preview

Essay on Am I Obese and What to Do About It

Best Essays

Summary Title: Bad health and obesity is clearly a big problem that is going on in today’s society, with some helpful tools one can find out the health level they are in and the actions needed to be taken to be healthy. Introduction: Obesity has become a growing problem in America. Approximately 2/3 of adults with another 17% of children/teens are obese.(1) That is nearly a 5% increase since 2000.(2) How has this come to be? The problem lies in the diet that the Americans have taken. With fast food chains taking over the food industry, everyone is getting lazier at cooking and eating healthy meals. With the daily lives of most people being busy due to work and the other chores, people are settling for fast food. Fast food has been …show more content…

Where is my health level at? How can I find out my health level? and so on. If you believe that you are overweight the easiest way to find out is by using the BMI scale. BMI, Body Mass Index, is a form of measuring ones’ body composition. Using your weight and height (in inches) you can measure your BMI and have an idea of whether or not you are overweight. If the results are greater than 25 then you are considered overweight under the BMI scale (4). Most people use the BMI scale to find out if they need to lose weight or not. The BMI scale is not meant to be used in that way. It is only meant to be an indirect measurement of body composition (4). Generally speaking, you are overweight if your results come out to be over 25 as previously stated. Don’t immediately fall to the conclusion if your BMI is over 25 because the scale does not provide an accurate number since it does not take into account many other factors. If you want a more accurate and official statement of your body weight and health then there is the BIA method. Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA), is a direct method of measuring body composition. BIA uses the body’s resistance and capacitive reactance to measure the amount of water, nutrients and minerals and body fat (5). Using this method has a small fee as it can’t normally be done at home unless you have all of the tools. Typically, a BIA test will cost you around 20-30 dollars. It is not a bad price to pay because it gives you a lot

Get Access