There simply is no point living in denial. Obesity is already a very serious problem in American society. According to available statistics, only one state in America has a prevalence of obesity that is less than 20%. That state is Colorado. In fact, more than 30 states in the U.S. have a prevalence of obesity that is equal to or greater than 25%.

Meanwhile, obesity is not restricted to the U.S. alone. It is also a growing problem in European countries like Germany, England and the Netherlands. Countries like Canada, New Zealand and Australia have also witnessed a rising level of obesity in their cities. It is only in places like Africa and Asia that obesity does not seem to be a problem. And that's clearly because about half the population of people in those areas don't seem to get enough food.

But first, what is obesity? This is a condition whereby an individual happens to have a lot of body fat in proportion to his/her body mass index. It is even more explicit to state that obesity simply means being very much weight.

What exactly is the cause of obesity? Again, this can be explained in very simple terms. Obesity is caused by too much food and too little exercise. It is also compounded by an unhealthy habit of eating the wrong kinds of food.

It is a classic irony that good health depends on eating good food. Yet, too much food is bad for your health. This is exactly where the root of obesity lies. In most advanced countries food is cheap and largely available. As a result, people are practically eating themselves to death.

As a health hazard, obesity has a whole lot of adverse effects on the health. There is a strong connection between obesity and type 2 diabetes. Obesity is also a culprit in cardiovascular disease, stroke and high blood pressure. In a number of cases, obesity leads to problems with bones and cartilage. This is obvious because when you put on a lot of weight, your bones are really stressed out by the extra weight they have to bear.

Apart from purely medical problems, obesity has other implications too. Obese people suffer from problems with their self-esteem. They are considered odd and cannot really carry out a lot of sports or physical activities. This is particularly true of childhood obesity.

In some cases, obese people may even require bariatic surgery and this does not come cheap. Employers of labor also report that a lot of time and valuable man hours are lost to illnesses that are connected to obesity.

Clearly, obesity is a growing problem. It has alot of serious medical and social implications to the society and it requires urgent solutions. The right thing to do is to fight obesity now before the problem gets even more serious than it is now.

Source: www.cdc.gov.

Learn more about this author, Emmanuel Osondu.
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