Tag Archives: obesity

Who’s the WHO (World Health Organization)?

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The global watchdog of the Earth’s wellbeing
Rahman Mohamed

With images of Syrian refugees living in extreme conditions, many Canadians are thanking their condition and thinking how to improve their situation.  They are trying to find the best meal.

Syrians in refugee camps are thinking more about where to sleep, how to keep their teeth clean, how to survive getting old, even though they will (hopefully) turn 45 at some point and thinking about the health of friends and family who’ve been taken prisoner and children in refugee camps.  There have been many fundraisers to help Syrian refugees.  To make sure the funds raised are used for most necessary health products there’s a UN body to oversee: the WHO (World Health Organization).

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Bad Air, Bad Health

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The effects of pollution on health and how it can be avoided
Rahman Mohamed

Today global attention is focused on war and international relations.  But on November 20 CBC reported that a study by the McKinsey Global Institute revealed that obesity is costing the world’s economy almost $2 trillion, “nearly as much as smoking or the combined impact of armed violence, war and terrorism”.  According to The Guardian obesity costs the United Kingdom £47 billion a year, more than armed violence, and terrorism, but second in cost to smoking.

Factors for obesity include an unhealthy diet and lack of physical exercise.  In an article published 10 November, WebMD reported that in addition to lung cancer air pollution plays a role in many more health problems than lung cancer and can be just as bad as obesity.

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Inside Obesity; More than Extreme Overweight

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Not just a big belly; an epidemic that has friends
Rahman Mohamed

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2008 more than 1.4 billion adults on Earth over the age of 20 were overweight; over 500 million of them were obese.  In 2011 more than 40 million children under age 5 were overweight.  That means that those who overweight had a Body Mass Index (BMI) more than 25, while those who were obese had a BMI over 30 (weight divided by height squared in metric – kg/m2).

What does obesity do to you?

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