Obesity
Obesity
is a condition where a person has accumulated so much body fat that it might
have a negative effect on their health.
If a
person's bodyweight is at least 20% higher than it should be, he or she is
considered obese. If your Body Mass Index (BMI) is between 25 and 29.9 you are
considered overweight. If your BMI is 30 or over you are considered obese.
BMI
(Body Mass Index)
The body mass index (BMI) is a statistical measurement derived from your height and weight. Although it is considered to be a useful way to estimate healthy body weight, it does not measure the percentage of body fat. The BMI measurement can sometimes be misleading - a muscleman may have a high BMI but have much less fat than an unfit person whose BMI is lower. However, in general, the BMI measurement can be a useful indicator for the 'average person'.
Cause
Obesity,
however, has many causes. The reasons for the imbalance between calorie intake
and consumption vary by individual. Your age, gender, genes, psychological
makeup, socioeconomic, and environmental factors all may contribute.
Genes:
Your genes may play a role
in efficiency of metabolism and storage and distribution of body fat.
Family
lifestyle: Obesity
tends to run in families. This is caused both by genes and by shared diet and
lifestyle habits. If one of your parents is obese, you have a higher risk of
being obese.
Emotions: Some people overeat because of depression, hopelessness, anger, boredom, and many other reasons that have nothing to do with hunger. This doesn't mean that overweight and obese people have more emotional problems than other people. It just means that their feelings influence their eating habits, causing them to overeat.
Environmental
factors: The most
important environmental factor is lifestyle. Your eating habits and activity
level are partly learned from the people around you. Overeating and sedentary
habits (inactivity) are the most important risk factors for obesity.
Socioeconomic factors: Do you live in a neighborhood where it is save to exercise outdoors? Are there supermarket with fresh foods in your neighborhood?
Sex: Men have more muscle than women, on average. Because muscle burns more calories than other types of tissue, men use more calories than women, even at rest. Thus, women are more likely than men to gain weight with the same calorie intake.
Age:
People tend to lose muscle
and gain fat as they age. Their metabolism also slows somewhat. Both of these
lower their calorie requirements.
Pregnancy: Women tend to weigh an average of
4-6 pounds more after a pregnancy than they did before the pregnancy. This can
compound with each pregnancy.
Risk factors
It's very
important to take steps to tackle obesity because, as well as causing obvious
physical changes, it can lead to a number of serious
and potentially life-threatening conditions, such as:
type 2 diabetes
coronary heart disease
some types of cancer, such as breast
cancer and bowel cancer
stroke
Gallstones
Gout and
gouty arthritis
Osteoarthritis
(degenerative arthritis) of the knees, hips, and the lower back
Sleep
apnea
Insulin
resistance
High
blood pressure (hypertension)
High
cholesterol (hypercholesterolemia)
Obesity
can also affect your quality of life and lead to psychological problems, such as
depression and low self-esteem (see below for more information about the health
problems associated with obesity).
Diagnosis
Obesity
is defined as having a BMI of 30 or more. Body mass index is a rough
calculation of a person’s weight in relation to their height. Other more
accurate measures of body fat and body fat distribution include skinfold thickness, waist-to-hip comparisons, and screening
tests such as ultrasound, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance
imaging (MRI) scans.
Your
doctor may also order certain tests to help diagnose obesity as well as
obesity-related health risks. These may include blood tests to examine
cholesterol and glucose levels, liver function tests, diabetes screen, thyroid
tests, and heart tests, such as an electrocardiogram. A measurement of the fat
around your waist is also a good predictor of risk for obesity-related
diseases.
Treatment
The goal
of obesity treatment is to reach and stay at a healthy weight. You may need to
work with a team of health professionals — including a dietitian, behavior
counselor or an obesity specialist — to help you understand and make changes in
your eating and activity habits.
The
initial treatment goal is usually a modest weight loss — 3 to 5 percent of your
total weight. That means that if you weigh 200 pounds (91 kg) and are obese by
BMI standards, you would need to lose only about 6 to 10 pounds (2.7 to 4.5 kg)
for your health to begin to improve. However, the more weight you lose, the
greater the benefits. All weight-loss
programs require changes in your eating habits and increased physical activity.
The treatment methods that are right for you depend on your level of obesity,
your overall health and your willingness to participate in your weight-loss
plan.
Other
treatment tools include:
Dietary
changes
Exercise
and activity
Behavior
change
Prescription
weight-loss medications
Weight-loss
surgery
Avoid foods
Soda And Soft Drinks
Sugar And Fructose Corn Syrup
Fruit
Juices
Unsaturated
Fats
Artificial
Sweeteners
Fried And Grilled Foods
Processed
Food Items
Foods
Prepared In Seeds And Vegetable Oils
Gluten
Rich Whole Grains