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Regular Overweight Versus Obese

10th April, 2010 - Posted by health news - No Comments

In our country there are a greater number of people who are dangerously overweight than there are people who are just not at a healthy weight. This is not just a guess, this has been studied. But what does that mean? The different terms are a result of how much a person weighs and what is the cause of any extra weight that a person is carrying. Overweight is having extra body weight from muscle, bone, fat, and/or water. When a person is dangerously overweight they have a lot of fat.

Instead of judging a person by how much they weigh, a more accurate method is known as the BMI The higher the body mass indicator is, the more dangerously overweight that a person is. Since 1980 the number of obese people has more than doubled while the number of overweight people has remained steady. Obesity is a major cause for many health complications that are suffered by people in our country. The more that a person weighs, the more health risks that they face.

It is obvious that something must be done to change this trend, but it is not an easy task. It is not a simple matter of getting a large group of people together to do a bunch of six pack ab exercises, before they go to work in the morning, it is a much deeper problem that needs to be attacked on many levels with people of all ages. It is up to the older generation to show the younger generation the right way to live healthy lives. One out of every three children are at risk of not being at the correct weight for their age and height. The average life span of all Americans is going to be reduced because of this.

Television and technology are a major culprit in the problem of obesity. Kids are not as active as they used to be because they are entranced by the boob tube. If they are not watching a television show they are sitting down playing video games for hours on end. One easy place to lay the blame for all of the weight issues is with the media that glorifies unhealthy foods. Our diets are full of all the junk foods that companies spend their millions to advertise. There are also numerous advertisements for products that promise to show a person how to lose weight fast, thus giving us the false sense of security that we can get our weight under control any time that we want to without having to do any real work, all we have to do is take a pill and watch the fat melt away. In addition to following one if these quick plans, a person still needs to do more to lose the weight. It takes a complete fitness program for a person to lose weight. The combined effort can help transform a person.

Reality TV has given us a show that is making being dangerously overweight seem more popular. On the reality show The Biggest Loser the contestants have gotten bigger and bigger, and now there are posts on the biggest loser forum that question whether the show is sending the right message by choosing people who are morbidly obese instead of choosing overweight people that more of the fans of the show can relate too. The people who are on the show are not always as reflective of the people who are watching it because the people at home are not as overweight as those on the show.

There is no doubt that our nation is struggling with a major problem. If the older generation can not do something for themselves, than the younger generation will follow in their footsteps. Adults need to help change the way our children eat and to make sure that they are getting outside and exercising. It is not acceptable that there are so many people who are dangerously overweight and we must do something about it. If we want our kids to grow up healthy and happy, than we have no choice but to lead the way for them.