Obesity is defined as having an excessive amount of body fat. More specifically, it refers to having a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher. A person's BMI is calculated using their height and weight.
Obesity happens when a person's energy intake from food and drink exceeds the energy expended through basal metabolism, physical activity, and thermogenesis. Over time, consuming more calories than are burned leads to weight gain and extra body fat accumulation.
There are a few key factors that contribute to obesity:
Obesity has become a major public health issue. In the United States, over 40% of adults are considered obese. It puts people at higher risk for many other health problems like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, osteoarthritis, and certain cancers. Treating obesity-related conditions also costs the healthcare system billions per year.
So in summary, obesity refers to having excessive or unhealthy amounts of body fat due to consistently higher calorie intake than expenditure over an extended timeframe. Both behavioral and genetic factors contribute to obesity risk on an individual level. Population-wide, it has become an epidemic that urgently needs to be addressed through societal-level interventions.
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