Obesity - Diet and Nutrition

Obesity

An estimated one to two million Americans are morbidly obese, or so overweight that their bodies cannot function normally, and because of many complications, may be putting themselves at a high risk for death. An additional 1.24 million people fall into the category of medically significant obesity. Obesity is a potentially fatal condition because it can lead to diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. In men, for example, obesity has been directly linked to cancer of the colon, prostate, and rectum. Alan Reesand Charlene Willey ( Personal Health Reporter ) report that obesity in women is directly associated with cancer of the breast, gall bladder, ovaries, and uterus. Obese people also have higher incidences of arthritis, gallstones, and gout.

There is no single reason why obese people obsessively overeat. Genetic, psychological, and dietary factors all contribute to obesity. Data suggests that if an obese person has one parent with a weight problem, the chance of developing morbid obesity is 60%. If both parents have a weight problem, the probability rises to 90%, according to Armour Forse, Peter N. Benotti, and George Blackburn in an article in the September–October 1989 Nutrition Today .

In addition, obesity is influenced by a person's metabolism and the interactions between appetite, metabolic rate, adipose tissue, and brain neurochemicals. Diet, of course, always contributes to obesity–even someone with a poor metabolism would not become obese without overeating. Frequenty, the problem is complicated by a lack of cardiopulmonary exercise.