Fat, big, humongous, huge, it goes by different terms but it basically refers to one and the same thing Obesity. What is obesity? OK, we know this term has been around for quite a significant period of time for everyone not to know what it is. But what we are looking for is the meaning of obesity in the framework of our present-day society. How does our society look at obesity and how it affects the lives, thinking and attitude of obese people?
Obesity, in simple terms means having too much body fat, Period. We can take on more scientific definitions like an abnormal accumulation of body fat, or a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher, but it still boils down to one simple meaning. In most cases, it means having too much body fat.
When we talk about obesity, we are not simply referring to someone whose weight is about 10 lbs. more than his ideal weight based on his/her height. Normally, a 10 to 20 lb. difference between ideal weights as against the current weight qualifies someone as overweight yet not obese. When we talk about being obese, we are talking about excessive baggage of 30 lbs. or more.
The most common way of determining obesity is via the BMI (Body Mass Index) calculation. This method follows a certain formula wherein the body’s weight in kilograms is divided by the square of the body’s height in meters. If your BMI exceeds 30, you are automatically considered obese and if it breaks the 40 point mark, then you are someone called morbidly obese.
Another important aspect that we need to focus to be able to understand obesity is the influence of society in its prevalence. And we are talking here about society in general and not just the people in it. Society is not just about its people alone. You have the system and the structure in itself though people comprise more than half of its existence.
More importantly the education system needs to extend its efforts in battling obesity from within the classroom up to the nutritional values that each state public school canteens are selling to our students.
More than what we are teaching these students, the things that they consume in those canteens would eventually decide how these students would aesthetically grow. It doesn’t make sense if we continue telling these young people to shun away from fatty, unhealthy foods when all they see and find on our campus cafeterias are the exact same thing we ask them to avoid.
