This webpage was created by the students in 2002 as they carried out their project. It is in their own words although I've had to change some of the arrangements as it has moved from site to site over the years.
Weir Students at the University of Mississippi Medical Center--
Spring, 2002
Weir Attendance Center
Obesity Project
(Ben Henson)
How to tell when you are obese:
Obesity occurs in people naturally when they don’t take care of themselves. When you start eating the wrong foods and not exercising, then your body starts to change and you begin to get out of shape. You can tell when you are obese if you begin to have trouble breathing, you are hot and sweaty all of the time, you begin to gain weight quickly, or your body gets out of shape. Those are just a few of the things that are characteristics of obesity. Taking in a lot of calories is the main thing that deals with getting overweight. If you have a high blood pressure or if you take in more calories than you are losing, then you most likely will lead up to being obese. When you have a high Body Mass Index (BMI), high cholesterol level, high body fat, high white count, and other things like that, then you are obese. (Frankie Jobe)
What you can do about it when you are obese (food and exercise links):
Whether you gain or lose weight is determined by a balance of calories that you eat and calories that you use in your daily activities. If you eat more calories than you use, you'll gain weight. If you use more calories than you eat, you'll lose weight.
Discover how many calories are in the food at your favorite restaurants.
Reports on our project
Kelbie Nesbitt
Obesity
I really enjoyed doing this project. Mostly because we got to get on the computers instead of the books for 2-3 weeks. Also because I learned alot about the effects and risks of being obese too. Here is some of the information I aquired during this assignment.
During this project I learned that obesity has risen at an epidemic rate during the past 20 yrs. In the year 2000, the cost of obesity in the US was more than $117 billion. I also found out that some cancer forms are caused by obesity. In Mississippi alone 26.5% of the adult population is obese. About 15% of children are overweight. The leading state in the US for obese people is Mississippi. When a person is obese it is defined as an excessively high amount of body fat or adipose tissue in relation to lean body mass. Obesity is not only a risk for cancer it also puts you at risk for other kinds of illnesses like diabetes, stroke, coronary artery disease, hypertension, high chloresteral, and kidney and gallbladder disorder.
I hope that later in the year we will have a chance to do another project similar to this one because I really enjoyed it. It was both fun and educational and I don’t think you can get any better than that.
April Edwards
Obesity
I have learned alot about obesity during these first two weeks of school. I learned that to stay alive you have to take in more calories than you burn. I learned that a males limit of body fat percentage is not to go over 25%, but a women's limit is 30%. I learned through some of the research that we have done is that most of peoples fat is located around your waist and abdomen. Another thing is that if you are suffering from obesity then you will probably experience many other problems such as: high blood cholesterol, dibesity, and heart failure. For many people, extra body weight places a great deal of stress on bones.
One other thing I have learned was the amount of calories in certain foods. I didn’t know that the things I eat could possibly contain so many things that could lead to obesity. But now I definitely have realized that we all should watch what we eat. I think this program should go world wide, because I feel that people should be aware of the problems and consequences that would come if you didn’t know how many calories they were consuming.
Also, by doing this program I know I will be able to keep up with my weight so that I can prevent obesity from happening to me. I have also been made aware that Mississippi is one of the lead products in obesity, and I am pretty sure its because of fast foods. Jackson is one of the major cities enriched with obesity. And there are lots of other cities, mainly the big ones that certainly play a major part in obesity.
Overall I think this program is a great opportunity for everyone to learnt about obesity, the problems that comes with it, and how to look out fro some of the main risk factors. I really do believe that we should get this program spread out everywhere because maybe(just maybe) we could effect the lives of some of those who really need to know. I think maybe if people knew what they were getting themselves into (like I do now) then they would be more cautious as of what they eat.
Heather Box/Ben Henson
Weir Students Study Obesity
Weir Biology, Physics and Algebra II students each went through two week obesity modules the first two weeks of school where, with the aid of technology, they studied, researched, and presented information on the dangers of obesity to health. Students learned a lot of helpful information and found that obesity is one the major problems in our nation today and especially in our state. Obesity can cause many problems unless controlled. There has been an alarming increase in asthma and in Type 2 diabetes among children. Overweight people are more than likely to develop other health problems as well. Heart disease and stroke are the leading causes of death and disability for both men and women in the United States. It has been found that 40 percent of Mississippians are overweight. It was also proven that 31 percent of America’s teenagers are overweight. Obesity can be controlled by eating better and exercise. Whether you are trying to lose or maintain your weight, you should take a look at your eating and exercise habits, and try to improve them.
