History:-
The Greek were the first to recognize
obesity as a medical disorder. Hippocrates (460-377) – The great Greek clinical
genius and the father of modern medical science haddiscussed causative factors,
complication, prognosis, and treatment of corpulence very lucidly.
He states that “Corpulence is not only a disease itself, but the precursor of
others.”
Ancient Greek medicine recognizes obesity as a medical disorder, and
records that the Ancient Egyptians saw it in the same way. Hippocrates wrote that "Corpulence is not only a disease
itself, but the harbinger of others". The Indian surgeon Suśruta (6th century BCE) related obesity to diabetes and heart disorders. He
recommended physical work to help cure it and its side effects. For most of
human history mankind struggled with food scarcity. Obesity has thus
historically been viewed as a sign of wealth and prosperity. It was common
among high officials in Europe in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance as well as in Ancient East Asian
civilizations.
With the onset of the industrial revolution it was realized that the military and economic
might of nations were dependent on both the body size and strength of their
soldiers and workers. Increasing the average body mass index from what is now
considered underweight to what is now the normal range played a significant
role in the development of industrialized societies. Height and weight thus
both increased through the 19th century in the developed world. During the
20th century, as populations reached their genetic potential for height, weight
began increasing much more than height, resulting in obesity. In the 1950s
increasing wealth in the developed world decreased child mortality, but as body
weight increased heart and kidney disease became more common. During this time
period insurance companies realized the connection between weight and life
expectancy and increased premiums for the obese.
Many cultures throughout history have viewed
obesity as the result of a character flaw. The obesus or fat character in Greek comedy was a glutton and figure of mockery. During Christian times food was
viewed as a gateway to the sins of sloth and lust. In modern
Western culture, excess weight is often regarded as unattractive, and obesity
is commonly associated with various negative stereotypes. People of all ages
can face social stigmatization, and may be targeted by bullies or shunned by
their peers. Obesity is once again a reason for discrimination.
Public perceptions in Western society regarding
healthy body weight differ from those regarding the weight that is considered
ideal – and both have changed since the beginning of the 20th century. The
weight that is viewed as an ideal has become lower since the 1920s. This is illustrated
by the fact that the average height of Miss America pageant winners increased
by 2% from 1922 to 1999, while their average weight decreased by 12%. On the
other hand, people's views concerning healthy weight have changed in the
opposite direction. In Britain the weight at which people considered themselves
to be overweight was significantly higher in 2007 than in 1999. These changes are believed to be due to
increasing rates of adiposity leading to increased acceptance of extra body fat
as being normal.
Obesity is still seen as a sign of wealth and
well-being in many parts of Africa. This has
become particularly common since the HIV epidemic
began. (Ref -Encyclopedia)
ETYMOLOGY:-
Obesity is from the Latin obesitas, which means "stout,
fat, or plump". Ēsus is
the past participle of edere
(to eat), with ob (over) added
to it. The Oxford English Dictionary documents its first usage in 1611 by Randle Cotgrave.
SYNONYMS:
Synonyms
for Obesity:
Adiposity, Overweight, Corpulence, Stoutness, Bulkiness, Turgidity, Clumsiness
etc.
Synonyms for Obese: Fat, Corpulent, Stout, Clumsy, Chubby,
Adipose etc.
DEFINITION:
·
Obesity
describes a weight of 120% or above.(Medicine for Student)
·
Obesity
is a state of excess adipose tissue mass.(Harrison)
·
Obesity
is usually easily diagnosed using what has been called the eye ball test. “If a person looks fat, the person is
fat.” ( API text book of medicine 7th Ed.)
·
An
abnormal growth of adipose tissue due to an enlargement of fat cell size or an
increase in fat cell number or both is called obesity.(PERK)
·
Obesity
is body weight more than 20% above a desirable standard due to an excessive accumulation
of adipose tissue.
·
Obesity
means excess deposition of fat in the body.(Gyton)
·
BMI
between 25 and 29.9 kg/m2 is called overweight and a BMI greater than 30 kg/m2
is called obese.
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1 comments:
Click here for commentsVery nice information thank you
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