Food
The SuperSizing of America…our epidemic!
Submitted by Sharon Weinstein on Mon, 04/23/2007 - 6:02pm. Food | Health | Health Chat
Sharon M. Weinstein, MS, RN, CRNI, FAAN
The nation's scales are rising, and it is clear that obesity is a crisis! So what can we do about America's obesity epidemic other than avoid the doughnut shop, fast food, and take a walk each day?
There is a difference between obesity and overweight…many of us are on the fringes of each. According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), overweight is increased body weight that is at least 10 percent over a recommended weight level. These recommendations are based on a sampling of the US population or by body mass index (BMI), a calculation that measures weight relative to height. If we could all increase in height by about 4 inches, weight would not be such an issue! If not, a person with a BMI greater than 25 is overweight. Obesity is excess fat compared to lean body mass, or a body weight that is 30 percent over the ideal weight for a specific height.
