OBESITY

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Term Paper Title	OBESITY
# of Words	1444
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	5.78

OBESITY

Facts concerning Obesity

Many Americans are at increased health risk because they are obese.                   The U.S. Surgeon General, in a 1988 report on nutrition and health,                   estimated that one-fourth of adult Americans are overweight. Obesity is                   a known risk factor for chronic diseases including heart disease,                   diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, and some forms of cancer.

Everyone needs a certain amount of body fat for stored energy, heat                   insulation, shock absorption, and other functions. As a rule, women have                   more fat than men. Doctors generally agree that men with more than 25                   percent body fat and women with more than 30 percent body fat are                   obese. Precisely measuring a person's body fat, however, is not easy.                   The most accurate method is to weigh a person underwater - a                   procedure limited to laboratories with sophisticated equipment.

There are two simpler methods for estimating body fat, but they can                   yield inaccurate results if done by an inexperienced person or if done on                   someone with severe obesity. One is to measure skinfold thickness in                   several parts of the body. The second involves sending a harmless                   amount of electric current through a person's body (bioelectric                   impedance analysis). Both methods are commonly used in health clubs                   and in commercial weight-loss programs, but results should be viewed                   skeptically.

Because measuring a person's body fat is tricky, doctors often rely on                   other means to diagnose obesity. Two widely used measurements are                   weight-for-height tables and body mass index. While both                   measurements have their limitations, they are reliable indicators that                   someone may have a weight problem. They are easy to calculate and                   require no special equipment.

One problem with using weight-for-height tables is that doctors disagree                   over which is the best table to use. Many versions are available, all with                   different weight ranges. Some tables take a person's frame size, age, and                   sex into account; others do not. A limitation of all weight-for-height                   tables is that they do not distingui...

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