More and more people are seeking ways and means to get rid of the extra fats in their bodies, and they do not mind spending bigger portion of their earning just for this. Weight management, therefore, has become a very hot topic nowadays and the business opportunity associated with it is also very attractive.
Why is this so?
Very simple! People understand obesity or overweight will ultimately bring to us many health problems like cancer, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, etc, and more importantly, the escalating healthcare cost can simply wipe off our savings should any of the serious health problems hit us.
A report published early November 2007 in the US Journal of the American Heart Association revealed that about 25 percent of men and women in 63 countries were found to be obese in a study of more than 168,000 people. The research was conducted by France's top medical research institute, and the data was collected in over two half-day periods in each of the 63 countries,
BMI (body-mass index) is used as the benchmark for obesity, and it is defined as one's weight in kilograms divided by the square of one's height in meters. People with a BMI between 18.5 and 25 is considered as healthy. One is considered overweight when the BMI ranges from 25 to 30, and obese when the BMI is equal to or higher than 30..
Out of the 168,159, adults aged between 18 and 80, studied in 2005, 24 percent of men and 27 percent of women were found to be clinically obese. An additional 40 percent of men and 30 percent of women were classified as overweight.
I made a simple calculation based on the findings, and the result is rather shocking:
"between 50 to 66 percent of the world's population is either overweight or obese."
No wonder many health experts believe that mankind is now facing a true epidemic: not in hunger, not in virus, but in obesity.
And not surprisingly, the researchers running this study have again exert pressure on governments urging them to be more aggressive in promoting physical exercise and balanced diets.
Why is this so?
Very simple! People understand obesity or overweight will ultimately bring to us many health problems like cancer, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, etc, and more importantly, the escalating healthcare cost can simply wipe off our savings should any of the serious health problems hit us.
A report published early November 2007 in the US Journal of the American Heart Association revealed that about 25 percent of men and women in 63 countries were found to be obese in a study of more than 168,000 people. The research was conducted by France's top medical research institute, and the data was collected in over two half-day periods in each of the 63 countries,
BMI (body-mass index) is used as the benchmark for obesity, and it is defined as one's weight in kilograms divided by the square of one's height in meters. People with a BMI between 18.5 and 25 is considered as healthy. One is considered overweight when the BMI ranges from 25 to 30, and obese when the BMI is equal to or higher than 30..
Out of the 168,159, adults aged between 18 and 80, studied in 2005, 24 percent of men and 27 percent of women were found to be clinically obese. An additional 40 percent of men and 30 percent of women were classified as overweight.
I made a simple calculation based on the findings, and the result is rather shocking:
"between 50 to 66 percent of the world's population is either overweight or obese."
No wonder many health experts believe that mankind is now facing a true epidemic: not in hunger, not in virus, but in obesity.
And not surprisingly, the researchers running this study have again exert pressure on governments urging them to be more aggressive in promoting physical exercise and balanced diets.
No comments:
Post a Comment