Worldwide obesity has nearly tripled since 1975. In 2016, more than 1.9 billion adults, 18 years and older, were overweight. Of these over 650 million were obese. 39% of adults aged 18 years and over were overweight in 2016, and 13% were obese. Most of the world's population live in countries where overweight and obesity kills more people than underweight. 38 million children under the age of 5 were overweight or obese in 2019. Over 340 million children and adolescents aged 5-19 were overweight or obese in 2016.
Obesity is preventable. So, let’s try.
What is Obesity?
Obesity is defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health. The most popular measure of obesity among the population is Body Mass Index (BMI).
What causes obesity?
The fundamental cause of obesity is an energy imbalance between calories consumed and calories expended. This imbalance of calories is from,
Increased intake of energy-dense foods that are high in fat and sugars.
Increased physical inactivity due to sedentary lifestyle caused by urbanization.
What are common health consequences of Obesity?
Obesity is a major risk factor for some chronic noncommunicable diseases such as,
Diabetes.
Cardiovascular decease.
Cancers.
Musculoskeletal disorders.
How to avoid obesity?
The easiest, accessible, affordable choice to avoid obesity is eating healthy diets in day to day life. At the individual level,
people can limit energy intake from total fats and sugars.
Increase consumption of fruits, vegetables, as well as legumes, whole grains and nuts.
Skip some of the high calorie, low nutrient foods that are most strongly linked to weight gains, such as sugar-sweetened beverages, refined grains and potatoes.
Eat Well
1. What foods to eat,
Choose minimally processed foods. They are,
Whole grains (Brown rise, Oats, Quinoa, Whole wheat).
Fresh vegetables (A colourful variety).
Whole fruits (not fruit juices).
Nuts, Seeds, Beans and other healthful sources of protein (Fish and Poultry).
Plant oils (Olive and other Vegetable oils).
2. What foods to limit,
Refined grains (White bread, White rice, white pasta).
Potatoes (baked or fried).
Red meat (Beef, Pork, Lamb) and processed meats (Salami, Ham, Bacon, Sausage).
Other highly processed foods such as fast foods.
3. Drink water or other beverages that are naturally calorie-free.
Limit these drinks,
Sugar-sweetened beverages (soda, fruit drinks, sports drinks).
Fruit juice (no more than a small amount per day).
4. How Much to Eat.
Age, Gender, Body size and level of physical activity dictate how many calories you need each day to lose weight or to stay at a healthy weight.
5. Avoid overeating,
I. Should eat breakfast.
While it seems like skipping a meal is an easy way to burn the calories, skipping breakfast is aggravate the hunger severely in a mid-day.it leads to overeating.
II. Choose small portions and eat slowly.
It gives them time for the brain to tell the stomach when it had enough foods.it prevents overeating.
III. Better to eat at home.
Restaurant meals and fast foods which prepared away from our home tend to have a large portion of fats, salts and less in nutrition than the foods we cooked from ourselves.
IV. Every time eat mindfully.
Taking time to think about what you are eating is very helpful to loosen needless calories.
If you are really hungry, eat healthy foods with enough calorie drink healthy beverages as your choices. If you are not hungry, choose something else to do or eat a piece of fruit instead of a full meal.
Thilini Isurika
References
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