UNDER THE MICROSCOPE

Pardon me if I’m politically incorrect when discussing obesity, but there are no ifs and buts about being overweight. No matter how you say it — fat, overweight, plump, ample, chubby, tubby, big, or plus-size — being over your ideal weight for height has health implications. No amount of sugarcoating will erase the established health hazards of being pathologically overweight. It is dangerous to health, well-being, and longevity. Ironically, in a women’s magazine poll on how their readers feel about the term “plus-size,” it was viewed with negative connotations by 56 percent of respondents. The term that received the most acceptance, at 74 percent, was “healthy.” Excuse me, but there’s nothing healthy about being obese. The WHO defines overweight as having a body mass index (BMI) of greater than or equal to 25, and obese as a BMI greater than or equal to 30. BMI is defined as a person’s weight in kilograms divided by the square of their height in meters. A 2022 survey showed that 27 million Filipinos are overweight or obese. Among adolescents, the prevalence of overweight and obesity increased from 4.9 percent in 2003 to 11.6 percent in 2018. This is consonant with the declaration of an obesity pandemic by the WHO in 1997. Overweight/obese persons are likely to die earlier than expected; to be hypertensive or diabetic; to have higher rates of heart disease, stroke, gall bladder disease, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, mental illness, body pain, difficulty with physical functioning, and a lower quality of life. To top it all, they are more prone to a variety of cancers, including endometrial (seven times more likely), esophageal (4.8 times), gastric, liver, and kidney (two times), and slightly higher than normal for other cancers. The fundamental cause of obesity is an excess of calories consumed over calories expended. Simply put, if you eat and drink too much and do not do an equivalent amount of physical activity, you will grow fat and obese. Our present-day lifestyle is much more conducive to being overweight, with a surfeit of calorie-dense foods, primarily loaded with sugar, and a sedentary lifestyle, aggravated by the technological revolution that keeps us glued to our TV screens, cellphones, and computers. Even children are now addicted to computer games instead of playing with their peers. The increased isolation also drives the overconsumption of highly processed junk foods like flavored drinks, potato chips, candies, cup noodles, and baked goods. In addition, we have a problem with overpriced natural foods, while a majority are earning minimum wages, which makes it harder for them to have a healthy diet. Most Filipinos resort to eating more rice to satisfy their hunger, since protein sources are too expensive for their budgets. It is not enough to declare that no Filipino should go hungry. There must be measures to ensure that all are properly nourished and not just given empty calories to fill stomachs. Our food manufacturers must dial down the caloric content of processed foods voluntarily and if not, should be mandated by government to do so. Fresh foods should be sold at affordable prices, but for this to happen, government may have to subsidize farmers and fishermen, and ensure their produce is marketed at a reasonable price by eliminating middlemen and improving farm-to-market access. At the individual level, we can take steps to promote healthy eating habits. A basic measure is to eat only the amount of food that meets your basal metabolic rate (BMR). If your BMR is 1,500 calories, then eat less than that to lose weight. Otherwise, eating more will make you gain weight. On the other side of the equation, we should endeavor to be more active in our daily lives. Just moving around the house doing chores like sweeping floors, washing dishes, gardening, cooking, feeding and exercising pets, and cleaning will expend many calories, especially if you live in a multilevel house, since climbing stairs is an effective exercise. Be on your feet for some time during the day, and your leg muscles (biggest in the body) will burn more calories. Take up a sport. Jog, run, swim, play tennis, badminton, basketball, or whatever your former passion was in your younger years, as long as it is safe and appropriate for your age. Or you can do body-weight exercises, weight training, yoga, or tai chi. Slimming down will definitely have a good effect on the psyche as well as on one’s physical health. Despite the current insistence on acceptance of overweight as something normal, most obese people have a poor body image of themselves, and losing weight improves their self-image and confidence. We owe it to ourselves and to society to be at our healthiest best. The increased morbidity brought about by obesity impacts on our health system, which has to deal with the many diseases brought about by the obesity pandemic.