Warning: Obesity can cause serious health risks

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M (CNS) If you don't believe Americans have been growing larger, just ask manufacturers of airline, ferry and theater seats, MRI equipment, even coffins.

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Nearly two of every three Americans are overweight or obese. Canada recently reported an adult obesity rate of 23 percent. Since 1980, while obesity rates have risen threefold or more in parts of North America, they've risen at the same rate in many regions of the United Kingdom, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Australasia and China. It's happening in developed and developing countries around the globe. "Wherever you have lots of money, available food and transportation, you're seeing a rise in obesity," says Dawn Jackson Blatner, national spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association (www.eatright.org) and a registered dietitian at Northwestern Memorial Wellness Institute in Chicago. Sixty-four percent of adults in the United States are considered either overweight or obese, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. It and the World Health Organization base their numbers on BMI (body-mass-index) measurements. BMI is a height-to-weight ratio that estimates body fat. (To calculate your BMI, go to: www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/bmicalc.htm.) If so many adults are heavier, some may ask, Why not adjust expectations - and BMIs - accordingly? After all, there is safety in numbers. Unfortunately, greater girths are causing serious health problems. Much like smoking, obesity is a risk factor for disease. It strains musculoskeletal systems (causing bad knees and osteoporosis, for instance) and respiratory systems, and can lead to other serious conditions. "We can look at obesity as the center of a health wheel surrounded by diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart disease, even sleep apnea," says Jackson Blatner. Being overweight also puts people at higher risk for many cancers - prostate, breast, colon, kidney and gallbladder. And obesity is a major risk factor for heart disease and Type 2 diabetes. About 90 percent of people with Type 2 diabetes are overweight, and while this disease once primarily was diagnosed only in older adults, it now occurs even in adolescents. The World Health Organization and national groups have expressed particular concern over rising weights among youths. About 15 percent of American children ages 6 to 19 and 20 percent of Canadian teens are considered overweight. Being overweight at a young age sets up an early pattern that can lead to obesity in adulthood and puts children at risk of Type 2 diabetes and heart disease. A lack of physical activity among teens and adults is partly to blame for high obesity rates. Around the world, weight tends to rise in more modern urban areas where car ownership has decreased the amount of walking and cycling, and where modern appliances have made people less mobile in their day-to-day activities. In many nations people now turn to television and computers for entertainment instead of spending time on more physical recreational pursuits. "Today, we pay people for brain power, not brawn power," observes Jackson Blatner. A lack of activity has combined with large portions of available food nearly everywhere. As agencies try to address the national and global problem, Jackson Blatner says that on a personal level it is really a matter of smart nutrition. Unfortunately, many opt for the quick fixes offered by fad diet ads. She offers a few "red flags" to help spot poor choices: "If [diets] seem too good to be true, they probably are. Avoid diets with outlandish claims of rapid weight loss, lists of good and bad foods, and those that don't talk about exercise, as well as plans that push supplements or their own products." It's possible that these plans may do more harm than good. Good weight management is not about deprivation, eating or excluding foods, but eating three meals a day and adjusting lifestyles for the long-term, Jackson Blatner explains. "It's what you eat, how much you eat and how much you move your body" that will help keep bodyweight down or in check. - - - For a copy of the new "Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005" go to: www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/document/pdf/dga2005.pdf. - - - Odle is a freelance medical writer in Albuquerque, N.M.

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Copyright (c) 2007 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops