Obesity-I

Persons carrying excessive body fat as compared to their height and sex are said to have obesity. As per the normal standards BMI (Body Mass Index) which is weight measured in Kilograms, then divide it by the height of the person in meters squared and if it is 30 or more then that person comes in the category of obese. Obesity happens when a person consumes more calories than he can burn off and the process happens over a period of time.
The rate of burning off calories is also termed as metabolic rate which is higher in puberty and growth spurts, but steadies down in adulthood. The metabolic rate also depends on the activity of a person, like an office worker going to office in car with practically no exercises may burn only 1500 calories, whereas a labour doing energetic activity at building sites etc, may burn 4,000 to 5,000 calories per day.
When calories intake is more than calories burned, the extra is stored in the form of fat, as a reserve to be used in case of starvation, which is rare in developed countries, as a result obesity occurs. This has taken the shape of a medical problem which is a matter of concern in the western world and has taken a serious shape with more than 9000 people dying per year only in England. This is also evident from the fact that Adult obesity has increased four times in 25 years with 75% of adults in UK being either overweight or obese.
Obesity can shorten lifespan by up to 9 years and increase the risk for a wide range of health problems like heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, gallstones, depression, infertility and diabetes and then adding the lack of exercise, they are responsible for 33% of cancers of stomach, kidney, colon and breast. Similarly Childhood obesity has also tripled in 20 years with 10% in six years of age and 17% in 15 years and above coming in the category of clinically obese children and these children have a very high tendency of becoming obese as adults.
OBESITY SYMPTOMS
Immediate symptoms are breathlessness, difficulty in sleeping, snoring, lot of sweating, feeling of tiredness, not being able to cope up with sudden physical activities and joint and back pains and in the long term obesity highly increases risk of high cholesterol levels ( fatty deposits which are responsible for blocking the arteries), heart disease, high blood pressure and stroke, gastro-oesophageal reflux disease ( acid flowing up from the stomach to the gullet) and related problem, gall bladder disease, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS- ovaries having multiple cysts), breast cancer, diabetes, arthritis of anckles, knees, hips and back and finally reduced life span.
Besides the above physical problems, obesity also brings many psychological problems in some persons like lower levels of confidence with low esteem levels or poor self image, generally feeling isolated from society and poor quality of life due to reduced mobility.