develop serious health issues within the near future, either as overweight or underweight individuals.
With adults, the bullying continues, but surprisingly, not in the same way. Usually, the adult cases are mostly related to women, and it is usually overweight women who bully thinner women for following social dogma.
Being overweight and pregnant
Being overweight and pregnant can carry serious risks, both for the mother and the baby. Any woman with a sexually active life and a stable situation that considers getting pregnant should always ask herself first: “Am I overweight?”.
Suppose the answer is anything but a no (an absolute no, not a lie). In that case, the woman should make a workout plan and a nutritional plan to live a healthier lifestyle and provide a safer opportunity for her baby to be born.
According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, overweight women have bigger chances of miscarriages, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes and hypertension. Due to all of these issues, women with excess body fat usually require a cesarean delivery to avoid further complications – such as the mother’s blood pressure rising during delivery, causing her to suffer a stroke which would take away the blood supply from the baby.
Gestational diabetes will give women a small example of what it feels like to live with diabetes, deal with the disease, monitor the sugar in the blood constantly and have a series of other medical conditions possibly incoming as a side effect. After dealing with the condition, many women understand the severe consequences of being overweight and end up eating healthily, working out, and making changes in their lifestyle to improve their condition.
Fighting overweight and obesity
Being overweight has become such a widespread problem that it affects almost 30 per cent of the world’s population (as said above), and this problem has reached epidemic proportions. Hence, it needs to be dealt with, and any possible help in dealing with the problem is absolutely required and, in fact, almost mandatory.
It is a moral duty for everyone to help fight obesity, as it is a moral duty to help fight hunger and thirst. Whether or not you begin with yourself, or if you try to help others, every bit of help counts and should never be overlooked.
As far as parents go, to help their children achieve a healthy weight and maintain a healthy lifestyle, the first step any parent should take is to keep children active, give them chances to exercise, sign them up for a football team, challenge them for a race, teach them fun exercises, teach them to skip rope, and so on.
As far as children are active in their initiative, they will indeed play, on their own, a crucial role in their road to success. However, the work of a parent is not yet completed. Besides encouraging their children to exercise regularly, they should also encourage healthy eating habits such as: not eating too much per meal, not eating too much junk food as well as not eating it regularly, eating a good, healthy amount of vegetables and fruit, encourage heavy consumption of water, and limiting the amount of sugar intake that children can have.
Although individually these are simple, small steps, they will play a crucial role in fighting overweight and obesity when applied together.
The biggest and strongest weapon that Who can use against excess weight is information. If people are informed and educated about the condition that excess body fat will get them to, they will surely want to avoid it at all costs, even if it means that they have to go out jogging, eat some fruit, and avoid eating a lot of cake.
People who can identify themselves with the health conditions and the social discrimination will surely attempt to avoid further embarrassment and pain and will try to inform others about what they went through, how hard it was, and how things need to change.
Conclusion
Every individual, whether considered thin or fat, should ask himself the critical question: “Am I overweight?” after asking the question, said individual should attempt to get an informed answer and act accordingly, either by fighting the problem within himself or by fighting the problem alongside others.
Our requirement for abundance has indeed left us in need, and with the development of junk food and overall sugary products, new problems have arisen within our society. Now, and as a whole, we should help each other fight excess weight.
Being overweight carries a series of negative conditions that will hurt the health of an individual, as well as a negative impact on the physical and psychological well-being of a said individual. Usually, people consider that someone overweight has to overcome the issue on his own, with strength and determination, and that nothing they can do will help them deal with their issue.
This is entirely false since someone fighting for improvement (either improvement in their lifestyle or the way they perceive themselves) always needs the support of others around him and the support of people they love.
With proper support, informed masses and defined goals, it is possible to at least reduce the crazy numbers that overweight and obesity have reached. It is possible to eradicate the problem from our society altogether. It’s all about mind over matter.
