The American Heart Association (AHA) defines obesity as a body that has an overabundance of fat. Excess fat, especially around the waist, can cause health problems, including heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. While the reasons...
Weight gain is a numbers game. If you eat more calories than the calories you burn through activity, you'll gain weight. But why children gain too much weight and become obese is not simple. Instead of a single cause for childhood obesity, a...
Many experts believe there is no coincidence that the rise in obesity among Americans correlates with a staggering increase in diabetes, which has reached epidemic proportions. An independent study that included researchers from the Centers of...
Good posture results when muscles and joints in your body successfully combat the forces of gravity. Achieving this state requires not only self-awareness and a great deal of practice, but also an underlying structure that includes strong,...
When you begin to pack on the pounds, your first thoughts may be to go on a restrictive diet that promises rapid weight loss. But while improving your nutrition is a good strategy to combat obesity, extreme diets are hard to stick to, and often...
Many consumers understand the basic equation behind obesity: too many calories and not enough exercise add up to excess weight. But each year, 2.6 million people die globally because of serious weight conditions, according to the World Health...
Your children have a greater risk for obesity if you live near a fast food restaurant or convenience store. They may also get fast-food items in their school lunch and vending machines. One-third of American children are overweight or obese,...
Childhood obesity is a growing problem in the Unites States, with more than 12.5 million children and teens regarded as overweight or obese in 2009, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If your child is overweight or obese, you...
More than one in three U.S. adults is considered obese as of 2008, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the phenomenon is growing throughout the world. Excess body fat doesn't just look unsightly; it also increases your...
Obesity is a complex problem and experts don't understand or know about all the factors that cause obesity. Consuming more calories than you burn is one obvious cause of weight gain, but there are many factors that contribute to food intake and...
If you are 100 lbs. overweight or more, you are considered obese. The side effects of obesity go beyond just being overweight or having an increased risk for developing serious health conditions. Obesity can cause major mental health problems as...
Children in the United States and around the world manifest a burgeoning problem with obesity. An estimated 16 to 33 percent of American children meet the definition of obesity according to the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry...
With rare exceptions, the obesity epidemic in America is caused by overeating. For individuals to get back to the average weight Americans were in the 1970s before the epidemic began, reports "Science Daily," they would have to eat 500 fewer...
Vitamin D deficiency is associated with obesity among children and adults. It's not clear whether the deficiency is part of the cause of obesity or a result of it. Studies have found, for example, that children who don't get enough vitamin D have...
Food additives are substances added to foods and beverages during production for enhanced flavor, texture, taste, appearance or preservation. Many preservatives are among the over 700 additives "generally recognized as safe" by the Food and Drug...
In 2009, the American Heart Association announced that child and teen obesity hit new heights of about 30 percent in America. Part of this obesity is due to a lack of regular exercise at school and home, plus junk food in and out of school. In...
You need vitamin D to absorb calcium and for proper bone mineralization. Vitamin D is also involved in immune function and cell growth. People who don't get sufficient vitamin D may develop deficiency symptoms, including muscle weakness and bone...
High cholesterol is one of many consequences of obesity. Obesity is defined as having too much body fat, usually caused by excessive calorie consumption. Eating high-fat foods increases the level of cholesterol circulating in your bloodstream. The...
Many families rely on fast food because of packed schedules and not enough time to prepare meals at home. According to Commercial Alert, the number of fast food meals consumed among children doubled between 1977 and 1995. Children who eat fast...
Obesity, which is associated with increased risk for diabetes, heart disease and other diseases, is generally a result of multiple factors. Genetics, lifestyle and emotional issues may influence whether a child becomes obese. An understanding of...
The term "obese" refers to people who are at least 30 percent overweight -- and the number of people in America who are obese is rising each year. Obesity in America reports that obesity is at the top of the list of health risks facing Americans....
Exercise can help you manage headaches, but it can also cause headaches, according to the Mayo Clinic. In fact, exercise triggers headaches fairly frequently, in both seasoned athletes and obese people. Exercise-induced headaches most often occur...
Between 16 and 33 percent of children and adolescents are obese in the United States, according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP). Obesity does not mean a few pounds over the recommended weight. The AACAP points...
As with adults, when children take in more calories than they expend in physical activity they gain weight. More children are leading sedentary lifestyles than ever and obesity in childhood is a growing concern. Children who don't engage in enough...
Obesity in the United States has risen to alarming proportions. An estimated 93 million Americans have a body mass index of 30 or greater or are in the 95th percentile of the BMI for their age. Over 30 percent of children are obese, which is...
There are many pathways to fatty liver disease, and obesity is a major player. It's not the only one, however. The causes of various forms of fatty liver disease are not fully understood, but scientists know that the condition is marked by an...
Childhood obesity is a serious problem that places affected children at risk of developing serious medical conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure. According to the 2007-2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, nearly 17...
The foods you put into your body directly affect the number on the scale. Obesity simply is having too much fat on the body. A person with a body mass index of 30 or more is considered obese. Eating large amounts of a diet high in fats and high in...
Obesity is a problem in almost all countries around the world. The rate at which obesity has spread over the past 10 years has been staggering. While recent new reports in different countries are reporting that the obesity epidemic is slowing...
Atherosclerosis is a disease that inflames and constricts arterial blood vessels, at times obstructing circulation and requiring surgical intervention. Learn more about atherosclerosis, causes and symptoms, in this health video.
Lap band surgery implants a restrictive gastric band and is designed for obese patients. The gastric band is an inflatable silicone prosthetic device that is placed around the top portion of the stomach. Learn about the different causes of,...
