There is a major health crisis in Europe which has become a major cause for concern. That is Obesity. It is not just a health crisis but also a social crisis.
The available data show that among the European Union countries like England, Slovakia, Germany, Greek, Cyprus Czech Republic had the highest number of obese adults. A recent study shows that it is not just the adults but also the young children among whom this trend is to be seen. It has become a major cause for worry. In fact it has almost reached epidemic proportions.Estimates show there are around 1.1 billion overweight people in the world, of whom 312 million are obese, and that in Europe 10-20 percent of men are obese and almost half the population is overweight. The body mass index ratio — or BMI — is used to determine whether someone is overweight or obese. A normal range is 18.5 to 24.9. Overweight is 25 to 29.9 and more than 30 is considered obese. According to a research result published in Acta Paediactrica, four-year-old girls are six times more likely to have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of more than 30 than they were 20 years ago and ten-year-olds are five times more likely. The obesity has increased constantly among the children but it can be seen to steady among the teenagers. The average girl seems to be more over weight than the boys. In fact compared to a decade back today’s girls are on an average heavier than her counterpart.
Many of the children who are obese when young remain obese when they turn to adulthood too. Dr. Martin Fried, from Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic says “"Over 80 percent of obese kids remain obese as adults. Over 80 percent of obese kids remain obese as adults.
Holland, Slovakia, Estonia and Finland were among the countries with the lowest rates of overweight children.
Obese people will have all kinds of health problems like type -2 diabetes, lower quality of life, cannot work and suffer early deaths.
Rather than treating the diseases afflicted after obesity it is better to the people aware of the consequences of obesity and have community programmes enabling people overcome it.
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At the 15th congress on obesity the doctor called for a novel approach and has judicious dealing with the obese people. “Obesity should be treated within the health care system as any other complex disease,” said Prof. Vojtech Hainer, president of the European Association for the Study of Obesity. “In many European countries, more than half the population is overweight or obese”.
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