Obesity more than heredity problem

Editor's note: This is the first in a three-part series about obesity. This story focuses on the disease and its causes.

With spring break just days away, those extra holiday pounds are becoming quite a nuisance for some. But for people who are not just a little overweight -- the clinically obese -- losing that extra weight can be a life or death situation.

Obesity has become a problem of national importance. More than one-third of the adult population of the United States exceeds their ideal body weight by at least 20 percent, according to an article written by Dr. Walter J. Pories in The Textbook of Surgery. Of these people, Pories said, at least 12 million are considered to be morbidly obese, or exceeding their ideal body weight by 100 pounds or more.

"A person's ideal body weight can be figured out by, for a man, taking 106 pounds for the first 5 feet and then 6 pounds for every inch after that; and for a woman, 100 pounds for the first 5 feet and 5 pounds for every inch after that," he said.

Pruchnic added these calculations are for insurance physicals and other official programs.

To come up with a reasonable range for an ideal weight, Melissa Martilotta, a clinical nutrition instructor and director of the Nutrition Clinic at the University, suggests adding a few pounds to the end calculation.

"You take ten percent of your ideal body weight, add it to the ideal and subtract it to give yourself a range," she said. "Our standards need to be re-evaluated because these calculations do not hold true for most of Americans."

And while there are many factors that contribute to obesity, heredity is not usually a big factor, Pruchnic said.

"There are heredity patterns, but people can get past that by diet and exercises," he said. "People from obese families can have larger fat cells, but it doesn't predetermine their weight."

Although heredity has not been found to be a common factor in obesity, Martilotta said a child born into a heavier family may have more trouble with extra weight. Most students she sees admit to having at least one parent who is overweight.

The causes for obesity fall in a wide range, said Carrie Wharton, a student counselor for HealthWorks. Among them are environmental, physiological and behavioral causes, Wharton said.

Martilotta said she believes the greatest cause for obesity is a combination of environmental and physiological factors. This also includes the problem of lack of exercise.

"This is the No. 1 problem in children, they aren't as active as they used to be," she said. "You just don't see kids going out and riding their bikes after school anymore."