April 2008

Obesity and You
By Lindy Russell, BA, and Betsy Allen, MA

Lately the topic of obesity has been everywhere; talk shows like Oprah and Dr. Phil, and reality shows like Celebrity Fit Club and The Biggest Loser have highlighted what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has rated America’s no. 1 health threat. And it’s not just America that is suffering; obesity has become the most prevalent chronic disease worldwide. More than 1 billion people are eating more and leading more sedentary lifestyles; 300 million people have been diagnosed with obesity.

But even with all this discussion, “obese” is still often misunderstood as being hundreds of pounds overweight. According to the National Institutes of Health, obesity occurs when a person has too much body fat, with a body mass index higher than 29.9. What this means is that a person who is 30 or 40 pounds overweight can actually qualify as obese.

To calculate your body mass index, you can visit http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/bmi/.

What are the Risks of Obesity?

• Hypertension (high blood pressure) is a reading of 140/90 mm Hg or higher. Nearly one in three Americans suffers from this “silent killer.”
• Diabetes affects 20.8 million people, or 7% of the population.
• Polycystic ovary syndrome can lead to infertility. The majority of females diagnosed are overweight or obese.
• Sleep apnea causes you to stop breathing during sleep, which can result in high blood pressure, memory problems, and headaches.
• Heart disease weakens the heart and can cause heart attack. Obesity can also lead to congestive heart failure, weakening the heart’s ability to pump blood.
• Cancer of the kidney, breast, and colon (to name a few) are more prevalent.
• Stroke occurs when fatty deposits in your arteries form a blood clot that blocks the
  flow of blood and oxygen.

What About Weight Loss? Should I Buy into the Advertisements?

• Over-the-counter diet pills are usually ineffective, with harmful side effects. However, orlistat recently became the first Food and Drug Administration-approved OTC weight loss pill, marketed under the name alli™ (GlaxoSmithKline, 2007). It works by blocking a quarter of your fat absorption, and it can cause bowel changes, including oily spotting. If you plan on using any diet pill, you should be prepared for its side effects, and remember that all diet pills are for short-term use only.
• Fad diets like the South Beach Diet, the Atkins Diet, or the grapefruit diet may help you get the pounds off quickly, but they are difficult to sustain. Once people stop dieting, they often gain the weight back. This “yo-yo” effect is harmful to your body’s metabolism.

In the end, fad diets are not a long-term solution, and medicine alone cannot fix the problem. Losing weight fast only hurts your body; losing more than 3 pounds a week is actually detrimental to your health. So what should you do? The bottom line is that if you consume more calories than you burn, you will continue to gain weight. Do not deny yourself the less healthful foods you love, but indulge in moderation. When you can, choose the lower calorie version of your favorite foods,
and be sure to exercise on a regular basis.

For more information, please visit the following websites: http://www.obesityinamerica.org/
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/obe/obe_whatare.html

Partially taken from “Nongenetic Factors Affecting Obesity” by Dr. Richard N. Redinger. Southern Medical Journal. April 2008.