by Jobie Weetaluktuk

Created on: July 10, 2007

Obesity is increasing an evident societal and personal challenge. I've heard all kinds of theories and studies on and regarding obesity. Obesity is the excess fat to body weight ratio. An obese person is fat plus. Like all things that describe a person, the definition of obese person can be difficult to articulate. Obesity is measured a number of ways, but the Body Mass Index (BMI) is still prevalent way though it has become the old king of the hill and the one to challenge.

Body mass index measure the weight and height divided by 705. Take your height in feet and inches and divide by your weight in inches squared. Then you take the result and multiply by 705 and get the result. According to weightloss.about.com, a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 is considered normal. 25 to 29.9 BMI is considered overweight. A BMI of 30 or over is considered obese.

Some scientific researchers have claimed they the isolated the obese gene. Some people eat, eat, and eat in such a manner that they seem powerless to control or overcome their appetite. The obese gene makes a lot of sense in that light.

The obese gene also makes sense since family members of fat person also tend to be obese also. Body types tend to stay in the family, whether fat, regular, or thin.

The diet of the obese also is a very great factor. There are all kinds of foods, some which directly contribute to putting on the pounds. Fatty, high calorie, and high starch foods have been fingered as fat causing foods.

Personally, I think high sugar foods play a very big role. It is based on just anecdotal evidence and observation. The obese seem to
have a fondness for soft drinks, sugar candies, and other categories of junk food. The obese also tend to have a sweet tooth.

A niece of mine who was order by a doctor not to take any more soda drinks, yet she persisted in drinking the liquid sugar. She knows the soda adds to her mass and weight. She also knows it is not good for her, yet she just smiles when she is caught with the soda pop.
I was playing a game of cards with friends, when an intuitive sense struck me. A lady was in the group, when she tossed everyone a hard candy. Then she unwrapped her and crushed the entire candy by her powerful teeth. The rest of us took no notice and continued to suck on our candy. When I heard the candy crunch, I immediately had the sense that this lady had been given the candy love by her grandmother. It was a thought out of nowhere, an intuitive sense.

Obesity is also a result of lack of physical activity. In modern North America, we don't have to move around a lot. We are not burning off the calories we once used to in a days work. We are also feeding ourselves with more food, especially of the processed variety. To keep a better balance, we need to burn as much calories as we take in a day.

Obesity has become such a problem in North America that some doctors and lifestyle experts have taken to calling obesity an epidemic.

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