Understanding the Meaning of Overweight
Rx-Medicalstore News Desk
YOUR weight is a very important determinant of your health even since you were born. In fact even you might know how much you weighed when you were born. Most babies weigh less than 10 pounds and some even weight as less as 3 to 4 pounds. As time passes by the child starts putting on weight and everyone is happy about it as it means the baby is growing and becoming stronger.
Parents and doctors closely monitor this increase in weight to ensure that the child has a healthy weight. The doctor compares the weight with height and ascertains whether the child is overweight or underweight both of which can be a problem. But these days there are more children who are overweight than underweight. Today, 9 million kids between the ages of 6 to 19 in US are overweight. Apart from having health problems an overweight kid will be teased by peers, lag behind in physical activities and will have a tough time growing up.
Being overweight refers to someone who has more body fat than what is healthy. Or having Body Mass Index (BMI) above average. Everyone has some body fat, but there is a level after which excess fat becomes unhealthy. It affects the person’s health, his ability to walk, run and carry out other physical activities. A more visible affect will be the way the person looks, an overweight person will be bigger and rounder than others.
There is no fixed perfect or ideal weight. But ideal weight is determined by comparing the person’s body weight with his or her height keeping in mind the sex of the person. The best way to determine whether a person is overweight or underweight is by using the body mass index (BMI). BMI uses height and weight in a calculation that results in a number. According to experts an ideal BMI score is between 19 and 25. Having a score below 19 means the person is underweight and a score above 25 means the person is overweight. BMI is an indicator of how much body fat the person has, but it's only an estimate. Muscles weigh more than fat therefore it’s possible that a muscular person will have a high BMI, but that does not mean that he or she is overweight. In the same way it’s possible that the person will have a low or ideal BMI but still have too much fat in his or her body.
People usually become overweight because the body gets more calories than it is able to burn through physical activity. Extra calories are stored as fat. The more extra calories a person consumes, the more fat is stored. This happens very easily in modern life. People spend more time in front of televisions or computers and less time in physical activities. People drive everywhere instead of walking or riding bikes. More kids play video games than active sports like baseball and soccer. People have also started eating at restaurants more often, therefore eating less healthy food. Being overweight can also be a family problem, but such a person can still loose weight if he or she makes change in their lifestyles. Loosing weight is extremely important but is not that easy, it takes a lot of effort and commitment. One needs to adapt healthy habits like exercising and eating the right food. Controlling the amount one eats is necessary. It may not be easy to do so on your own, so you can take the help of diet pills like Phentermine and Xenical. These drugs are appetite suppressants, which help you control your hunger. Weight loss drugs make the task of loosing weight a lot easier than what it otherwise would be. Weight loss is possible if you are determined and ready to work hard. Go ahead reduce your weight and lead a healthier life. |
