Obesity actually contributes to diseases such as cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, strokes, diabetes, mental illnesses, organ failure and a lot more. Never before have so many people been obese and unless we work together to change this, things are going to get really bad.

It is time for people to get a grip. They need to look in the mirror more often and realize that being obese is not just dangerous for your health, but, put simply, downright ugly!

There has been a dramatic increase in obesity during recent years all over the world. The costs involved is estimated to be in the region of $117 Billion a year with things like visits to the Doctor, medication and of course hospital care.

It is in children that has seen the fastest growth of obesity. If overweight as a child, they are more likely to become an obese adult. Obese teenagers have very low self esteem and this itself stops them from joining in with other activities important for character building at that age.

Most of obese teenagers are depressed which of course leads them to sit at home, watch TV, eat snacks and eventually gain more weight and become even more depressed. These overweight children are twice as likely to suffer from high levels of cholesterol. Even children as young as three years old who are obese can suffer from this.

People who are obese are now three times more likely to suffer from heart disease. So, if you are 20% heavier than your normal weight bare in mind the risks you are putting on your health.

Obesity is responsible for so many premature deaths that something has to be done. The medical costs are rising to help these people, when in truth much of it can simply be avoided by education.

Obesity is a disease or an illness and one we should recognise as we do with Alcoholism or drug addiction. We need more places for people to get help and advice and more information needs to be made public to stop this epidemic from getting out of control. The food shortage the world is suffering from may be avoided if we help obesity now.

Parents need to be more responsible with their kids. Stop them from feeding their mouths full of junk food. Get them help and guidance to prevent them living a life of depression and boredom.

What are you doing to help?