Overview of Obesity
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Obesity is a disorder of body weight regulatory systems characterized by an accumulation of excess body fat.
Obesity
OVERVIEW
Obesity is a disorder
of body weight regulatory systems characterized by an accumulation of excess
body fat. In primitive societies, in which daily life required a high level of
physical activity and food was only available intermittently, a genetic
tendency favoring storage of excess calories as fat may have had a survival
value. Today, however, the sedentary lifestyle and abundance and wide variety
of palatable, inexpensive foods in industrialized societies has undoubtedly
contributed to an obesity epidemic. As adiposity has increased, so has the risk
of developing associated diseases, such as type 2 diabetes (T2D),
cardiovascular disease, hypertension, cancer, and arthritis. Particularly
alarming is the explosion of obesity in children and adolescents, which has
shown a threefold increase in prevalence over the last two decades. [Note:
Approximately 17% of those ages 2-19 years are obese.] In the United States,
the lifetime risk of becoming overweight or obese is approximately 50% and 25%,
respectively. Obesity has increased globally. In fact, by some estimates, there
are more obese than undernourished individuals worldwide.
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