Obesity a Growing
Health Epidemic
July 31, 2005
THE rising incidence of obesity
is a growing health concern for all age groups in the
Philippines and around the world. Defined as an unhealthy
amount of body fat, obesity has become a global epidemic
that until recently had gone mostly unrecognized. According
to a World Health Organization (WHO) report, three million
deaths are attributable to overweight and obesity annually.
Worldwide, there are a billion overweight adults, 300
million of whom are clinically obese. Unless urgent
action is taken the WHO predicts that the number of
the world’s overweight will swell to five million
in the next 20 years.
The factors contributing to obesity are not expected
to recede anytime soon. In many cultures in the past,
obesity had been prized as sign of wealth and health.
But being overweight is not about being rich and well
fed. While there are many causes that contribute to
obesity, the strongest factors have been an unbalanced
diet combined with reduced physical exercise; a sedentary
workforce, and lifestyle choices compounded by a high-fat,
high-sugar content diet.
The Food and Agriculture Organization has sounded an
alarm over childhood obesity which is also rising everywhere
because children are becoming less active while taking
in more calories. Many developing nations are facing
a double challenge – widespread hunger on one
hand and the rapid increases in diabetes and cardiovascular
diseases on the other.
Statistics show that obesity accounts for two to three
percent of total health care costs in developed countries
and has a severe impact in terms of lost productivity
at the work place and on a company’s medical fees
and lost productivity. The costs are likely to skyrocket
over the next few years as obesity catches up to smoking
as the number one preventable cause of death in many
countries.
While experts concede that genes play an important
factor in determining a person’s weight gain,
it is in many cases preventable. From a moral perspective,
overeating appears unacceptable in a world where close
to a billion people are still constantly hungry. To
those who tend to overeat, it would be to their advantage
to be aware of the inherent risks and hazards of an
unbalanced diet and to change their eating habits to
significantly curb the upward trend in this health epidemic.
Source: http://www.mb.com.ph
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