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Does This Make Me Look Fat? Obesity is Everywhere
Hippocrates, the father of medicine and the originator of the Hippocratic oath, was one of the first people in the world to recognize obesity as a medical disorder.
Obesity (n.) 1610s, from French obesite and directly from Latin obesitas "fatness, corpulence," from obesus "that has eaten itself fat," past participle of obdere "to eat all over, devour," from ob "over" + edere "eat"
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines Obesity as an abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health.
Obesity Throughout History
- 24,000 - 22,000 BCE: The Venus of Willendorf, an 11cm high statuette of a female figure, was carved from limestone.
- 2340 - 2180 BCE: Egyptian reliefs depict scenes of obese people. Mereruka, an Egyptian official and Vizier of the 6th dynasty, had a relief in his tomb, which showed an obese man being presented food by his servant.
- Ancient Greece: The Greeks were the first to recognize obesity as a medical disorder. Hippocrates (460 BC - 370 BCE) a Greek physician wrote, "Corpulence is not only a disease itself, but the harbinger of others" Recognizing that obesity led to other health-related issues.
- 17th Century: A first: the term "Obesity" is used by Dr. Tobias Venner, an English physician and writer.
- 19th Century: With the onset of the Industrial Revolution the average body mass index increases from underweight to the normal weight. The increased availability of food and a more sedentary lifestyle causes an increase in obesity in the upper class.
Modern Times
- 2008: 1.4 billion adults, 20 and older, were deemed overweight. Of these, more than 200 million men and nearly 300 million women were obese.
- 2011: More than 40 million children under the age of 5 were overweight.
Calculating Body Mass
- Body Mass Index (BMI) is a measure of an individual's body shape based on height and weight.
Formula
- BMI = Weight (lb) / (Height (in) x Height (in)) x 703
- BMI = Weight (kg) / (Height (m) x Height (m))
BMI - Classification
- 18.5 - underweight
- 18.5-24.9 - normal weight
- 25.0-29.9 - overweight
- 30.0-34.9 - class I obesity
- 35.0-39.9 - class II obesity
- 40.0 - class III obesity
Possible Health Problems
Overweight and Obese people are at higher risk for a plethora of health related issues; here are just a few.
- Gallstones
- Type 2 Diabetes
- High Blood Pressure
- Coronary Artery Disease
- High Cholesterol
- Stroke
- Abnormal Blood Fats
- Cancer
- Osteoarthritis
- Gout
- Breathing Problems
- Heart Disease
- Congestive Heart Failure
- Deep Vein Thrombosis
- Pulmonary Embolism
- Factoid: 44% of diabetes, 23% of ischaemic heart disease and 7-41% of certain cancers are attributable to being overweight and obesity.
- Factoid: Only 1 in 7 obese individuals reaches the average life expectancy of 76 years.
Obesity Around the World
Highest Obesity Rates
- Country - Obesity Rate
- 1. American Samoa (US territory) - 74.60
- 2. Tokelau - 63.40
- 3. Tonga - 56.00
- 4. Kiribati - 50.60
- 5. Saudi Arabia - 35.60
- 6. United States - 33.90
- 7. United Arab Emirates - 33.70
- 8. Egypt - 30.30
- 9. Kuwait - 28.80
- 10. New Zealand - 26.50
Lowest Obesity Rates
- Country - Obesity Rate
- 1. Vietnam - 0.50
- 2. Laos - 1.20
- 3. Madagascar - 2.10
- 4. Indonesia - 2.40
- 5. China - 2.90
- 6. Japan - 3.10
- 7. Korea, South - 3.20
- 8. Eritrea - 3.30
- 9. Philippines - 4.30
- 10. Singapore - 6.90
- Factoid: Worldwide obesity has nearly doubled since 1980.
- Factoid: At least 2.8 million people each year die as a result of being overweight or obese. Obesity is the fifth leading risk for global deaths.
Obesity in the United States
- 70: percent of Americans overweight or obese, according to a 2009-2010 National Health survey.
- $190.2: In billions, the medical care costs of obesity in the United States.
Obesity by state and gender (Left column Male, Right Female)
- United States - 69.9% - 56.6%
- Alabama - 71.4% - 62.3%
- Alaska - 73.4% - 58.3%
- Arizona - 70.3% - 54.3%
- Arkansas - 70.2% - 59.9%
- California - 67.2% - 52.9%
- Colorado - 64.6% - 47.1%
- Connecticut - 67.4% - 52.0%
- Delaware - 70.8% - 57.3%
- District of Columbia - 53.4% - 52.3%
- Florida - 70.6% - 56.1%
- Georgia - 67.6% - 57.7%
- Guam - NA - NA
- Hawaii - 64.1% - 47.0%
- Idaho - 68.5% - 55.7%
- Illinois - 72.6% - 55.7%
- Indiana - 70.8% - 60.5%
- Iowa - 71.3% - 58.1%
- Kansas - 70.9% - 57.7%
- Kentucky - 72.7% - 60.4%
- Louisiana - 71.8% - 63.6%
- Maine - 72.1% - 58.1%
- Maryland - 71.3% - 57.7%
- Massachusetts - 68.2% - 50.5%
- Michigan - 69.9% - 61.1%
- Minnesota - 71.1% - 53.4%
- Mississippi - 71.5% - 66.4%
- Missouri - 69.2% - 60.5%
- Montana - 68.2% - 51.9%
- Nebraska - 72.9% - 56.8%
- Nevada - 68.3% - 51.4%
- New Hampshire - 69.8% - 53.2%
- New Jersey - 70.5% - 52.3%
- New Mexico - 68.0% - 56.4%
- New York - 66.7% - 54.2%
- North Carolina - 70.3% - 59.9%
- North Dakota - 71.6% - 55.2%
- Ohio - 74.1% - 57.5%
- Oklahoma - 70.6% - 60.1%
- Oregon - 67.1% - 55.8%
- Pennsylvania - 70.7% - 58.4%
- Rhode Island - 70.4% - 54.8%
- South Carolina - 70.3% - 61.5%
- South Dakota - 73.3% - 55.1%
- Tennessee - 73.1% - 60.0%
- Texas - 72.8% - 58.9%
- Utah - 66.8% - 50.3%
- Vermont - 67.7% - 51.7%
- Virgin Islands - NA - NA
- Virginia - 69.8% - 57.0%
- Washington - 67.4% - 54.3%
- West Virginia - 72.1% - 65.8%
- Wisconsin - 71.0% - 56.8%
- Wyoming - 68.7% - 53.0%
- Puerto Rico - 71.0% - 61.8%
Heaviest Man in the world, documented
- Jon Minovich (1941-1983), 1,400 pounds, Washington State, U.S.
Sources
- http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=obesity&allowed_in_frame=0
- http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120409103247.htm
- http://www.who.int/features/factfiles/obesity/facts/en/index1.html
- http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs311/en/
- https://www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/2012-featured-story-archive/obesity-according-to-the-world-factbook.html
- http://www.webmd.com/cholesterol-management/obesity-health-risks
- http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/obe/risks.html
- http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/adult/causes/index.html
- http://www.lahey.org/Departments_and_Locations/Departments/Medical_and_Surgical_Weight_Loss_Center/Obesity_Demographics.aspx
- http://mostextreme.org/heaviest_man.php
- http://kff.org/other/state-indicator/adult-overweightobesity-rate-by-gender/
- http://www.freebmicalculator.net/calculate-bmi.php (Formula)
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity#History (Chart, straight from wiki, based on WHO classifications)
- http://www.dawn-centre.ie/index.php?page=Page&op=show&id=90
