What is Overweight?
The term overweight refers to an (unhealthy) increase in body weight due to an accumulation of body fat above normal level. What weight is considered overweight depends primarily on height. But gender, stature, and age also need to be taken into account.
The WHO has issued an Overweight Alarm. More and more people are accumulating dangerous amounts of fat over the course of their lives, which can be a health risk. According to the World Health Organization, more than half of adults are overweight. 63% of men and 54% of women are considered to be over weight.
The more overweight you are, the more stress you put on your entire body.
There are several ways to estimate your body weight.
When you are overweight, your heart and lungs are under extra stress because more body tissue has a higher requirement for oxygen.
There are several indicators that can be used to estimate a person's weight. The most common is the Body Mass Index (BMI). According to the WHO classification, a BMI between 25.0 and 29.9 is considered overweight (preadiposity). One well-known weakness of the BMI is the fact that it doesn’t differentiate between fat and muscle.
What Causes Overweight?
Overweight occurs when your body is permanently supplied with more calories than it needs. The food industry, especially the fast food industry, is largely responsible for this misery. According to the WHO, overweight has reached the level of a global pandemic.
Fast food and convenience foods tend to be too high in calories, fat and sugar. This cannot be good for your health in the long run. It is recommended to cook with fresh food as often as possible.