Adolescent Overweight & Obesity nursing essay

Adolescent Overweight & Obesity

Overweight is the possession of body fat that is above a range that can, by any means, be considered optimally unhealthy. It is a condition most prevalent where supplies of food are in plenty with sedentary lifestyles to boot.
Introduction
Globally, this condition is at epidemic level with increases being noted across a majority of age groups especially in adolescents and adults while a normally functioning body requires body fats to function; excess body fat has been shown to derail flexibility and movement (Munsch, 2005). Body mass index, or BMI, is a height for weight index utilized for classification of obesity and overweight. Its definition is the weight of the subject in kilograms divided by his height’s square in meters.

A BMI above or equal to 25 is referred to as overweight while a BMI that is above or equal to 30 is referred to as obesity. Once considered a problem for high-income countries, obesity and overweight are on the increase in the middle and low-income countries with clustering in urban areas as well.

Obesity and overweight are linked to more deaths globally than underweight. This essay will describe the concept of overweight and obesity, particularly prevalence of the latter in Australia.

2. Health condition Overweight and obesity can be defined as weight ranges greater than that considered healthy at any given height. Body weight ranges above limits of health have been proven to increase the probability of certain health problems like osteoarthritis and cardiovascular disease (Munsch, 2005).

These ranges of weight are determined via calculation of the body mass index, or the BMI, calculated by using an individual’s height and weight (Bagchi, 2010). ……………………………………