Obesity

Public Health Related Problems. OBESITY. . Public health is the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals. There are different types of public health related problems, Public health surveillance has led to the identification and prioritization of many public health issues facing the world today, including HIV/AIDS, diabetes, obesity, waterborne diseases, zoonotic diseases, and antibiotic resistance leading to the reemergence of infectious diseases such as tuberculosis. The focus of public health intervention is to improve health and quality of life through the prevention and treatment of disease and other physical and mental health conditions, through researching of cases and the promotion of healthy behaviors. Promotion of hand washing, breastfeeding and delivery of vaccinations. The World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that overweight and obesity may soon replace more traditional public health concerns such as under nutrition and infectious diseases as the most significant cause of poor health. Obesity is a public health and policy problem because of its prevalence, costs, and health effects. Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and increased health problems. People are considered obese when their body mass index (BMI), a measurement obtained by dividing a person's weight in kilograms by the square of the person's height in meters, exceeds 30 kg/m2.Obesity increases the likelihood of various diseases, particularly heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea, certain types of cancer and asthma. Obesity is most commonly caused by a combination of excessive food energy intake, lack of physical activity, and genetic susceptibility, although a few cases are caused primarily by genes, endocrine disorders, medications or psychiatric illness. The primary cause of obesity in children and adolescents is excess calorie consumption coupled with a sedentary lifestyle. Children and adolescents living in the twenty-first century are the most inactive generation ever. Obesity has become a major problem in the UAE. Over 60% of Emirati nationals are overweight. This is a difficult problem with many serious effects. Obesity can be divided into three main causes - diet, lifestyle and education. One of the chief causes is diet. Young Emiratis eat more and more high-carbohydrate, high-fat burgers and pizza in fast-food restaurants. However, some traditional foods are also very oily, and because of increasing affluence are eaten more often than in the past. Lifestyle is a second main cause of obesity. As a result of cheap foreign labour, many Emiratis now have sedentary jobs, and do not exercise regularly. The other main cause is lack of education and awareness. The society’s attitude to food often leads to over-consumption. Parents do not teach good eating habits to children, and many people lack knowledge about good nutrition or a balanced diet. The quality of life suffers, as it is difficult to enjoy exercise or move. Another result is lack of self-esteem. This can lead to depression, eating disorders and crash diets. The country is also affected. It becomes very expensive for the government to provide advanced medical care such as heart transplants. Unhealthy citizens are also less productive. And their children learn poor eating habits.

In the United Arab Emirates obesity is a growing health concern, with health officials stating that it is one of the leading causes of preventable deaths in the United Arab Emirates. According to Forbes, United Arab Emirates ranks 18 on a 2007 list of fattest countries with a percentage of 68.3% of its citizens with an unhealthy weight. Figures from the World Health Organization have revealed the extent of the UAE's obesity epidemic. Some 39.9 per cent of women in the Emirates are obese, the seventh highest proportion in the world. Among men, 25.6 per cent were classified as obese, the ninth highest figure. According to the American Obesity Association and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 30.3 percent of children aged six to 11 years are overweight and 15.3 percent are obese, and 30.4 percent of adolescents aged 12 to 19 years are overweight and 15.5 percent are obese. From 1980 to 2011, the prevalence of obesity among children quadrupled, and the prevalence of obesity in adolescents more than doubled. Overweight and obesity is more prevalent in boys (32.7%) than girls (27.8%). Obesity is more common in African American, Hispanic American, and Native American children and adolescents, than among Caucasians of the same ages. There has been an increase in obesity-related medical problems, including type II diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and disability. In particular, diabetes has become the seventh leading cause of death in the United States. Obesity has also been shown in the United States to increase the prevalence of complications during pregnancy and childbirth. Babies born to obese women are almost three times as likely to die within one month of birth and almost twice as likely to be stillborn than babies born to women of normal weight. Cardio exercise such as walking is one solution for preventing or dealing with obesity, what you eat is another solution. Make better food choices, avoid or strictly limit refined carbohydrates and junk food. Drinking less alcohol or quitting drinking altogether will help you lose weight. Alcohol is bad for a number of reasons. The most obvious reason is the caloric content of beer and alcohol. The less obvious reasons are the inflammation of the pancreas and liver and the bloating that often accompany the over-consumption of alcoholic beverages. This includes alcohol mixed with sweet and sugary liquids like soda. Obesity in children can be resolved or prevented by instilling healthy eating and regular exercise habits in children at an early age. Minimizing and structuring daily time for sedentary activities like television viewing and encouraging outdoor activities such as bicycle riding, walking, running, and active play, and active indoor activities such as dancing can help increase physical activity. Dietary modifications to help prevent obesity include limiting soft drink and fast food consumption, monitoring food portion sizes, and providing a well-balanced diet. The Government has been involved in solving the obesity problem. This has shown its cooperation towards the eradication of obesity. Some of the policy changes they have recommended include requiring that calorie, fat and sugar content be clearly marked on snacks sold in movie theaters; creating an incentive program to encourage those who receive food stamps to use them for healthy food choices and providing more funding to communities for physical recreation centers and bicycle paths. The government has taken actions such as forming a committee to investigate the barriers to healthful eating in the city or town, and offering incentives to stores to stock healthier food and drink choices, especially in underserved areas. The best way the government has shown its support is by advertising the effects, solutions and prevention of obesity throughout the country using the media. Fast food, soda, hot dogs and other high-calorie food products like potato chips and sugary cereals are ubiquitous and cheap, while this is the main Cause of obesity and unfortunately, most are also nutritionally empty. To prevent overweight and obesity adults get 30 minutes of exercise most days, and children a full hour. Easy ways to incorporate more physical exercise include taking the stairs instead of the elevator, using a push mower instead of a power mower and parking the car at the far end of a store's lot to get in more steps. Encourage children to play outside instead of watching TV after school and learning more ways of keeping one’s self healthy. I also encourage the community to find a way of making fresh fruit and vegetable stands available at workplaces instead of vending machines carrying high-fat, empty-calories snacks. And promote programs that connect schools with local farms, which supply fresh produce for the school menu or stock cafeteria salad bars. In this report I have explained and described ways to deal or prevent obesity. My conclusion is that it’s just not the exercise that you need to do to control your weight. Watch your diet! What you eat really matters. Increase the amount of raw vegetables and fruits in your diet. Tell yourself that you are not a food junkie. Say no to those fries, cheese burgers, and sugary soft drinks. Excessive alcohol intake is bad for liver and also contributes to obesity and is one of the leading causes of alcoholic steatohepatitis. Get a weighing machine and check your weight every morning. It will motivate you to lose weight and will keep you informed about your progress. It will also help you to set a goal for every week. Body mass index is defined as an individual's body weight in kgs divided by his height in meters squared. Normally a BMI of 18-25 is considered normal. 25-29 is overweight and 30 and above is obese while 35 and above lie in the category of morbidly obese. Calculating your BMI will help you to determine the degree of your obesity. Most of all educating one’s self is very important. I believe that obesity can be prevented easy.