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Obesity - Online Term Papers

Obesity


Facts concerning
Many Americans are at increased health risk because they are obese. The U.S.
Surgeon General, in a 1988 report on nutrition and health, estimated that
one-fourth of adult Americans are overweight. is a known risk
factor for chronic diseases including heart disease, diabetes, high blood
pressure, stroke, and some forms of cancer. Everyone needs a certain amount
of body fat for stored energy, heat insulation, shock absorption, and other
functions. As a rule, women have more fat than men. Doctors generally agree
that men with more than 25 percent body fat and women with more than 30
percent body fat are obese. Precisely measuring a person's body fat,
however, is not easy. ...

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commonly used in health clubs and in commercial weight-
loss programs, but results should be viewed skeptically.

Because measuring a person's body fat is tricky, doctors often rely on
other means to diagnose obesity. Two widely used measurements are weight-
for-height tables and body mass index. While both measurements have their
limitations, they are reliable indicators that someone may have a weight
problem. They are easy to calculate and require no special equipment.

One problem with using weight-for-height tables is that doctors disagree
over which is the best table to use. Many versions are available, all with
different weight ranges. Some tables take a person's frame size, age, and
sex into account; others do not. A limitation of all weight-for-height
tables is that they do not distinguish excess fat from muscle. A very
muscular person may appear obese, according to the tables, when he or she
is not. Still, weight-for-height tables can be used as general guidelines.

Doctors ...

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researchers found that the
subjects' adult weights were closer to their biological parents' weights
than their adoptive parents'. The environment provided by the adoptive
family apparently had less influence on the development of obesity than the
person's genetic makeup.

Environmental Factors

Although genes are an important factor in many cases of obesity, a person's
environment also plays a significant part. Environment includes lifestyle
behaviors such as what a person eats and how active he or she is. Americans
tend to have high-fat diets, often putting taste and convenience ahead of
nutritional content when choosing meals. Most Americans also don't get
enough exercise.

People ...

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Obesity. (2008, February 7). Retrieved December 23, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Obesity/78660
"Obesity." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 7 Feb. 2008. Web. 23 Dec. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Obesity/78660>
"Obesity." Essayworld.com. February 7, 2008. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Obesity/78660.
"Obesity." Essayworld.com. February 7, 2008. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Obesity/78660.
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PAPER DETAILS
Added: 2/7/2008 08:30:41 AM
Category: Health & Medicine
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 1425
Pages: 6

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