Obesity and Physical Activity

An Indiana University study revealed the fact that the white women have the highest chances of preventing obesity through exercise than any other persons. More than 12,000 people with ages ranging from 20 to 64 have been involved in the study. Dong-Chul Seo, who is an expert in obesity, observed that the obesity levels declines as the leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) increased. However it has been discovered that the highest decrease in obesity level was present in the case of the white women; it seemed that the physical exercising did wonders in their case.

The situation was different for the Hispanic and African-American men and women, as they did not lose as much weight as the white women. Seo, associate professor in the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation’s Department of Applied Health Science, stated that for many years it was believed that the physical exercises are the best method of preventing obesity. It was believed that the people who performed lots of physical activities had very little chances of becoming obese. Seo stated that the belief is partially true, because the physical exercises are required in order to prevent obesity, but they are mostly effective in the case of the white women and in the case of some white men.

He investigated the problem further, and he discovered that the job-related activities might have a lot to do with obesity than it was previously believed. The studies revealed the fact that both Hispanic men and women are more likely to have more manually demanding jobs than the white women, and as a result the amount of LTPA they accumulate is higher. In the case of the Hispanic women, their obesity rates dropped as they increased their physical activity at work. That was not effective in the case of the men. Seo said that the importance of physical activity at the working place is obvious, and he believes that the companies should offer wellness programs especially in the case of the people who have a sedentary job.

He said that the companies should offer their employees gym memberships, or swimming pool ones, or that they could even built a gym inside the building. He believes that that would make a huge difference, and it would make life much better for the ones who work at those companies. A body mass index of over 30 was considered to be obese. The BMI can be analyzed from six different points of views. In the case of the women who did not have a LTPA in the past month, 41 percent of them were obese. The women who had light activities of LTPA, and as a result they fell short of minimum national guidelines, 39.1 percent of them were obese. In the case of the women who met the national guidelines, 31 percent of them were obese. In the case of the women who exceeded the national guidelines, 28 percent were obese and 23.4 percent for the overachievers. Only 19.5 percent of the women who were extremely active were obese.

The percentages are different in the case of the Hispanic and African-American women. In the first category, the Hispanic and African-American women were 41.5 percent and 51 percent obese, in the second one 45.4 percent and 55.4 percent, in the third one 34.5 percent and 50 percent, in the fourth one 33.8 percent and 44.5 percent, in the fifth one 38.5 percent and 46, and in the sixth one 41.6 and 38.1 percent.

The situation was different in the case of the men as well. Their Body Mass Indexes were 31.4 percent, 29.5 percent, 29.8 percent, 27.9 percent, 26.7 percent, and 26.9 percent. The study was conducted over the course of 7 years, and it also kept track of the metabolic equivalents of the patients. The national guidelines state that one person should perform at least 450-750 MET minutes per week. The MET is a way of measuring the activity of a person, regardless of the form. For example running is 300 MET, whereas walking is 100 MET.

On another note, it has been stated that the physical activity has little or no importance when it comes to obesity in the case of children. EarlyBird Diabetes Study examined children from various schools over the course of 11 years, and they have discovered that the physical activity in the case of children can lead to a loss of 90 grams, which is basically insignificant. It is known that the children who are less active are fatter, but the relationship between obesity and inactivity is different than it was believed. Inactivity does not lead to obesity, but obesity leads to inactivity. It is not fully known how these two affect each other, as the scientists do not know which of them occur first.

They do not know if the physical activity of the child will increase its chances of obesity, or if the obesity changes the level of physical activity which one performs. They found out the answer, and that is that the physical activity has no relevance with the child’s fatness, and that obesity can influence the physical activity a lot. The scientists say that the situation is very complicated, and that it can lead to very hard consequences. The child gets fatter, he stops exercising, and then he gets fatter, and fatter, until he puts his live in danger. Because of this, the scientists believe that the only way of preventing obesity in the case of children, is to monitor what they eat, and how much they eat. Diet plays a huge role when it comes to losing weight and staying active. EarlyBird proved that the obesity can be predicted early in life, before the children go to school.11