obesity case study
Assignment Title: Case Study Obesity
Nutrition for Health and Disease - Case Study: Obesity
The prevalence of obesity in England has more than tripled in the last 25 years. (Department of Health 2012) largely due to dramatic changes in dietary/lifestyle trends with attributing factors such increasing use of transportation, sedentary lifestyles, wider food choices, availability of cheap convenience foods in times of economic decline and also powerful food advertising through media coverage and the increase in fast food restaurants and larger portions; all of these factors have led to a dramatic rise in obesity in the UK, leaving the government with a major public health dilemma due to its correlation with serious chronic diseases. The term 'obesity' is used to describe a situation where a person is carrying too much body fat for their height and sex. An individual is considered to be obese if they have a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more. (BMI) is a simple index of weight-for-height that is commonly used to classify overweight and obesity in adults. It is defined as a person's weight in kilograms divided by the square of his height in meters (kg/m2). The WHO definition is: a BMI greater than or equal to 25 is overweight, a BMI greater than or equal to 30 is obesity. According to the Department of Health being obese or overweight brings significant risks at a range of different points throughout life. The health risks for adults are stark. Their statistics show for example, that compared with a healthy weight man, an obese man is five times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, three times more likely to develop cancer of the colon, more than two and a half times more likely to develop high blood pressure which is a major risk factor for stroke and heart disease, (Department of Health) reduced quality of life, and can even lead to premature death. Obesity affects people of all ages as diagram 1 below evidences,
Nutrition for Health and Disease - Case Study: Obesity
The prevalence of obesity in England has more than tripled in the last 25 years. (Department of Health 2012) largely due to dramatic changes in dietary/lifestyle trends with attributing factors such increasing use of transportation, sedentary lifestyles, wider food choices, availability of cheap convenience foods in times of economic decline and also powerful food advertising through media coverage and the increase in fast food restaurants and larger portions; all of these factors have led to a dramatic rise in obesity in the UK, leaving the government with a major public health dilemma due to its correlation with serious chronic diseases. The term 'obesity' is used to describe a situation where a person is carrying too much body fat for their height and sex. An individual is considered to be obese if they have a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more. (BMI) is a simple index of weight-for-height that is commonly used to classify overweight and obesity in adults. It is defined as a person's weight in kilograms divided by the square of his height in meters (kg/m2). The WHO definition is: a BMI greater than or equal to 25 is overweight, a BMI greater than or equal to 30 is obesity. According to the Department of Health being obese or overweight brings significant risks at a range of different points throughout life. The health risks for adults are stark. Their statistics show for example, that compared with a healthy weight man, an obese man is five times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, three times more likely to develop cancer of the colon, more than two and a half times more likely to develop high blood pressure which is a major risk factor for stroke and heart disease, (Department of Health) reduced quality of life, and can even lead to premature death. Obesity affects people of all ages as diagram 1 below evidences,
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