Week 7- Does obesity matter?

Does Obesity Matter?
  • Worldwide obesity has more than doubled since 1980.
  • In 2014, more than 1.9 billion adults, 18 years and older, were overweight. Of these over 600 million were obese.
  • 39% of adults aged 18 years and over were overweight in 2014, and 13% were obese.
  • Most of the world's population live in countries where overweight and obesity kills more people than underweight.
  • 41 million children under the age of 5 were overweight or obese in 2014.
  • Obesity is preventable.
Raised BMI is a major risk factor for noncommunicable diseases such as:
  • cardiovascular diseases (mainly heart disease and stroke), which were the leading cause of death in 2012;
  • diabetes;
  • musculoskeletal disorders (especially osteoarthritis – a highly disabling degenerative disease of the joints);
  • some cancers (including endometrial, breast, ovarian, prostate, liver, gallbladder, kidney, and colon).
The risk for these noncommunicable diseases increases, with increases in BMI.
Childhood obesity is associated with a higher chance of obesity, premature death and disability in adulthood. But in addition to increased future risks, obese children experience breathing difficulties, increased risk of fractures, hypertension, early markers of cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance and psychological effects.

Task:

  • In your paper notes create a brief spider diagram of the health implications of obesity. More details can be found towards the bottom of this page: http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Obesity/Pages/Introduction.aspx 
  • In the comment section below describe one of the conditions in your own words in no more than 10 sentences. Focus on the symptoms and what changes the body undergoes as a result of the illness.
Fat Fanatic task: 
Find out and summarise more than one of the associated illnesses of obesity.


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