Overweight is defined as a Body Mass Index of 25 to 30, is having more body fat than is optimally healthy.
It's a very common condition where food supplies are plentiful and lifestyles are sedentary.
Body Mass Index, or BMI, is a simple index of weight-for-height that is commonly used to identify and classify overweight in adults.
Measuring your waist circumference can also give you some information about your risk of developing health problems. If two adults have the same BMI (overweight), the person with a bigger waist circumference will be at a greater risk of developing health problems due to their weight.
A healthy body requires fat for the functioning of the hormonal, reproductive and immune systems. But the accumulation of too much storage fat can impair movement and flexibility, and can alter the appearance of the body.
When people eat more calories than they burn off, their bodies store the extra calories as fat.
The main cause of overweight is an energy imbalance between calories intake and calories expended.
Being overweight is generally caused by the intake of more calories than are expended by the body.
Some factors that may contribute to overweight:
- Binge eating.
- Insufficient sleep.
- Sedentary lifestyle.
- Limited physical exercise.
- Smoking cessation.
Some studies have shown that this rise of obesity among the world population could be attributed to an increase in calorie intake coupled with lack of adequate physical activity. Definitely, recognize calories and fat rates of foods consumed is really important. Check here to know nutrition facts about Fats (also called lipids or triglycerides)
Being overweight is a health problem, not only an appearance issue. Some problems:
|Feel tired.||Breathing problems.|
|Skin irritation.||Have difficulty sleeping.|
|You can snore.||Mobility problems|
You can also develope:
|Type 2 diabetes.||High cholesterol levels.|
|Psychological problems.||High blood pressure.|
|Coronary heart disease.||Fertility problems.|
|Cancers (colon, breast, endometrial)|
Being overweight can have a serious impact on your health.
If you are worried that your are overweight, you should discuss this with your doctor. He may be able to determine if your weight is already affecting your health.
Maintaining your weight means balancing the energy going into your body (food and drinks) and the energy being used for growth and repair, for physical activity, and to keep your body functions working.
The usual treatments for overweight adults are diet and physical exercise. You need to decrease your calorie intake and increase your calorie expenditure (exercise).
You can lose weight eating several balanced meals dispersed through the day, with a combination of progressive physical exercise.
Am I Overweight?
You can calculate here your body mass index to know if you are within the normal weight range or overweight.
It may be also a good idea to check your waist circumference and keep it within the recommended limits.