Welcome to Obesity Guide
Connection Between Heart Diseases And Obesity Article
. For a permanent link to this article, or to bookmark it for further reading, click here.
Fast Food and Obesity – What’s the Truth?
from:Opinions vary on just how fast food and obesity are connected, but the general consensus is that too much of anything is not healthy. For most medical and nutrition experts, this certainly applies to the types of food U.S. citizens increasingly rely on. As people live an increasingly mobile lifestyle, in which home-cooked meals and family conversation are less important than before, ready-to-eat foods make up much of the U.S. diet.
But does that mean fast food and ready-to-eat meals should be the main target of health professionals’ work? Many experts say no. Fast food and obesity may certainly have some direct connection, but for those who work with weight problems every day, fast food is just one factor among many.
Federal and state government agencies have made some effort to get food companies and fast food restaurants to diversify menus and market healthy food choices. This action is applauded by health experts, but with a note of caution. Making fast food and obesity the only object, or even the primary object, of change may not be successful. As one heart health expert wrote, government mandates are not the answer.
Obesity is a complex health condition caused by several factors, including inherited family traits, diet choices, lack of exercise and psychological influences. The presence of numerous factors should lead us away from making the easy fast food and obesity connection, experts state.
It may not help that the word we use to describe this health condition has its roots in the act of eating. The word “obesity” comes from the Latin “obesus,” which generally meant stout, fat or plump. It is interesting to find that if we go back even further, the Latin word comes from “edere,” which means, “to eat.” This connection between eating, stored energy and fat is at the core of medical studies on fast food and obesity.
How much fat a person carries on their body is generally determined by how much of the substance is eaten in the food or how much of the food we eat converts to fat. For example, animals eat carbohydrates and this is easily converted to fat. (Carbohydrates are compounds such as sugars and starches). When this process results in an amount of fat that is beyond what doctors consider average, obesity results.
But, according to information from the Mayo Clinic and other top medical research organizations, family habits and home environment are just as important. Most cultural studies and medical studies show that children between the ages of 6 and 11 cannot change exercise and eating patterns by themselves. When the child has reached this stage, many of the habits developed by living with the family are already formed. Including fast food and obesity as one factor in obesity treatment is fine, as far as it goes, but does it go far enough to explain the health risk of obesity?
Connection Between Heart Diseases And Obesity News
More than half of overweight and obese adolescents have heart disease risk ... - Washington Post
 Deseret News | More than half of overweight and obese adolescents have heart disease risk ... Washington Post ATLANTA — Half the nation's overweight teens have unhealthy blood pressure, cholesterol or blood sugar levels that put them at risk for future heart attacks and other cardiac problems, new federal research says. And an even larger proportion of obese ... Studies Show Overweight Teens Have Heart Disease Risk Scary statistics about teens and heart disease that everyone should know Heart disease risk factor, diabetes, climbing among US teens, tweens |
Obese Youths Found to Have Heart Damage - Education Week News (blog)
Obese Youths Found to Have Heart Damage Education Week News (blog) By Bryan Toporek on May 21, 2012 4:29 PM Previous research has determined a direct link between obesity and heart disease in adults, but are overweight and obese youths putting their hearts under a similar strain? Two studies released today suggest so. Half of Overweight Adolescents Have Heart Risk, and Obese Teens Have Heart Damage Obese Teens Can Have Heart Damage Without Showing Signs Obese adolescents have heart damage |
Teens Today at More Risk for Heart Disease - MedPage Today
 eMaxHealth | Teens Today at More Risk for Heart Disease MedPage Today An NHANES database study found that overweight and obese adolescents had a higher number of four cardiovascular disease risk factors compared to their normal weight peers. Compared to 1999, the prevalence of overweight or obesity at 34% had not changed ... Many teens have cardiovascular disease risk factors |
Trainer's Tips: Heart disease can sneak up on the best of us -- and it did - El Paso Times
Trainer's Tips: Heart disease can sneak up on the best of us -- and it did El Paso Times How can a marathon king, also known as "Caballo Blanco," who ran more than 50 miles regularly, die of a heart disease? Isn't heart disease for the obese and out of shape? Not necessarily. In Micah's case, the cause is not known. |
Moderate Weight Loss Can Decrease Breast Cancer Risk - ABC News
 ABC News | Moderate Weight Loss Can Decrease Breast Cancer Risk ABC News The connection between obesity and breast cancer risk in women after menopause has long been suspected. Specifically, weight gain from early adulthood into the 60s has been consistently associated with risk of breast cancer after menopause. |
Obese UAE children at risk of early heart disease - The National
 The National | Obese UAE children at risk of early heart disease The National High rates of obesity among schoolchildren are putting them at risk of developing heart disease and diabetes at a younger age, a study has found. Researchers at UAE University studied 1018 students age 12 to 18, measuring their cholesterol levels and ... |
Study Finds Direct Link Between Obesity, Heart Disease - U.S. News & World Report
 U.S. News & World Report | Study Finds Direct Link Between Obesity, Heart Disease U.S. News & World Report WEDNESDAY, May 2 (HealthDay News) -- A large new study is the first to show a direct link between a high body-mass index and the risk of developing heart disease, British and Danish researchers say. Body-mass index (BMI) is a measurement based on ... Heavy new arguments weigh in on the danger of obesity Weighty Issues: Study Quantifies BMI's Causal Contribution To Heart Disease Risk |