Forty Weir students traveled to Jackson in the March to visit the Medical Center. There the students had many tests done. The students had blood pressure, body mass, blood tests, and percent body fat taken to show if they were obese. With the information, the students learned how to maintain good health and manage their weight.
Students returned to Jackson a month later to record the number of obese and average sized people at certain locations. This information was compiled and used in their presentations. The locations were as follows: The Agriculture Museum, Science Museum, and the zoo. The students also ate at two different types of places that day to do additional research. Some students ate fast food at Subway, and the others ate at Red Lobster, a more expensive place. The students enjoyed a day filled with fun, and learned the risks concerning obesity in Mississippi.
In May, students presented their obesity study findings to a large group of students and adults in the Weir Attendance Center auditorium.
The audience was informed of ways to tell if they were obese, the dangers of obesity and ways to prevent obesity. The information was presented by students with the aid of technology such as videos and a Powerpoint presentation.
Students also have created a web page which will soon be linked to the Weir Attendance Center web site located on the Choctaw County Public School District web site at http//:www.choctaw.k12.ms.us/ [presently found on yockanookany.com/files] for the purpose of educating the public on the dangers of obesity.
The students appreciate Mrs. Wright, Mrs. Black, and Dr, Coleman for their hard work, and the time they spent helping develop this learning experience. We would also like to especially thank Dr. Coleman for getting the grants for this project. They were from the Mississippi Title VI Rural and Low-Income School Grant which enabled us to purchase $37,140.00 worth of technology and other computer equipment for this project. She also received a $2000.00 Innovation Grant from the National Education Association for student travel, software, and supplies related to this project.
Mekel Dotson
Obesity
I enjoyed doing the obesity study. It showed us alot of important things. Some things that I learned were real news that shocked me. I never knew that women only had a certain amount of body fat to gain before they were considered as obese. I didn’t know that obesity is defined as an excessively high amount of body fat. It’s also a adipose tissue in relation to lean body mass.
Obesity is also defined as body mass index (BMI) greater than 30%fat in women and 25% fat in men. About 15% of children and adolescents are now overweight in the United States. Did you know that researches have found a link between obesity and periodontal disease? Also, 76% of indidivuals are at higher risk of getting periodontal disease at the ages between 18-34 than a normal group of people. I found out this was true because they eat less raw fruit and non-citrus juices.
Some more things that I found about obesity and periodontal disease were very over whelming to me also. Some studies mention other reasons including stigma associated with obesity in younger adults that links obesity and periodontal disease. Another thing I found out is cancer forms are caused by obesity. A better diet and exercise could reduce cancer 30-40%. Adult diabetes is expected to rise to 22 million by the year of 2025. 16 million are affected with diabetes today.
Premature deaths in the United States are a result of poor nutrition and physical inactivity. I also learned that Mississippi leads the United States in obesity. About 27% of Mississippi adult population are obese. Did you know that obesity cost our United States $93 billion dollars a year. I didn’t and I thought that it was amazing.
The study of obese was a great topic to talk about. I hope we do more projects this year, because we as young people can learn alot about the world. We also can learn how to better ourselves and the people around us. Now we can help those in our family that are obese and don’t know it. It’s better for them to find out now than to find out later and it be to late. I really enjoyed the study topic.
The group's health numbers at the Medical Center
Did people learn at our Community Presentation?
Pretest/Post test for Weir School Presentation Pre test Post test
1. What should your blood pressure be?
Answer: Less than 140/90 66% 95%
2. What should your blood sugar be?
Answer: Less than 126 34% 79%
3. What should your blood cholesterol be?
Answer: Less than 200 42% 77%
4. What is Body Mass Index (BMI)?
Answer: An assessment of body
fat based on height and weight. 28% 89%
5. What should your BMI be?
Answer: less than 30 14% 58%
less than 25 19% 25%
And a very large PowerPoint Presentation from the Mississippi Medical Center with changes by the students
This project was enabled by the following grants:
Innovation Grant from the National Education Association for student travel, software, and supplies
Mississippi Title VI Rural and Low-Income School Grant for purchase of technology, other multimedia equipment, supplies, and software
Thanks also to:
Division of Hypertension, department of Medicine, University of Mississippi Medical Center
Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Mississiippi Medical Center
University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy