Facts about Obesity

The excess amount of fat in a person’s body is medically known as obesity. This can happen from childhood or at adulthood depending upon the food intake of an individual and the physical activity level. The body requires a certain amount of fat to function effectively for storing energy, insulating the body from heat or absorbing shock etc; a certain amount of fat is harmless to the body. For a woman, this applicable percentage ranges between 25%-30% and for a man it should be between 18%-23%. Excess fat beyond this makes a person obese or overweight.

A person’s obesity can be calculated based on the mass index of a body which is also known as the BMI. BMI is calculated by dividing the weight of a body in kilograms by the height in square meters. It is a ratio between the height and weight of a person. If the BMI is 30 and above then the person is considered to be obese.

Obesity and health risks

Obesity related deaths are on the rise throughout the world with the US alone experiencing approximately 300,000 deaths per year due to obesity. 80% of patients with high BMI have been victims of chronic diseases that lead to death. Some of the diseases/body conditions caused by obesity include:

Diabetes

- Type 2 diabetes generally occurs in persons who have an excess amount of fat around their waist. This is known as central obesity and it affects the shape of the body and increases the production of insulin in the body.

Resistance to Insulin

- A required amount of insulin is necessary for the blood. When the fat cells in the body increase, the muscle and the fat cells begin to reject the insulin reaching them though the pancreas continues to produce insulin. This process can take place for many years until the pancreas are unable to produce high levels of insulin. The glucose level in the body rises making the person a victim to type 2- diabetes.
Other related health risks dur to obesity are heart attacks, hypertension, stroke, gout, cancer, gall stones, sleeplessness.

The causes of Obesity

A person who does not exercise but takes in a lot of food stays obese because the body is unable to metabolize the excess fat and hence it stores it in the body. On the contrary if a person eats a diet with fewer calories than is metabolized, that person loses weight. Thus obesity is a result of overeating and lack of physical activity.

Overeating

This is an obvious factor that can be controlled by the person. Food that is high in sugar and fat like fried foods and sweets should be avoided. These have very high energy density in a small amount of food. Epidemiologically, it has been proved that food rich in fat are sure contributors to weight gain and obesity.

Frequency of eating

The notion that frequent eating causes high cholesterol leading to obesity should be reconsidered. It is not the frequency in eating but the amount of food that is eaten each time. According to the observation of scientists, people who eat small amounts of food four or five times a day are able to stay healthy with low levels of cholesterol, whereas people who eat two or three large meals daily are more prone to have high levels of insulin.

Metabolism

Women have slower metabolism than men since they have lesser muscle mass than men. Owing to this, women have a greater tendency to put on weight quicker than men. With age, the body’s metabolism slows down allowing the body to gain weight. As we get older it is necessary to reduce the daily caloric intake in order to keep the metabolism rate steady.

Genetics

Genetics is a common cause of obesity in many people. If a person’s parents are obese, then it is more likely that the person too will be obese. Genetics affects the hormones that are involved in the regulation of fat. For instance, leptin is one of the many deficiencies that are common. The role of leptin is to send signals to the brain when the body has excess fat, regulating the body to eat less. When this function goes out of control, obesity occurs because of overeating. Currently scientists are exploring the way to replace leptin as a treatment to fight obesity.

Certain medications

Medications that people use to control depression, seizures, diabetes, blood pressure etc. are causes of obesity. They have a reverse action on the body’s metabolism causing the body to gain weight. Use of certain oral contraceptives or corticosteroids like Prednisone are factors of weight gain.

Psychological aspects

Medical reports prove that people who have various emotions like sadness, boredom, anger, stress, depressions tend to eat more during these mood swings. Overweight people experience the same psychological feelings that normal weight people have, but the result is over eating during these times.