The effect of obesity

people  who are obesed are unaware of the risk their obesity could pose to their health. Unless they come to know how this could happen they lead a carefree life and fall prey to those harmful effects of obesity.
First of all, overweight can lead to developing arthritis,because if you are overweight you are putting stress on your joints and bones more than they could sustain which is not really good for them.
The cessation of your breathing during sleep,known as apnea,is caused by Excess body weight.You will be deprived of quality sleep required for your good health. High blood pressure and even stroke may arise from being obese.

Hypertension, Excess Weight, and Diabetes

High blood pressure (hypertension) can injure artery walls and enable LDL cholesterol to enter the artery lining and promote the buildup of plaque. As plaque deposits increase, there is more resistance to blood flow and thus an elevation in blood pressure.Excess weight promotes high blood pressure and lipid abnormalities. Avoiding or treating obesity is a primary way to prevent diabetes. Diabetes accelerates CAD and increases the risk of heart attack

Posible causes of obesity

. Genetics is a predisposing factor,  however the alarming increase in obesity in recent decades appears to indicate that genes are not the only cause. Stephen O’Rahilly, professor of clinical biochemistry and medicine at Cambridge University in England, declares: “Nothing genetic explains the rise in obesity. We can’t change our genes over 30 years. commenting on the causes, the Mayo Clinic, in the United States, says: “Although there are some genetic and hormonal causes of  obesity, most excess weight is caused by  eating too much and exercising too little.this leads to dificiency in energy ballance
This simply means that the person is not able to use and consume the energy that is stored in his or her body. The food a person takes in is a major source of energy and if the calories is not used or consumed, the tendency is the individual will become obesed
 Two examples illustrate the changing trend in eating habits today.
First, as working parents have less time and energy to prepare meals, fast food has increasingly become the norm. Fast-food restaurants have sprung up all over the world. One study reported that nearly a third of all children in the United States aged 4 to 19 eat fast food every day. Such foods are typically high in sugar and fats and are offered in temptingly large sizes.
Second, soft drinks have replaced milk and water as the beverage of choice. For example, Mexicans spend more each year on soft drinks, particularly colas, than on the ten most basic foods put together. According to the book Overcoming Childhood Obesity, just one 20-ounce soft drink a day can result in a gain of 25 pounds in a year!
LACK OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY=A study carried out by the University of Glasgow in Scotland found that the average three-year-old engages in “moderate to vigorous activity” for only 20 minutes a day. Commenting on that study, Dr. James Hill, professor of pediatrics and medicine at the University of Colorado, said: “The increasingly sedentary nature of U.K. [United Kingdom] children is not unique and is being seen in most countries around the world
Living a sedentary lifestyle can also contribute imersely to obesity.Some individuals do not spend time exercising and just prefer to watch movies at home.The lack of physical activities due to being overly dependent on high end technologies, and the lack of physical education contributes to obesity.It is important for individuals who do not want to become obesed to move every once in a while, that way calories will be burned and thus keeps the individual from getting overweight.

Obesity,a global problem

"LONG considered a by-product of modern life in rich, developed countries, obesity is spreading into developing countries as well," reports the British medical journal The Lancet. It noted that nutrition experts now warn of "a global epidemic" of obesity-related diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, cancer, and cardiovascular disease.

With the increase of the number of overweight men and doubling of the number of overweight women in China in the past eight years, hypertension rates there are now similar to those in the United States. More than half of all newly diagnosed cases of diabetes occur in India and China. The diabetes level in Egypt is equal to that of the United States, and half the women in the country are now overweight. Mexico has had a rapid rise in obesity across all levels of society in every area of the country, with a consequent rise in diabetes. Even in very poor sub-Saharan African countries, obesity and diabetes are rising.

Although a diet of fatty fast foods may account for obesity in some countries, a major cause is that many manufacturers now add more sugar to foods "to make them taste better." Additionally, Asian and African diets include more edible oils, with the consequent extra calories. Advanced technology in factories and in agriculture means that less physical labor is required to produce goods. People want to work less and have more leisure time. Now that computers and television are so popular, workers get less exercise, and "email has signaled the end of message-carrying and getting up to talk to colleagues."

Since obesity is rising rapidly among schoolchildren too, especially in areas where recreation and physical activity have been reduced, there is an urgent need for teachers to be aware of the relationship between nutrition and academic performance. Gail Harrison, of the School of Public Health, University of California, warns that in addition to local prevention strategies, "a common agenda for prevention on a global basis, with the associated development of policy, expertise, and infrastructure, is essential" to cope with the epidemic of obesity and its associated diseases.