Obesity means that we have too much of body fat, i.e, a high body fat percentage (%). Medical practitioners normally use the height to weight ratio to determine if someone is outside of their ideal weight. This is called the Body Mass Index or BMI.
Obesity is defined when the BMI is more than 30. Morbid Obesity is when the BMI is more than 40. Overweight is when the BMI is above 25. All these means that losing weight is an important action needs to be taken urgently.
Obesity happens when we eat too much. We got fattened by eating. And we did not work out those calories that we put on. So those undisciplined calories kept piling up and our sedentary lifestyle ensured that we went from being overweight to obese and then on to morbid obesity. And it happened so quickly and silently.
Research has shown that a frequent fast food diet gives rise to a higher weight gain. Similar research has also shown that prolonged TV watching results in a higher weight gain. All this consumption and inactivity explain the increase in obesity as a pandemic globally and not just confined to Malaysia or to America or Europe.
In some unfortunate instances, you may be considered obese even if you have a normal weight based on BMI. This can happen if your body fat% is high enough to warrant calling you obese. So besides doing a BMI check, you should also do a body fat% test to ensure you are clinically not obese.
The Malaysian Ministry of Health is concerned about the rising incidence of obesity in Malaysia. This is because obesity issues is now a leading indicator of increasing health issues and related costs. Obesity has been linked to type 2 diabetes or diabetes mellitus, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke and depression.
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