The incidence of obesity has increased over the past several decades. In the United States, 68% of adults are either overweight or obese, and 33% of the population is obese (Miller et al., 2012). Obesity is associated with comorbidities such as hypertension, type I and II diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, and a variety of musculoskeletal disorders. The incidence of obesity and its comorbidities can be prevented and modified with the identification of certain risk factors such as low levels of physical activity and decreased energy expenditure that predispose an individual to obesity. The following research addresses resting metabolic rate (RMR), its effects on caloric balance, and the effects of physical activity.
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The thermic effect of food is the energy expenditure associated with food digestion and absorption, accounting for 10% of total energy expenditure. Activity thermogenesis is the energy expenditure during activity and contributes to 15-30% of total energy expenditure (Levine, 2005). The component of total energy expenditure that an individual can alter the most is activity thermogenesis by increasing ones physical activity levels, allowing for a greater total of large muscle movements (Akbulut & Rakicioglu, 2011). For activity to occur, the body must supply the muscles with adenosine triphosphate, ATP, which is a form of energy that allows processes such as muscle contraction to occur. Calorie expenditure is needed to produce ATP. Energy expenditure during exercise is increased by lengthening the duration and increasing the intensity of exercise (Levine, 2005). The third component of total energy expenditure is BMR. BMR is an individual’s energy expenditure at complete rest and typically is measured directly after an individual wakes up in the morning. BMR accounts for approximately 60%-75% of total energy expenditure (Visser, Duerenberg, Staveren, & Hautvast, 1995). Resting and basal metabolic rate are similar and often are used interchangeably. BMR requires the subject to spend the night in a hospital or laboratory. It is measured first thing in
Obesity is a leading preventable cause of death worldwide and its prevalence is increasing at an alarming rate (Barness et al, 2007). For thousands of years obesity was rarely seen, it was not until the 20th century that it became common, some much so that in 1997, the World Health Organization (WHO) formally recognized obesity as a global epidemic (Caballero, 2007).
Obesity remains an extremely serious issue worldwide. Once considered a problem for wealthier counties, overweight and obesity are now dramatically increasing in low and middle income countries (WHO, 2011). In American, the rates of obesity continue to soar. CDC (2009) recognizes obesity as a risk factor for diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and other health problems. According to NHANES over two-thirds of the US are overweight or obese, and over one-third are obese (CDC, 2009). Treatment for this illness varies; it may include the incorporation of diet, exercise, behavior modification, medication, and surgery. Since there is no single cause of all overweight and obesity, there is no single way to prevent or treat overweight
Cardiovascular and metabolic diseases are a growing problem around the world today. Not only do diseases such as diabetes and heart disease affect individuals and their lifestyles, they also affect the economy, politics, education and the professional work environment. 20-26% of individuals in the United States live with heart disease, and obesity and high blood pressure compose the greatest factors for developing this disease [20]. Studies have shown a direct correlation between the amount of sedentary time and cardiovascular and metabolic disease risk, regardless of baseline measurements [20]. Thus, increase in physical activity will decrease cardiometabolic risk factors [8]. Several studies indicate a positive correlation between physical activity and decreased cardiometabolic risk markers [2,4,11,16]. However, we now know that an individual who is getting the recommended physical activity per day can still have a large amount of sedentary time.
Although the mechanism of obesity development is not fully understood, it is confirmed that obesity occurs when energy intake exceeds energy expenditure. There are multiple etiologies for this imbalance, hence, and the rising prevalence of obesity cannot be addressed by a single etiology (Dehghan et al., 2005, p.
The last decade has welcomed, with open arms, a new epidemic: obesity. Currently in the United States, more than one-third of adults, 35.7%, and approximately 17% of children and adolescents are obese. Obesity is not only a problem in the US but also worldwide with its prevalence doubling in high income and economically advanced countries and is also growing in under-developed areas. Its incidence rate is continually increasing with each successive generation and in each age group, including the elderly (Byles, 2009; Dorner and Rieder, 2011).
