Childhood ObesityWritten by Beverley Brooke
Along with increase of obesity in adult, childhood obesity is on rise. Around 15.5 percent of adolescents in United States, aged 12 to 19 are obese. Even more alarming, about 15.3 percent of children ages 6 to 11 are obese. These children are developing Type II Diabetes and high blood pressure at an early age. They are placing themselves at increased risk for heart disease and other obesity-related diseases. Their weight also makes them target of bullies and children who insult and taunt them about their weight. This can ruin their self-esteem and put them at risk for depression.Today’s children make up digital generation. They’ve been surrounded by computers their entire life and are not as physically active as children of past generations were. Instead of going outside and playing, they tend to hang out indoors, watching TV and playing computer and video games. Along with lack of physical activity comes convenience of fast food. There are fast food restaurants virtually around every corner, and they have easy access to snack foods full of saturated fats and sugars. In addition, obese parents are more likely to have obese children. The reason for this is two-fold. First, obese parents probably pass down their poor habits to their children. Second, genetics plays a role in obesity.
| | Calculating Your Calorie NeedsWritten by Beverley Brooke
In order to eat fewer calories than you need, you have to determine how many calories you actually need. Adults can calculate their approximate energy needs using following formula:A. Body weight multiplied by 12 (for men) or 11 (for women) e.g., 150 lbs. x 12 = 1800 B. Activity One third body weight multiplied by number of hours you don't sleep, typically 16 hours 150 lbs. x 1/3 = 50 x 16 = 800 C. Required Calories A + B 1800 + 800 = 2600 Thus, we determine that a 150-pound man requires approximately 2600 calories per day. The "Basal Metabolic Rate" is number of calories a man of that weight would burn just to keep heart beating, lungs pumping, etc. You would just burn your basal metabolic rate worth of calories if you slept all day. Thus "Activity" calculation is approximately amount of calories a person would expend by spending his or her whole day sitting around. If you are engaging in activities other than sitting all day, you can increase your activity hours by number of hours you are actually active.
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