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Obesity is a term usually applied to a condition in which a person is 30 percent or more
over ideal body weight. The National Institute of Health defines obesity as being more
than 20 percent above ideal body weight for males, and 30 percent for females.
The cause of obesity is not known, which is not surprising; the National Institute of Health annually spends less than 1.0 percent of its budget on obesity research. However, it has been observed that this condition has a strong familial component, which may indicate that certain people have a genetic predisposition for obesity. The tendency toward obesity is also fostered by lack of physical activity combined with high-calorie, low-cost foods, and so obesity is now affecting more Americans than ever. The number of overweight and obese Americans has continued to increase since 1960, a trend that is not slowing down. Today, 64.5 percent of adult Americans (about 127 million) are categorized as overweight, and about one-third of Americans (60 million) are obese. Obesity increases one's risk of developing conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes (type 2), heart disease, stroke, gallbladder disease, and cancer of the breast, prostate and colon. Left untreated, obesity can have serious and even deadly consequences. Each year, obesity causes at least 300,000 deaths in the U.S. alone. Effective treatment of obesity usually involves restricted diet and increased exercise. If maintained, even weight losses as small as 10 percent of body weight can improve one's health. In cases of prolonged and life-threatening obesity, restrictive surgeries, such as stomach stapling, gastric banding, and gastric bypass surgery, may be considered. Side effects of restrictive surgeries include anemia, osteoporosis, gallstones, pulmonary embolism (blood clot in the lungs), and in rare instances, death. Persons with obesity are victims of employment and other discrimination, and continue to be penalized for their condition despite many federal and state laws and policies. Healthcare costs of American adults with obesity amount to approximately $100 billion, yet health insurance providers rarely pay for treatment of obesity, despite its serious effects on health. |


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