Obesity is a condition in which a person's body mass index, or BMI--calculated by dividing weight in kilograms by the square of height in meters--exceeds 30. Obesity is strongly associated with a host of medical disorders, including heart disease, arthritis, diabetes, and some cancers. Men and women display different characteristics in terms of both the propensity for obesity and its consequences.
Significance
Obesity has risen sharply in the U.S. in recent decades in both men and women and continues to do so. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2007, 25.6 percent of U.S. adults were obese, including 24.8 percent of women and 26.4 percent of men. Because childhood obesity is also on the rise, it is likely that the fraction of obese adults in the U.S. will continue to increase, and with it, associated medical conditions.
Causes
In simple terms, a person gains weight when he consumes more calories than he expends through activity and basic metabolic processes. Fertility is an obesity risk factor in women but obviously not in men, and in developed counties sociological factors play a role; as a 1989 article in "Psychological Bulletin" by J. Sobal and A.J. Stunkard indicated, high socioeconomic status is correlated with reduced obesity rates in women, but not in men.
Effects
According to longtime nutritionist Anne Collins, body fat is distributed differently in men and women, with men showing more "central," or abdominal, weight gain than women, a difference which largely disappears in postmenopausal women; central obesity is a risk factor for coronary artery disease and insulin resistance, the latter being a predisposing factor to type 2 diabetes. In men, obesity is associated with an increased prostate cancer risk, while in women, premenopausal weight gain doubles the risk of postmenopausal breast cancer.
Considerations
As reported in May 2010 on PLoS ONE, the peer-reviewed online journal of the Public Library of Science, few countries show higher obesity rates in women than in men, a finding largely attributed to fertility, with high birth rate countries displaying a greater gender disparity. Female obesity is strongly correlated with male obesity and conversely. Low income and minority status are far greater risk factors for obesity in women than in men.
Prevention/Solution
Dieting, or calorie restriction, is by itself rarely an effective long-term weight-loss solution, but appears to be more effective in men than in women. Exercise combined with dietary modifications produce the best results. Establishing healthful eating and exercise habits during childhood is of critical importance. In extreme cases, when the life of the patient may be in danger, bariatric surgery, in which portions of the absorptive gastrointestinal tract are "banded" or removed, is an option.
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