Obesity–When Will It End?

The information below is not necessarily new but because of its importance bears repeating. Obesity is a worldwide problem and in some cases is more serious than malnutrition. A change of lifestyle and eating the wrong foods contribute to being overweight. The problem exists in both developed and developing nations and has grown to be a global epidemic. The figures have reached one billion with about 300 million classified as clinically obese. There are more than one billion overweight adults in the world, and at least 300 million of them are clinically obese. One of the problems is that very little is known about what causes obesity. In addition information about consequences and remedies is also somewhat lacking . What is known is that the U.S. has the highest number of obese people followed by Mexico, the UK and Australia. The lowest percentages are in Japan and Korea. There has been tremendous growth of obesity during the 1990s in the U.S. and experts feel that it will increase further. The problem, sadly, also affects children. Multiple studies have shown that obese children are likely to become obese adults. The problem is not only one of health but also economic. Studies have shown that obese people have lower employment rates. Medical problems cause health costs to rise. These are costs related to obesity causing many diseases such as cancer, stroke, diabetes, heart disease and even depression. Obesity is caused by the difference between calorie intake and usage. There is a difference of opinion as to what is a greater cause. Some argue that the growth of fast food outlets is a major cause. Others feel that it may be due to snacking between meals. Still others feel that the cause may be lack of exercise. Following an evolutionary chain some people feel that the cause may be the increased rate of industrialization and the resulting lack of time by workers. This brings about an increase to ”grab some food” from a fast food outlet instead of taking the time to prepare a home cooked meal. Some research has shown that Hispanics and black people have a higher incidence of obesity than wealthier and more educated people have. All in all this shows that the problem is complex and it would be difficult to pinpoint a particular reason for obesity. There are more statistics available and there is a myriad of advice as to how to counteract the problem. Those that are interested can certainly avail themselves of this information. As stated, one of the direct results of obesity is the increased possibility of getting a stroke. This debilitating disease usually results in at least a partial paralysis of an arm or leg or both. When that occurs and the initial medical attention is completed a system of physical rehabilitation is instituted to try to return full use of the limb to a pre stroke status. When that occurs it behooves the patient to be able to make use of the most efficient physical therapy solutions. Such a solution is the TUTOR system. Consisting of the HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR these devices afford the patient a state of the art exercise program. The TUTORs are comfortable and ergonomically designed gloves and braces that are placed startegically on the affected limb. The dedicated and exclusive software that is used consists of specially designed games that allow the patient to maximize his own efforts (rather than a robot’s efforts). The physical and occupational therapists assigned to that patient can tailor make a specific exercise program that is designed for that particular patient. The TUTORs are currently in successful use in leading U.S. and European hospitals and clinics. They are fully certified by the FDA and CE and are available for children as well as adults. In addition they can be used in the patient’s home through the use of telerehabilitation. See WWW.MEDITOUCH.CO.IL for more information.