Adult overweight and obesity have become a worldwide issue that has very dangerous consequences on health. World Health Organization defines obesity as the “epidemic of the 21st Century”. WHO reports show that 1.9 billion people with 18 years age and older are overweight, and 600 million of them are obese. In the United States, obesity is a serious problem today that results from overconsumption of high-fat food and sugary food with lack of exercise. The Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention reports show that the obesity rates are above 20 percent in all states. Overweight and obesity have become a major public health issue because of their high rates of mortality and morbidity. People who are considered overweight or obese are at increased
One of the most important lifestyle factors influencing health outcomes is obesity. Specifically, obesity is widely recognized as a primary cause of poor health outcomes across all socioeconomic and ethnic groups in the US. The CDC reports that “people who are obese, compared to those with a healthy or normal weight, are at increased risk for many serious diseases and health conditions, including… all-causes of death (mortality), high blood pressure (hypertension), type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, certain cancers, and mental illness.” Thus, exploring
This topic of obesity has been a rising issue for many years. There are many different reasons and predictions as to why the number for this disease is rising in America. Recent epidemiologic studies of diet and health outcomes including obesity have changed the focus to the overall diet quality and dietary pattern instead of single nutrients, such as dietary fat (Hu et al, 2000; Fung et al, 2001a, 2001b). The process starts with the lack of physical exercise and the food that people eat. As Americans, we need to picture more healthier foods to eat, have more physical activity to help food digest easier and faster. According to Campbell “to date, interventions have focused on improving the more amenable determinants of obesity: physical inactivity
Accordingly, a recent analysis by Prentice and Jebb (4) has emphasized the contribution of sedentariness to the increased prevalence of overweight in the United Kingdom. Despite these observations, the contribution of exercise to the prevention and treatment of obesity is still perceived as trivial by many health professionals. The perception of many of them was recently well summarized by Garrow (5) who stated that exercise is a remarkably ineffective means of achieving weight loss in obese people, mainly because their exercise tolerance is so low that the level of physical activity that they can sustain makes a negligible contribution to total energy expenditure. When one looks at the currently available literature, it is difficult to disagree with this statement. Indeed, numerous studies have demonstrated that when exercise is used alone to treat obesity, body weight loss is generally small (6). In addition, the further weight loss generated by adding an exercise program to a reduced-calorie diet is also often small if not insignificant (7). Traditionally, the study of the impact of exercise on body weight control has focused on its energy cost and on the hope that the body energy loss will be equivalent to the cumulative energy cost of exercise sessions. In practical terms, this means for instance that if a physical activity program induces an excess of energy expenditure of 2000 kcal/week, a similar energy deficit should be expected in the active obese
With over 22.5% of the current U.S. population considered to be clinically obese, compared to only 14.5% in 1980, there does not seem to be a cessation of this epidemic in sight (Hill & Peters, 1998). Goran and Weisners' (2000) proposal that "... the inherently lower resting metabolic rate in women versus men is responsible for the higher adiposity rates in women..." is wanting, especially since the potentially modifiable factors of; less physical strength, less daily free-living physical activity, and lower total energy expenditure are more likely the cause of the differences in observed adiposity between men and women. Since our genetic makeup has not appreciably changed in the last twenty years, we cannot strictly attribute the explosion of obesity to genetics. As these biological causes of obesity are disproved, a focus on the environment as a reason for obesity is taking centre-stage.
Obesity is defined as the excessive build-up of body fat that has major detrimental effects on an individual’s health (Caballero, 2007). The major cause of this excess accumulation of body fat is due to a positive energy balance i.e. when the input of energy into the body system exceeds the output of energy which in turn facilitates in weight gain (Caballero, 2007). Obesity is a major health issue in modern day society, firstly because it affects approximately 300 million people worldwide (Weight Management Centre and secondly, drastic alteration in the body’s fat intake also leads to the increasing prevalence of other major health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, non-insulin dependent diabetes and hypertension (WMC, 2010).
Obesity, the condition of being severely overweight, is a serious issue in the United States that is gradually beginning to affect more and more citizens. In recent years, the number of Americans suffering from this chronic disease has significantly increased. Researchers have found that nearly one third of the U.S. population is considered overweight and, on average, three hundred thousand individuals die yearly as a result of obesity (Hollands et al. 2). When one participates in little to no physical activity and their diet consists mostly of high fat foods, chances are they will gain weight. If someone becomes obese, they may develop serious health related issues that, in some cases,
Resting metabolic rate (RMR) is a metabolic process in the body that involves energy which includes anabolic processes and catabolic processes. The rate at which these methods follow is measured in calories per unit in time, and is frequently measured in calories per day. Unlike Basal metabolic rate (BMR), resting metabolic rate does not include twelve hours of fasting. It is accountable for the amount of the energy the body uses in a resting state. In order to get an individual resting metabolic rate, the individual has to be in a well-rested and fasted state, while having a normal body temperature, being refrain from eating for up to 12 to 14 hours prior to measurement, or even going without from a vigorous exercise for at least 48 hours prior to measurement.
Basic metabolic rate (BMR) is the total energy expenditure by the body at rest. This is the minimum amount of energy need to keep the body functioning at rest (Brown et. al., 2011). The brain, liver, gastrointestinal tract, heart, and kidney account for 60% of the BMR (Brown et. al., 2011).
If you are interested in losing weight, knowing your basal metabolic rate is a good place to start. Basal Metabolic Rate, or BMR, is the minimum calorific requirement that a resting person needs in order to sustain life. Or, it is the rate at which the body burns calories. In other words, it is the amount of energy which is measured in calories that is expended by the body if a person was in a state of rest. In humans, it is measured by the heat produced per unit time and is expressed as the calories released per kilogram of body weight or per square meter of body surface per hour. If you are considering losing weight and keeping it off, you should know your metabolic rate.