diet, exercise and disease 2.2.6

• obesity is a medical condition where the patient accumulates excess body fat, it can cause reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems
• the causes of obesity are eating too much food and not exercising enough, this happens when the energy intake is higher than the energy output
• for someone who is obese, energy consumption > energy expenditure
• for someone who is underweight, energy consumption < energy expenditure
• we need some fat to use as an energy store, to insulate organs and to keep you warm
• obesity can cause strokes due to high blood pressure in the brains arteries
• obesity can cause heart attacks due to coronary heart disease and high blood pressure
• obesity can cause joint problems such as arthritis due to too much inflimation
• obesity can cause diabetes due to liver cells not being able to control blood glucose
• the benefits of exercise are bigger lungs, more muscle tissue, fitter hearts, bigger muscles, balanced cholesterol and improved mental health
• BMI is used as a measure to see if you are over or underweight
• BMI is easy to calculate and allows doctors to quickly work out if a patient is at risk of developing illness associated with obesity
• however, BMI doesnt work for children and muscle has a higher density than fat so rugby players and body builders could be classed as obese, furthermore, it doesnt account for pregnant women