| The
Edge of Being Fat over Obese!!!
According to some reports occurring everyday on the
newspapers,
we come to know that there is an obesity scourge which
is killing nearly as many people as smoking. Then suddenly
we come to realize that the numbers were slightly wrong,
or significantly incorrect. So if you are to believe
tabloids in US, it is OK to be fatty as long as you
are not obese.
So let us consider an example to justify this. We all
know that corpulence/obesity
can lead to high blood pressure. We also know that high
blood pressure increases your risk of having a stroke.
If an overweight person develops high blood pressure
and then dies of a stroke,
what will the statement as per his/her death certificate?
According to it, he/she died of a stroke - it won't
say the person died of obesity or overweight.
So, if we carry out a national study on deaths due
to obesity by studying death certificates, how can we
possibly know how many are suffering to this by just
analyzing the death certificates??
If a person is obese, the risk of developing many diseases
and health problems increases - Here is a list to name
a few:
-- Hypertension (high blood pressure)
-- Dyslipidemia (for example, high total cholesterol
or high levels of triglycerides)
--Stroke
-- Type 2 diabetes
-- Coronary heart disease
-- Gallbladder cancer
-- Osteoarthritis
-- Sleep apnea and respiratory problems
-- Cancers (endometrial, breast, and colon)
On the other hand though, being overweight has a significant
bearing on your chances of recovering from many cancers.
Obese people are much more likely to have fast advancing
prostate cancer than people who are of normal weight.
So now the question that arises on your mind: If it
is OK to be plump, how plump is OK? Where do we draw
the distinguishing line between Obesity and Overweight?
The transition is not black and white - it is gradual.
If a person is categorized as overweight, but not quite
obese, how can we tell that person that as long as he/she
remains just at the limit of overweight (not yet obese),
there is no increased risk of developing these diseases
- that his/her life expectancy will not be affected?
Walk down a busy road and see how many obese or overweight
people there are:
Aged 10 - 19 - Very few
Aged 20 - 29 -- Few
Aged 30 - 39 -- Quite a few
Aged 40 - 49 -- Even more
Aged 60 - 69 -- some, but not as many as the group above
Aged 70 - 79 -- fewer
Aged 80 - 89 -- very very few
Over the age of 90 - hardly any at all.
Isn't this telling us something eye-catching? Either
people go on diets when they get old, or that people
who are obese and overweight get filtered out long the
way.
So we see that there is some advantage in being fatty
rather than being obese, which obviously rues the fact
that both the terms are used in the same sense. So think
twice before labeling yourself as an OBESE.
About the Author
Chris Read, An associated editor to Hateweight.com.
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