A)Howdoesonedefinewhenapersonisconsideredtobeobeseandnotjustsomewhatoverweight?Height-weighttablesgiveanapproximateguidelineastowhetheroneissimplyoverweightorhaspassedintotheobesestage.
B)TheWorldHealthOrganizationrecommendsusingaformulathattakesintoaccountaperson'sheightandweight.The"BodyMassIndex"(BMI)iscalculatedbydividingtheperson'sweightinkilogramsbythesquareoftheirheightinmeters,andisthusgiveninunitsofkg/m2.ABMIof18.5-24.9isconsideredtobethehealthiest.ABMIofbetween25and29.9isconsideredtobeoverweight,whileaBMIofover30isconsideredtobeobese.
C)However,itisrecognizedthatthisdefinitionislimitedasitdoesnottakeintoaccountsuchvariablesasage,genderandethnicorigin,thelatterbeingimportantasdifferentethnicgroupshaveverydifferentfatdistributions.Anothershortcomingisthatitisnotapplicabletocertainverymuscularpeoplesuchasathletesandbodybuilders,whocanalsohaveartificiallyhighBMIs.AgenciessuchastheNationalCholesterolEducationProgram(NCEP)intheUSAandtheInternationalDiabetesFoundation(IDF)arestartingtodefineobesityinadultssimplyintermsofwaistcircumference.
D)Over2000yearsago,theGreekphysicianHippocrateswrotethat"personswhoarenaturallyveryfatareapttodieearlierthanthosewhoareslender".Thisobservationremainsverytruetoday.Obesityhasamajorimpactonaperson'sphysical,socialandemotionalwell-being.Itincreasestheriskofdevelopingdiabetesmellitustype2("matureonsetdiabetes")andalsomakesType2diabetesmoredifficulttocontrol.Thusweightlossimprovesthelevelsofbloodglucoseandbloodfats,andreducesbloodpressure.Theassociationbetweenobesityandcoronaryheartdiseaseisalsowell-known.
E)Furthermore,in2001medicalresearchersestablishedalinkbetweenbeingoverweightandcertainformsofcancer,andestimatedthatnearly10,000Britonsperyeardevelopcancerasaresultofbeingoverweight.Thisfigurewasmadeupof5,893womenand3,220men,withthestrongestassociationsbeingwithbreastandcoloncancers.However,itisthoughtthatbeingoverweightmayalsoincreasetheriskofcancerinthereproductiveorgansforwomenandintheprostateglandformen.
F)Thelinkbetweenbreastcancerandnutritionalstatusisthoughttobeduetothesteroidhormonesoestrogenandprogesterone,whichareproducedbytheovaries,andgovernawoman'smenstrualcycle.Researchershavefoundthatthemoreawomaneats,orthemoresedentaryherlifestyle,thehigheraretheconcentrationsofprogesterone.Thislinkcouldexplainwhywomenfromlessaffluentcountrieshavelowerratesofbreastcancer.Womenfromlessaffluentnationstendtoeatlessfoodandtoleadlifestyleswhichinvolvemoredailymovement.Thislowerstheirprogesteronelevel,resultinginlowerpredispositiontobreastcancer.
G)TheTimesnewspaper,in2002reportedthatobesitywasthemainavoidablecauseofcanceramongnon-smokersintheWesternworld!
H)ResearchpublishedbyStThomas'Hospital,London,UKin2005showedacorrelationbetweenbodyfatandaging,totheextentthatbeingobeseadded8.8yearstoawoman'sbiologicalage.Theeffectwasexacerbatedbysmoking,andanon-overweightwomanwhosmokes20cigarettesadayfor20yearsadded7.4yearstotheirbiologicalage.Thecombinationofbeingobeseandasmokeraddedatleasttenyearstoawoman’sbiologicalage,andalthoughthestudyonlyinvolvedwomen,theleadresearcherProfessorTimSpectorbelievesthefindingwouldalsoapplytomen.
I)Theagingeffectwasdeterminedbymeasuringthelengthoftelomeres,tiny"caps"ontheendsofchromosomes,whichhelpprotecttheDNAfromtheageingprocess.Indeed,telomereshavebeendubbedthe"chromosomalclock"because,asanorganismages,theybecomeprogressivelyshorter,andcanbeusedtodeterminetheageoftheorganism.Beyondacertainpoint,thetelomerebecomessoshortthatitisnolongerabletopreventtheDNAofthechromosomefromfallingapart.Itisbelievedthatexcessbodyfat,andthechemicalspresentintobaccosmokereleasefreeradicalswhichtriggerinflammation.Inflammationcausestheproductionofwhitebloodcellswhichincreasestherateoferosionoftelomeres.
J)Recentresearch(2005)conductedintheUSAshowsthatobesityinmiddleageislinkedtoanincreasedriskofdementia,withobesepeopleintheir40sbeing74%morelikelytodevelopdementiacomparedtothoseofnormalweight.Forthosewhoaremerelyoverweight,thelifetimeriskofdementiariskwas35%higher.
K)ScientistsfromtheAgingResearchCentreattheKarolinskaInstituteinSwedenhavebeenabletotakeinformationsuchasage,numberofyearsineducation,gender,bodymassindex,bloodpressurelevel,physicalactivityandgeneticfactors,assigningeachariskscore.Theythenusedthisinformationtodeviseapredictivetestfordementia.Thistestwillenablepeopleatrisk,forthefirsttime,tobeabletoaffectlifestylechangeswhichwillreducetheirriskofcontractingdementia.
L)Theworld-wideupsurgeinobesity,particularlyinchildren,isofmajoreconomicconcern,liabletodraineconomies.OffurtherconcernisthatresearchconductedinAustraliaandpublishedin2006,showsthatuptoonethirdofbreechpregnancieswereundetectedbythetraditional"palpation"examination,thedangerbeinggreatestforthosewomenwhoareoverweightorobese—agrowingproportionofmothers.Thismeansthatsuchwomenarenotgettingthetreatmentrequiredtoturnthebabyaroundintimeforthebirth,andinmanycasesrequireanemergencyCaesareansection.
M)Thisisatruehealth-carecrisis,farbiggerthanSevereAcuteRespiratorySyndrome(SARS)andultimately,evenbiggerthanAIDS.