Assignments Physical Activity, Disease and Public Health

Obesity is becoming a leading killer disease in the world. The changing nature of life has led to change in lifestyle which has led to increased cases of lifestyle diseases.  It is estimated that more than half of the population of United States is obese or overweight.

However epidemiological studies show ethnic and racial dimension with regard to prevalence of obesity in the population. African Americans especially African American women have a higher prevalence of obesity compared to other races.

There are many genetic and environmental factors which have been predisposing African Americans to increased cases of obesity. Obesity does not only affect health and social life of the individual but it is also a gateway to development of many other chronic illnesses.  If not well managed, obesity leads to other terminal illnesses like diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and others.

Change in diet and tendency towards a sedentary lifestyle have been identified as the leading causes of obesity all over the world.  The increasing prevalence of obesity in the population has been correlated with myriad of environmental, behavioral, physiological, and genetic factors.  Attenuated metabolic response to the exposures in the environmental combined with a number of predisposing factors and low level of energy expenditure leads to  positive energy balance which increases body weight.

Several researches have underpinned the importance of diet modification and exercise in reducing body weight. However the emphasis has been mainly on diet modification with less attention on the role of exercises. Regular exercises can help to burn the excess body fats leading to reduction of obesity.

In this study we are going to review a number of studies which have looked into the role of exercise in the management of obesity. The study  review a total of 10 studies from American Journal of Nutrition, JAMA, British Journal of Sports Medicine, and many  other renown medical sites. The key search words used include obesity, African Americans, Body Mass Index, and physical activities

Obesity

Obesity is one of the growing health problems in the world. Since the mid 20th century, the number of obese individuals in the population has been growing at an alarming rate due to the changing nature of our life.  The high prevalence of overweight and obesity is a great concern for adults, children, and adolescents not only in the United States but also in the rest of the world.

 Obesity can be defined as increase in body weight due to accumulation of fat tissues. Individual weight status is usually determined by the Body Mass Index, which is a ratio of individual’s weight to height.  Body mass index has been shown as one of the most effective tools to assess the level of risk from individual weight. Obesity can be described as accumulation of fast on the body due to a positive energy balance.

The food we eat is used up for body metabolism processes and the rest is stored as fats in the body adipose tissues.  If we eat too much and engage in fewer exercises, there is that energy balance in the body that is converted to fat.  Therefore the more we eat or the higher calorie foods that we eat, the more we gain weight and we end up being obese.

According to the body mass index measure, a health individual should have a BMI of 18.5 – 24.9 kg/m2. The following table shows the classification of BMI and the body weight status.