Over 60 percent of U.S. adult women are overweight, according to 2007 estimates from the National Center for Health Statistics of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Just over one-third of overweight adult women are obese. If you want to find out whether you're overweight or obese. Find out your body mass index (BMI). BMI is a measure of body fat based on height and weight. People with a BMI of 25 to 29.9 are considered overweight. People with a BMI of 30 or more are considered obese.
You can become overweight or obese when you eat more calories (KAL-oh-rees) than you use. A calorie is a unit of energy in the food you eat. Your body needs this energy to function and to be active. But if you take in more energy than your body uses, you will gain weight.
Many factors can play a role in becoming overweight or obese. These factors include:
- Behaviors, such as eating too many calories or not getting enough physical activity
- Environment and culture
- Genes
Overweight and obesity problems keep getting worse in the United States. Some cultural reasons for this include:
- Bigger portion sizes
- Little time to exercise or cook healthy meals
- Using cars to get places instead of walking
Source: the Office on Women's Health
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Date Added: 2011-09-30 Views : 74