Questions about health

Globally, there are more than 1 billion overweight adults, at least 300 million of them obese.

1. What causes obesity?
The Alabama group puts forth these 10 "additional explanations" for obesity:

1. Sleep debt. Getting too little sleep can increase body weight. Today's Americans get less shut-eye than ever.

2. Pollution. Hormones control body weight. And many of today’s pollutants affect our hormones.

3. Air conditioning. You have to burn calories if your environment is too hot or too cold for comfort. But more people than ever live and work in temperature-controlled homes and offices.

4. Decreased smoking. Smoking reduces weight. Americans smoke much less than they used to.

5. Medicine. Many different drugs — including contraceptives, steroid hormones, diabetes drugs, some antidepressants, and blood pressure drugs — can cause weight gain. Use of these drugs is on the upswing.

6. Population age, ethnicity. Middle-aged people and Hispanic-Americans tend to be more obese than young European-Americans. Americans are getting older and more Hispanic.

7. Older moms. There's some evidence that the older a woman is when she gives birth, the higher her child's risk of obesity. American women are giving birth at older and older ages.

8. Ancestors' environment. Some influences may go back two generations. Environmental changes that made a grandparent obese may "through a fetally driven positive feedback loop" visit obesity on the grandchildren.

9. Obesity linked to fertility. There's some evidence obese people are more fertile than lean ones. If obesity has a genetic component, the percentage of obese people in the population should increase.

10. Unions of obese spouses. Obese women tend to marry obese men. If there are fewer thin people around — and if obesity has a genetic component — there will be still more obese people in the next generation.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/06/27/health/webmd/main1757772.shtml

2. What is the definition of health?
a healthy state of wellbeing free from disease; "physicians should be held responsible for the health of their patients"
the general condition of body and mind; "his delicate health"; "in poor health"
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

3. What is the definition of mental health?
Mental health is a term used to describe either a level of cognitive or emotional wellbeing or an absence of a mental disorder.About.com (2006, July 25)

4. What is the definition of physical health?
concerns with the fitness of the body
www.geocities.com/jtiongco_99_2000/NCM101CM/cm_lec2_concept_of_health_and_illness.doc

5. How do our models compare to average americans?
"The average model weighs 23% less than the average woman. Maintaining a weight that is 15% below your expected body weight fits the criteria for anorexia, so most models, according to medical standards, fit into the category of being anorexic. "
http://www.mirror-mirror.org/society.htm

6. How do you improve your health?
Examples of steps to improve one's health:

Physical fitness
Weight loss
A healthy diet
Stress management training
Stopping smoking and other substance abuse

http://www.win-back-your-good-health.com/definition-of-physical-health.html

7. How is America's health care?
The US ranked last in most areas, including access to health care, patient safety, timeliness of care, efficiency and equity. Americans were also last in terms of whether they had a regular physician.45 million Americans, or 15 percent of the US population, have no health insurance, which contributes to the country's medical woes.
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/05/15/1198