Archive for the ‘Diet’ Category

BMI and Diet

Tuesday, October 23rd, 2007

To determine your whether or not You are a candidate for a diet programme check Your BMI, your weight in kilograms is divided by your height in meters, squared. If your BMI is 25 to 29.9, you are overweight but not to the point of being obese. If your BMI is 30 or greater, you are considered obese and should proceedĀ using a diet plan.

Obesity would most likely be diagnosed in the following cases:

A 6-foot-tall person who weighs 221 pounds and carries 30 pounds of excess weight; and
A 5-foot, 5-inch-tall person who weighs 180 pounds;
Anyone whose BMI is 40 or above or is 100 pounds overweight is considered severely (morbidly) obese. For example, severe obesity would be diagnosed in the following cases:

a 5-foot, 3-inch-tall person who weighs 226 pounds; and
a 6-foot 1-inch person who weighs 303 pounds.
Another measure used to assess obesity is waist circumference. Excess abdominal fat is an independent predictor of disease risk. Research indicates that a waist circumference of more than 40 inches in men and more than 35 inches in women raises the risk of disease in adults who have a BMI of 25 to 34.9.

Distinguishing between obesity and severe obesity is important when determining a patient. s risk factors for disease and the best diet treatment approach.

Obesity

Tuesday, October 23rd, 2007

Obesity is a chronic disease that affects tens of millions of Americans. Obesity is Caused by a complex variety of factors, obesity is a major risk factor for serious health problems, including heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, and certain forms of cancer. Obese people are also at high risk for depression and job discrimination and other social problems owing to our fat-phobic society. Most worrisome is research indicating that obese people have a shortened life expectancy.

According to the American Obesity Association (AOA), a nonprofit educational and advocacy group, obesity causes some 300,000 premature deaths each year and accounts for an estimated $100 billion in annual health-care costs.

After cigarette smoking, obesity ranks as the second-leading cause of preventable deaths.

Obesity is generally evaluated using the “body mass index,” or BMI. BMI is not perfect because it doesn. t take into account a person. s fat-to-muscle ratio (muscle takes up less space but weighs more than fat). But BMI is considered reliable for assessing obese populations.