Obesity: an introduction

I've become highly interested in attempting to combat rising obesity levels in the United Kingdom. The people of the UK are simply becoming increasingly overweight and obese and this is having a serious affect on the health of the nation and our overstretched National Health Service (NHS). As a strong believer in the power of the NHS (without which I, and many others, wouldn't be here today), I'm concerned about how these obesity levels are going to affect our health service and hinder and harm the proper organisation of high quality care and treatment afforded to ill patients throughout the country.

The categories of 'underweight', 'normal', 'overweight', 'obese' and 'morbidly obese' are calculated by doctors using a method called Body Mass Index (BMI). This is a measure of body fat based on height and weight whereby it is ascertained whether a person is the correct weight for their height. Doctors take the weight (in either pounds or kilograms) of the patient and divide it by their height (in either feet and inches or centimetres) squared. A BMI of under 18.5 is considered 'underweight', a BMI of 18.5-24.9 is considered 'normal', a BMI of 25-29.9 is considered 'overweight', a BMI of 30-39.9 is 'obese' and a BMI of 40+ is 'morbidly obese'. The term 'morbidly' means that the patient is at significant risk of obesity-related illnesses  and disorders and even death.

As of 2010, the Health Survey for England (HSE) data showed that 62.8% of adults (aged 16 or over) were overweight or obese and 30.3% of children (aged 2-15) were overweight or obese. If no action is taken to address the problem its estimated that 60% of men, 50% of women and 25% of children (aged 2-15) would be obese by 2050 (The Tackling Obesities: Future Choices project, 17 October 2007).

These are worrying statistics. Obesity is quite simply an epidemic and causes a whole host of illnesses including type 2 diabetes, congestive heart failure, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, some types of cancers, osteoarthritis, gallstones or gallbladder disorders, gout, bladder control problems (stress incontinence) and psychological disorders (depression, eating disorders, distorted body image and low self-esteem). It also seriously affects our reproductive health; in women causing menstruation and ovulation irregularites that could lead to infertility as well as complications during pregnancy and childbirth, and in men producing more defective and immobile sperm cells which could also lead to infertility.

To summarise, it is a major problem for the health of our nation to be overweight or specifically obese. The NHS has seen a massive increase in people being admitted to hospital for obesity-related illnesses and our services will just not be able to cope with the heavy increase of equipment and medicine needed to treat these patients if trends continue at the current rates. Currently, obesity costs the NHS a staggering £4billion a year, and that figure is expected to rise to £6.3billion within just four years (Department of Health: Forsight Tackling Obesities: Future Choices Project').

These statistics not only worry me, they also upset me. As someone who was admitted to hospital for an illness that was not caused by my lifestyle, it hurts me that so much money is spent on an avoidable illness. It is simply the case that the vast majority of the overweight and obese are overweight or obese because they have eaten too much of the wrong types of food and not exercised enough. They are overweight/obese as a direct result of their own actions and their own choices over their lifestyles. Yes, there are a small amount of exceptions who have genuine genetic disorders that have caused them to gain weight, but these are a small minority. For most, it is simply a case of sustained unhealthy eating and inactive lifestyles. In short, it is their own fault they're overweight.

This may sound harsh, but as someone who looks to find ways to stop and reverse the obesity epidemic (a very difficult task if our current trends tell us anything), I believe the first step is to be honest with ourselves. People are eating too much, and not moving enough. In my blogs on obesity I will address the excuses people give for being overweight that aren't to do with overeating and under-activity and show why none of them are correct, and I will also look at overeating, the reasons behind why we do it and the hidden calories in our mindless snacking and grazing throughout the day. I will then turn my eye towards weightloss; how faddy, quick-fix diets don't work and what to really do and what to really eat to ensure prolonged weightloss that stays off.

I have never been overweight but I reached a point after Christmas last year (2012) when I realised how unhealthily I had been eating recently. I put on half a stone (7 pounds, or 3.1kg) in around 2 weeks and I realised it was simply from eating too much of the wrong foods and not moving enough. There are no unexplored reasons for gaining weight and there are no quick fixes - nobody is a miracle of science - the only way to lose weight is steadily and surely through eating healthily and the right amount of calories and exercising enough to balance our calories in. If calories in are more than calories out throughout the day, you gain weight. If calories in are the same as calories out, you maintain the same weight. If calories in are less than calories out, you lose weight. It really is as easy as that.

Lets stop with the excuses, the moaning, the procrastinating and the white lies, and lets accept obesity for what it is: a health epidemic caused by people eating too much. Only once we've done this can we truly look to the real causes of overreating and seek to find ways to change our habits and lose weight for good. This will make us more healthy, and will relieve the NHS. Change starts here!

Welcome to Blogging - general introduction to me

Hello to everyone!
This is my first article on this site and I'm delighted to have the opportunity to extend my written and communicative skills and to develop and research into my specific interests.
I'm an English Literature student at the University of Birmingham and I'm interested in a career in the media; specifically in television, radio or journalism. I'm an active user of Social Media and use it in particular to follow experts in my fields of interest and to read many opinion and factual articles.
I'm also an enthusiastic reader of fiction and for my dissertation I am researching portrayals of female tragic heroes in literature. This area has enhanced my interest in women's writings in particular, and especially into women's rights and feminist thought and activism throughout the world. I've also been interested in ideas surrounding green energy and environmentalism since I was at school and I regularly contribute to green debates at University. A more personal interest for me is into dietary and keeping active advice; I am a perpetual dieter and weight-watcher and have to closely watch my diet to maintain a healthy weight. This has led me to become fascinated with the nature of weight-loss and I regularly discuss methods to combat the rising obesity levels in the United Kingdom.
On a more recreational level I am also interested in sports, football and the Premier League specifically, and regularly contribute opinions on the performance and chances of my team of support (Manchester United), and I highly enjoy historical dramas and documentaries (fiction and fact).
I hope this blog will be of interest to people who share my interests, and ultimately hope to be able to express my own opinions on specific issues and share these with like-minded people. I'm also going to be using this site as a springboard to finding information from other people who are either interested in a career in the media or have already made it into the industry. I am like any other student because I am anxious about graduation in the summer and finding a rewarding and interesting place of work afterwards. I will be using this site to blog my progress in finding work experience in the media (whether it's television, radio or journalism), and internships (both paid and unpaid).
Happy reading to everyone!