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What is obesity?

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Doctors check how much people weigh and how tall they are

The word obesity means being so overweight that it's bad for your health.

Doctors work out if a person is obese by looking at how tall they are and how much they weigh.

Why is it a problem?

Almost a third of children aged 2 to 15 are overweight or obese. Doctors are really worried about how this might affect children's health when they're older.

People can put on weight if they eat a lot more calories than their bodies need, and don't burn it off through exercise.

Also, experts say portion sizes have got bigger, fast food is available everywhere and kids are encouraged to buy high fat and high sugar products through adverts.

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Almost a third of children aged 2 to 15 are overweight or obese.

How do you become obese?

Food is a fuel and everyone needs to eat to get energy. But you have to look at what's in your food.

All food and drink except water contains calories. If you eat more calories than you need then the calories which aren't used the body stores as fat.

If you eat loads of extra calories you should try and do some exercise to burn off that energy before it turns to fat.

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Image caption,

If you eat more food than your body needs, it turns into fat

How does it affect your health?

Being obese can be very dangerous to your health and doctors say that if you're overweight as a child you're likely to be overweight as an adult.

It's linked to heart disease, cancer, strokes, high blood pressure and weak bones.

It can also lead to emotional problems like being bullied and feeling down.

What's being done about the problem?

Experts say you should enjoy your food but be careful about what you eat and remember to keep active.

The government is trying to make sure we know what's in our food, so we can make healthier choices.

Some vending machines in schools have been emptied and replaced with healthier options.

And some unhealthier food and drinks cost a bit more, a so called sugar tax was introduced in 2018 - to encourage people to make a different choice.