Intro

We need to help Obese people in nz. Did you know 32% of new zealanders over the age of 15 were obese in 2015/2016. More than 1 in 20 people are extremely obese, that’s 6.3% of our population. As you can possibly tell by these numbers obesity is a very large problem here in new zealand and people with obesity need to be helped. Today I will be speaking to you about where nz sits compared to other countries, what we can do to help the people with obesity and how it affects the body.

Main:

I agree that being third in the world behind Mexico and U.S.A for people over the age of 15 being obese has a really negative look on us. And that’s also not very good considering the size of our country. Another point is that 32% of new zealanders overall are overweight or obese. Also our neighbor australia sits in 5th place with 27.9% people being obese. New zealand has been tracking its obesity levels since 1997. During this year we had a total of 6%  maori males being extremely obese, and just 3% of maori females being extremely obese. However in 2003 there was 6.7% males extremely obese and a huge incline from 3% to 7.8% females being obese in NZ. I believe that we can definitely change the ranking that we are sitting at right now. By doing this we could help people when they are young. What I am saying is that we could give them proper diets and encourage them more to play sport and do exercise. I personally agree that this is a great recommendation for the people that have children and for the people that are overweight or know someone who is overweight.

Main:

The second point about obesity that I will be speaking to you about is how we can help people avoid obesity. Firstly I will recommend how to keep younger people away from obesity. It is essential for children under the age of 5 to get exercise into their daily routines. For example they need to do active activities like running, jumping or swimming. For children a little older it is still very important to get a large dose of physical activities in a day. This is because they need to get strong bones and muscles for when they grow up. Otherwise the children will struggle to stay fit when they get older. Also they have a much lower chance of having a cardiovascular disease such as a heart attack, stroke or diabetes.I personally agree that this is a great recommendation for the people that have children and for the people that are overweight or know someone who is overweight. If some of you are wondering how to measure if you are obese or not, all you need to know is your weight and height. It is a very simple process and it goes in only 2 steps. Firstly you get your weight, in kgs, and divide it by your height in meters, then simply just divide that number by your height again. If you get a number that is in between 18.5 and 25, then you have a healthy weight. If you sit in between 25 and 30, then you are overweight however if you are sitting over 30 then you are considered obese. This number that you get is called your BMI which stands for Body Mass Index. Obese people which have their BMI being 30 plus, their lifespan will be dramatically dropped by 5 years however people with a BMI from 40 plus, it is said that their lifespan is dropped by 10 years. Now that is a long time, don’t you think.

Main:

My third point that I will be speaking to you about, is how obesity affects the body. Like I said before when I explained that if someone is unfit or is overweight then they have a much higher chance of having a cardiovascular disease. It is quite common if you are obese to have a high blood pressure or diabetes along with the other 48 possible problems that a single person can gather. This is because of the fact that obesity can lead to psychological and physical problems, Some psychological factors may include anxiety, depression or eating disorders. Also some physical effects could include at least 20 different types of cancer, arthritis, kidney disease and much more. My opinion on this is that people should just go out and get some exercise into their bodys. I believe this because it’s not worth taking the risk of gathering cancer or having a weak heart.

Conclusion:

Today I spoke to you about how bad obesity is in NZ. I hope my point got through that we have a serious problem and it needs to be dealt with. I personally believe we can do much better than what we are doing now and I hope you are with me. I also wish you know how NZ has accomplished such a negative thing and now we sit third in the world for it. Considering we sit 76th in the world for the size of our country that is not very impressive. I really hope you have picked up my point and you now know the major problem we are facing in NZ. So thanks for listening to my speech and I hope you change your look on obesity in NZ.

MItchell Evans.