Azernews.Az

By Amina Nazarli

Curvy shape, which once delighted many, now is becoming not only old fashioned, but a source of danger for health. Over nutrition, unhealthy food and way of life, as well as many other unpleasant factors taken together are considered to be the very catalyst for overweight.

The figures provided by the World Health Organization, an international health watch, are alarming. The organization, which in its latest report recorded more than one billion people are overweight in the world, makes a special emphasis on the problem calling the nations to prevent this unhealthy trend.

Is that so dangerous?

Modern science has shown a direct correlation of overweight and development of a wide range of serious diseases. No other disease strikes people as often as obesity and the latest estimation of the World Health Organization recorded that.

This is a problem for many, regardless of the social and professional affiliation, living area, age and sex. In economically developed countries, almost 50 percent of the population is overweight, and 30 percent of which are obese.

The statistics shows that obesity is getting younger and younger in Azerbaijan. So, in 2015, some 586 children registered as suffered from overweight in Azerbaijan and that means 23 per 100,000 children.

In 2016, however, the rate increased later to reach 51 per 100,000 children.

in 2015 the amount of girls suffering of obesity made up 48.6 percent and boys constituted at 53.2 percent.

Some 66.8 percent of these girls were under 13 years old, while 33.2 percent were at the age of from 14 to 17. Among boys, in turn, the figure was 65.1 percent and 34.9 percent respectively in 2015.

Dietitian Nargiz Nazirova said that if earlier mainly middle-aged people used to suffer of obesity, then now the disease is getting "younger".

The specialist believes that like all diseases, obesity has rejuvenated.

"The main reason is consumption of unhealthy food, beverages and products and stationary lifestyle. First of all internal organs begin to be covered with fat. As a result, problems with spine, protrusion, hernia, varicose veins occur. Overweight brings a lot of problems," she said.

This is the fact that eating right can help one maintain a healthy weight and avoid certain health problems. Eating more fresh fruits and vegetables, cooking meals at home, and reducing your intake of sugar and refined carbohydrates may help to improve mood and lower your risk for several health problems.

Doctors claim that key to any healthy diet is moderation. But what is moderation? In essence, it means eating only as much food as your body needs. You should feel satisfied at the end of a meal, but not stuffed. Moderation is also about balance. Despite what fad diets would have you believe, we all need a balance of protein, fat, fiber, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals to sustain a healthy body.

Childhood obesity is a consequence of malnutrition or lack of proper nutrition (wrong nutrition), says Health Ministry’s chief pediatrician Nasib Guliyev, stressing that parents should not allow their child to gain weight.

Guliyev said that parents should be aware that the problem of obesity must be addressed at an early age.

"It is better to give up chips, potato fries, and fast food. Therefore, it is necessary to stick to a balanced diet, not to limit child's physical activity. The child must move more, and not to sit at the computer or watching TV for hours," he recommended.

Children’s modern lifestyle with numerous attractive technological “toys” and passive lifestyle is also a straight road to obesity. If before the up-to-date devices, children spent all their free time running in the yard and playing various active games, then now many children sit at home all day, immersed in tablets, phones, computer screens and TV-sets.

Indeed, plenty of sweets and fast food and sitting in front of computer are the main causes of obesity. But, childhood obesity is not primarily be a result of malnutrition. Sometimes it causes by genetic predisposition. That’s why before fighting against obesity, one needs to figure out the cause of the undesirable problem -- the overweight may be related to a hereditary factor as well. If parents are overweight, then there is high probability for a child to inherit it genetically.

In Azerbaijan, the problem of excess weight is typical and relevant for adults as well.

The research carried out by Azerbaijan Health Ministry revealed that about 60 percent of the population is excess weight. A total of 35.8 percent of them are overweight, while 21.9 percent suffer of obesity.

The results of the survey revealed that the number of women who suffer from obesity, much more than men.
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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

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