Obesity in Social Networking

For this past few weeks, I was very busy with my new found past time which is social networking. I created a Blogspot where I can share my views and opinions on relevant political and social events of our country and the world, I also joined Twittter where I am following a lot of influential celebrities like Mar Roxas and Jiggy Cruz , I am also one of the thousands on line gamer who spend the afternoon playing the very popular Farmtown, Farmville, Yoville and Mafia Wars on Facebook. On top of that, I enjoyed uploading and downloading videos from Youtube, and just recently, I also made an account on Multiply.

For me, social networking is a must now a days because it is where you can express yourself freely and it is the cheapest way of communicating with your friends from abroad. It also served as a venue where we can unwind ourselves despite our busy schedules by playing on line games.

However, since last week, almost all of my friends could not help but noticed my weight. I gained almost five pounds since I bought my new Eee PC Netbook. Right now, I am about 155 pounds and my Body Mass Index (BMI) ,which is equal to weight/height (in kg/m2) is 25 , (Obese Class II > 30 ; Obese Class I 25 - 29.9; Overweight 23 - 24.9; Healthy Weight 18.5 - 22.9 ; Underweight <>45 may lose 13 years of life.

Obesity is a major risk factor for diabetes, and as many as 80% of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus are obese. Hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance are pervasive features of obesity, increasing with weight gain and diminishing with weight loss. Insulin resistance is more strongly linked to intraabdominal fat than to fat in other depots.

Obesity is also associated with hypertension. The Framingham Study revealed that obesity was an independent risk factor for the 26-year incidence of cardiovascular disease in men and women including coronary disease, stroke, and congestive heart failure. Obesity, especially abdominal obesity, is associated with an increased in bad cholesterol (LDL) and decreased in good cholesterol (HDL).

Severe obesity may be associated with obstructive sleep apnea and the "obesity hypoventilation" with attenuated hypoxia and hypercapnic ventilatory responses. Sleep apnea can be obstructive (most common) , central, or mixed and is associated with hypertension.

Obesity is associated with enhanced biliary secretion of cholesterol, supersaturation of bile, and a higher incidence of gallstones, particularly cholesterol gallstones. A person 50% above ideal body weight has about a sixfold increased incidence of symptomatic gallstones.

Obesity in males is associated with higher mortality from cancer, including cancer of the esophagus, colon, rectum, pancreas, liver and prostate; obesity in females is associated with higher mortality from cancer of the gallbladder, bile ducts, breast, endometrium, cervix, and ovaries.

Obesity is also associated with an increased risk of osteoarthritis, no doubt partly due to the trauma of added weight bearing and joint misalignment. The prevalence of gout may also be increased.
Physical activity is a key feature of treatment. This challenging task will require a complex combination of healthy behaviors, including decrease in sedentary activities , increase in physical activity, and reduction in calorie intake. Simple yet practical suggestions include reducing time spent watching television or being online, and increase time spent walking or in activities that raise the heart rate.

Based on available evidence, the recommendation is to engage in regular physical activity at least 30 min/day, most days of the week. In addition, physical activity is critical to maintenance of weight loss and is important for overall reduction in cardiovascular risk; 60 to 90 minutes per week of walking can reduce Coronary Hear Disease (CHD) mortality by about 50%. The Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) benefits of slow walking appear to be comparable to those of walking more quickly, suggesting that the most important predictor of benefit was walking time, not speed. Exercise programs appear beneficial at any age and are associated with overall reductions in CVD outcomes by about 50%.