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- Weight Loss Surgery (Part 2)
- Weight Loss Surgery (Part 1)
- What is the Caloric Balance Equation?
- Can Diseases and Drugs Lead to Obesity?
- Can Your Environment Affect Obesity?
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Weight Loss Surgery (Part 2)
23/03/09
Weight Loss Surgery (Part 2)
If you are very overweight, gastric bypass surgery could save your life, according to recent studies. In this interview, you will find out who can benefit from the surgery and what types of lifestyle changes are necessary to make this surgery a long-term success. — Causes of obesity — Obesity health risks — How gastric bypass works — Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass — Pre-operative testing and screening — Post-surgery diet.
Weight Loss Surgery (Part 1)
20/03/09
Weight Loss Surgery (Part 1)
If you are very overweight, gastric bypass surgery could save your life, according to recent studies. In this interview, you will find out who can benefit from the surgery and what types of lifestyle changes are necessary to make this surgery a long-term success. — Causes of obesity — Obesity health risks — How gastric bypass works — Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass — Pre-operative testing and screening — Post-surgery diet.
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What is the Caloric Balance Equation?
When it comes to maintaining a healthy weight for a lifetime, the bottom line is — calories count! Weight management is all about balance—balancing the number of calories you consume with the number of calories your body uses or “burns off.”
A calorie is defined as a unit of energy supplied by food. A calorie is a calorie regardless of its source. Whether you’re eating carbohydrates, fats, sugars, or proteins, all of them contain calories.
Caloric balance is like a scale. To remain in balance and maintain your body weight, the calories consumed (from foods) must be balanced by the calories used (in normal body functions, daily activities, and exercise).
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Can Diseases and Drugs Lead to Obesity?
Some illnesses may lead to obesity or weight gain. These may include Cushing’s disease, and polycystic ovary syndrome. Drugs such as steroids and some antidepressants may also cause weight gain.
A doctor is the best source to tell you whether illnesses, medications, or psychological factors are contributing to weight gain or making weight loss hard.
Can Your Environment Affect Obesity?
18/03/09
Can Your Environment Affect Obesity?
People may make decisions based on their environment or community. For example, a person may choose not to walk to the store or to work because of a lack of sidewalks. Communities, homes, and workplaces can all influence people’s health decisions. Because of this influence, it is important to create environments in these locations that make it easier to engage in physical activity and to eat a healthy diet. The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity 2001 identified action steps for several locations that may help prevent and decrease obesity and overweight.
The following table provides some examples of these steps.
Home:
* Reduce time spent watching television and in other sedentary behaviors.
*Build physical activity into regular routines.
Schools:
*Ensure that the school breakfast and lunch programs meet nutrition standards.
*Provide food options that are low in fat, calories, and added sugars.
*Provide all children, from prekindergarten through grade 12, with quality daily physical education.
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Work:
*Create more opportunities for physical activity at work sites.
Community:
*Promote healthier choices including at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day, and reasonable portion sizes.
*Encourage the food industry to provide reasonable food and beverage portion sizes.
*Encourage food outlets to increase the availability of low-calorie, nutritious food items.
*Create opportunities for physical activity in communities.
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Do Genetics Affect Obesity?
17/03/09
Do Genetics Affect Obesity?
Science shows that genetics plays a role in obesity. Genes can directly cause obesity in disorders such as Bardet-Biedl syndrome and Prader-Willi syndrome.
However genes do not always predict future health. Genes and behavior may both be needed for a person to be overweight. In some cases multiple genes may increase one’s susceptibility for obesity and require outside factors; such as abundant food supply or little physical activity.
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Obesity Rate in Children
15/03/09
Obesity Rate in Children
Nearly 10 million children in the United States are considered obese. Dr. Kerri Boutelle from the UCSD Department of Psychiatry believes the solution lies within their parents. By teaching parents to teach their children how to make the right choices, they can lead healthier lives. In this story, you’ll meet Dr. Boutelle and 2 families.
Water Exercise For Kids
14/03/09
Water Exercise For Kids
The Water Exercise For Kids Video below discusses childhood obesity as it relates to the need for more physical activity year round.
Body Mass Index Formula
08/03/09
- Image via Wikipedia
Body Mass Index Formula
Although the BMI number is calculated using the same body mass index formula for children and adults, the criteria used to interpret the meaning of the BMI number for children and teens are different from those used for adults. For children and teens, BMI age- and sex-specific percentiles are used for two reasons:
The amount of body fat changes with age.
The amount of body fat differs between girls and boys.
The CDC BMI-for-age growth charts take into account these differences and allow translation of a BMI number into a percentile for a child’s sex and age.
Results of the body mass index formula for adults are interpreted through categories that do not take into account sex or age.
Healthy weight ranges cannot be provided for children and teens for the following reasons:
Healthy weight ranges change with each month of age for each sex.
Healthy weight ranges change as height increases.
CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommend the use of the Body Mass Index Formula to screen for overweight and obesity in children and teens aged 2 through 19 years. Although BMI is used to screen for overweight and obesity in children and teens, BMI is not a diagnostic tool.
A child who is relatively heavy may have a high BMI for his or her age. To determine whether the child has excess fat, further assessment would be needed. Further assessment might include skinfold thickness measurements. To determine a counseling strategy, assessments of diet, health, and physical activity are needed.
The adult calculator provides only the BMI number and not the BMI age- and sex-specific percentile that is used to interpret BMI and determine the weight category for children and teens. It is not appropriate to use the BMI categories for adults to interpret BMI numbers for children and teens.
The interpretation of BMI-for-age varies by age and sex so if two children are not exactly the same age and of the same sex, the BMI numbers have different meanings. Using the Body Mass Index Formula and calculating BMI-for-age for children of different ages and sexes may yield the same numeric result, but that number will fall at a different percentile for each child for one or both of the following reasons:
The normal BMI-related changes that take place as children age and as growth occurs.
The normal BMI-related differences between sexes.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Using Body Mass Index with Children and Teens?
Body Mass Index is a screening tool that is used to identify children with possible weight problems. CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommend the use of BMI to screen for overweight and obesity in children beginning at 2 years old.
BMI is not a diagnostic tool but is used to screen children for obesity, overweight, healthy weight, or underweight. For example, a child may have a high BMI for age and sex, but in order to determine if excess fat is a problem, a health care professional would need to perform further assessments. These assessments might include skinfold thickness measurements, evaluations of diet, physical activity, family history, and other appropriate health screenings.
How is BMI calculated and interpreted for children and teens?
Calculating and interpreting Body Mass Index using the BMI Percentile Calculator involves the following steps:
1. Before calculating BMI, obtain accurate height and weight measurements.
2. Calculate the BMI and percentile using the Child and Teen BMI Calculator. The Body Mass Index number is calculated using standard formulas.
3. Review the calculated BMI-for-age percentile and results. The BMI-for-age percentile is used to interpret the BMI number because BMI is both age-and sex-specific for children and teens. These criteria are different from those used to interpret BMI for adults — which do not take into account age or sex. Age and sex are considered for children and teens for two reasons:
The amount of body fat changes with age so the Body Mass Index for children and teens is often referred to as BMI-for-age.
The amount of body fat differs between girls and boys.
The CDC BMI-for-age growth charts for girls and boys take into account these differences and allow translation of a Body Mass Index number into a percentile for a child’s or teen’s sex and age.
4. Find the weight status category for the calculated BMI-for-age percentile as shown in the following table.
Underweight - Less than the 5th percentile.
Healthy weight - 5th percentile to less than the 85th percentile.
Overweight - 85th to less than the 95th percentile.
Obese - Equal to or greater than the 95th percentile.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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