Obesity has become one of the most serious medical problems of the western world. Obesity is excess body fat for a given height and gender.
The food (calories) we consume is utilized in the body to meet the basic metabolic demands. Weight increases when more calories are taken into the body than are burnt up in a given period of time. Once adulthood is reached, everyone has a fairly steady rate of calorie burn-up, called the metabolic rate. This is higher in people who are regularly physically active. If calories consumed as food are greater than the calories used every day, the excess calories are stored by the body as fat. This is important as a protection for the body against times of starvation. In developed countries like Europe and America where food is plentiful, and a lot of available food is much higher in calories than is actually used up tendency for developing obesity is quite common.

Obesity is measured in terms of BMI or body mass index. BMI of 30 and above is defined as obesity. When body weight increases to such an extent that it puts health at risk then one is no longer just labeled as' over-weight'. At this point the excessive weight becomes a pathological disorder and is termed as 'obesity'.
• BMI>40 - very obese - health is seriously at risk. Losing weight immediately is essential
• BMI 31-40 - obese - health is at risk. Losing weight should be seriously considered
• BMI - 26-30 - overweight - health could suffer. Some weight loss should now be considered.
• BMI 19-25 - healthy - a desirable BMI figure reflecting a healthy weight.
Eating a varied, balanced diet and staying at a healthy weight by being physically active will help to lower your risk of developing heart disease and possibly help you live longer.

Obesity is considered to be a major risk factor for development of coronary artery disease (heart disease). This is so as obesity can result in the development of atherosclerotic heart disease. This leads to the development of fatty plaques on the walls of the blood vessels. This leads to narrowing of the blood vessels. This can result in development of clots within the blood vessels which can lead to hypertension, stroke, heart attack etc. Thus obese people should seriously consider a weight loss program in order to stay healthy.
If you are obese you are at increased risk of:
• high blood pressure
• diabetes
• high cholesterol
• having a heart attack
• having a stroke
• gallbladder disease
• osteoarthritis
• polycystic ovarian disease and endometrial cancer (cancer of the womb lining)
Eating a varied, balanced diet and staying at a healthy weight by being physically active will help to lower your risk of developing heart disease and will possibly help you live longer.

Learn more about this author, Dorothy Wilde.
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