Obesity In Australia Essay

Obesity is usually defined by using the body mass index (BMI). A persons BMI is worked out by dividing the persons weight in kilograms by their height in meters squared. To be classified as obese a person’s BMI will be equal to or over 30. (CDC, 2015)

Canada is the largest North American continent by land area. It is also the second-largest country in the world in terms of land area. Canada is home to 35 million people. It borders the United States. Ottawa is the capital of Canada. It is also the fifth most populous city in Canada.

Childhood obesity is becoming more prevalent in the western world as statistics show that in Australia, one quarter of children are either overweight or obese. (Australian Bureau of statistics)

“During the past two decades, the prevalence of obesity in children has risen greatly worldwide. Obesity in childhood causes a wide range of serious complications, and increases the risk of premature illness and death later in life, raising public-health concerns.” (Ebbeling, Pawlak & Ludwig, 2002 p.471) Currently in the Australian community and schools there is an obesity epidemic in young people with many children doing less and less physical activity then advised. “In 2007-08 the National health survey, run by the Australian Government indicated that 24.9% of children aged 5-17 years old were either overweight or obese” (Healthy Active, 2009). These figures show that children are not being properly educated about healthy

Obesity can be defined as being 20% or more over the ideal body weight for your age and height. It is a chronic disease that can lead to a number of different illnesses and other diseases . These potentially deadly illnesses include diabetes, high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, coronary vascular disease, heart attack, stroke, sleep apnoea and even cancer. Obesity is becoming more common in Australia as we speak with 10% more adults being overweight or obese in Australia than in 1995. According to recent statistics 63% of adults and 1 in 4 Australian children are overweight or obese.

Obesity is the 21st centuries plaque. It is a disease spreading at a rapid rate, taking over our society; affecting us from the grass roots up. Obesity, defined as excess fat/weight causing health issues is a multifactorial issue that needs to be addresses. There are too many consequences presented by the disease, both physical and mental to allow it the continual power to destroy the lives of many, too many Australians. The alarming rate at which this disease is spreading must become a topic of conversation for our whole society. Change needs to be seen at every level.

Obesity is best referred to as the "red alert health zone". The thing that makes obesity that dangerous is the fact that today's society does not view obesity as a serious threat. It is important to understand the fact that obesity is not just being fat or having a BMI i.e. Body Mass Index greater than that of an overweight person. Obesity is a serious problem that can fatally damage the physical as well as mental health of a person. While all of us understand how obesity can affect the physical health, a few of us know how mental health is affected due to obesity. A person suffering from obesity is termed as obese. Such a person is usually a victim of mockery and insult due to his appearance. No matter how educated we are we as a society have failed to keep in account the fact that obese people are also humans and deserve to be treated normally.

Obesity is a public health issue that has devastatingly developed into a global epidemic. According to the World Health Organization, the prevalence of overweight and obesity is dramatically increasing worldwide at an appalling and intimidating rate with more than 1.9 billion adults aged18 years and older being overweight in 2014. Out of these 1.9 billion adults being overweight, 600 million were classified obese. While the issue regarding overweight and obesity are prevalent in all countries, the National Health and Medical Research Council stated that Australia’s obesity levels have been developing faster than any countries in the world over the past thirty years. Although obesity may have been primarily considered as a personal concern three decades ago; it is overwhelmingly a societal concern today in Australia. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare have measured that in 2011 and 2012, around 63% of Australian adults had the characteristics of being overweight and corpulence. That is over a quarter of the adult population in Australia being obese.

Increasing rates of childhood obesity is a current and significant health issue in Australia. In Australia alone the obesity in children have doubled in recent years with a quarter of children considered overweight or obese. Levels of childhood obesity have been rising each year and for numerous reasons some which include the fact that children have been eating food which are high in sugars and fats and spending less time on physical activity. Studies have shown that when children become overweight they are more likely to become and stay obese while moving into adulthood, children also have an increased risk of developing both short and long term associated health conditions. Some associated health conditions include cardiovascular diseases,

There are over 1.5 million Australians with diabetes. The groups most at risk are people aged over 45 years old, overweight people, people with family history, females with the history of gestational diabetes, people who consume a diet high in sugar, and ATSI people.

Obesity is the problem when the individual gains excess of body fat that it may cause a negative impact on his health in terms of suffering from type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or even cancer (Brownson et al., 2009). With the increase in fat in the body, the risk of these diseases increases in the individual. The problem of obesity has significantly increased with time amongst the people of Australia. 28% adults were obese as per the statistics of the year 2014-15 in Australia (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2018). The children are also suffering from the problem in the country. It has been noted that for the year 2014-15, one out of four children aged between 2 to 17 years were found obese or overweight

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines obesity as ‘abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health’. (1) A general measure used to monitor obesity is the body mass index (BMI). A person with a BMI of 25+ is considered overweight and 30+ is obese. Between 2011 – 2012 62.8% of Australians adults, aged 18+ were overweight or obese, with 27.5% of the cases being obese. This has increased by 6.5% since 1995. (2) The obesity epidemic in Australia needs to be addressed urgently as it is a precursor to most preventable lifestyle diseases and a BMI over 25 is the second highest contributor to burden of disease in this country. (3) According to WHO, worldwide the rate of obesity has doubled from 1980-2014. (4) In 2014-2015,

The most severe stage of overweight, Obesity, is a serious medical condition that Australians cannot afford to ignore. Obesity has been linked to low self-esteem and a diminishment in the overall quality of life for the individual. (AIHW, 2010). More importantly, obesity can result in the development of musculo-skeletal problems, cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, sleep apnea, Type 2 diabetes, and hypertension. (AIHW, 2010). Of these diseases, the

Obesity is a developing issue in the U.S. today, principally created by physical latency and indulging. Along these lines, an increment in body weight can likewise be brought about by mental elements, innate qualities, using certain pharmaceutical furthermore through a man 's conduct and culture. America is among the wealthiest nations on the planet also, the fattest country and our stout rears are the objects of jokes in other lands (Klein 28). This developing pattern remains a noteworthy worry as heftiness influences an individual 's condition of prosperity, therapeutic services costs, efficiency levels and social criticism (U.S. Bureau of Health). Weight is an incessant condition characterized by having an abundance measure of muscle to fat ratio ratios. Grown-ups above 35 years of age are thought to be stout if their body mass record is 30. Then again, youngsters are viewed as overweight, on the off chance that they have a body mass list more noteworthy than or equivalent to the 95th percentile for their age (Bell). Be that as it may, a few people wind up being wrongly sorted as large or overweight (Sturm, 2002). As per a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association, around 60 million individuals in the United States weigh more than 25 percent of their body 's optimal weight. The article "Fat Times" states, "If this were about tuberculosis, it would be called a pestilence" (Elmer-Dewit 58).

The issue I have been exploring in my blog is childhood overweight and obesity. Overweight and obesity can be defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that may impair health (World Health Organisation [WHO], 2006). BMI is a widely accepted measure used to determine overweight and obesity in children and adolescents. According to the Australian Government Department of Health website, BMI is determined by comparing calculated (weight/ height2) against the relevant age and sex of the child/adolescent (Department of Health, 2009). Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Growth Charts, often used in health care settings, are used to determine the corresponding BMI-for-age and sex percentile.