According to U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Survey online, the percentage of over weight and obese people hit the %61 mark in the year 1999. Since then it has sadly, gone up even more than that. In the year 2004 it went up %5, and now in the year 2008 it has gone up to somewhere around %89. The ages for this consensus range from 20 year olds and older. Sadly its also prevalent in children as young as two years old. A lot of people seem to confuse the differences between being overweight and being obese so here's a good way to sort it out.

Being overweight refers to the excess of body weight compared to set standards. The excess weight can come from muscle, bone, fat or body water.

Obesity refers specifically to having an abnormally high proportion of body fat.

A person can be overweight with out it being considered obesity, for example body builders or a anyone that's athletically inclined, and has a lot of muscle. This is also common with peoples "frames" and height. If someone is 6'1 and 170, according to the consensus they are not over weight or obese. They are at an acceptable weight because of their height and because of their "frame." For someone else that may be 5'2 and weighs 170lbs they are considered not only over weight but also obese for their type of body and for their height.

Being overweight can be caused by many different attributes, such as limited physical exercise, over eating, poor nutrition, genetics, hormones, eating disorders such as binging and purging, alcoholism and even stress. For example a lot of people that have "desk jobs" don't get to move around a lot during their day at work, so from that alone you can become overweight. Whereas a person with a lot more mobility such as someone involved in a active type of job, or someone that is constantly moving around, they are less susceptible at being over weight or obese.

It makes sense when you really sit down and think about it. Being sedentary or having a sedentary lifestyle can cause your metabolism to slow down. And when it slows down, it doesn't burn the fat and the carbs and all that junk your putting into your body. It sort of just sits there and collects. "A sedentary lifestyle is defined as engaging in no leisure-time physical activity (exercises, sports, physically active hobbies) in a two-week period", this was taken from an article online, it helps you to better identify what sedentary is.

Lots of people try all sorts of ways to lose weight. From dieting fads, to exercise, to eating right, to diet weight loss pills and vitamins. First and foremost I have to say you really should try to exercise and eat right. But if all else fails and you absolutely need to lose weight for health reasons, check out some of the popular diet and weight loss pills/vitamins that you can take.

Take a look at some of the reviews and see what fits best with your daily routine, and also with how much weight you need to lose. There are sites online that are willing to help you by giving you these reviews, information, brochures, and advice, so why not take advantage of them? You can start losing the weight you need to, today!