What Is Obesity?

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What Is Obesity

Carrying extra pounds doesn’t affect just your clothing size or the number on the scale. Obesity affects your entire body—your heart, joints, even the blood flowing through your veins. You may be surprised to learn of these obesity-related health problems.

Obesity is a complex disease involving an excessive amount of body fat. Obesity isn’t just a cosmetic concern! It is a medical problem that increases your risk of other diseases and health problems, such as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and certain cancers.

There are many reasons why some people have difficulty avoiding obesity. Usually, obesity results from a combination of inherited factors, combined with the environment and personal diet and exercise choices.

Read More About the Growing Health Risks Caused by Obesity here!

The good news is that even modest weight loss can improve or prevent the health problems associated with obesity. Dietary changes, increased physical activity, and behavior changes can help you lose weight. Prescription medications and weight-loss procedures are additional options for treating obesity.

Obesity is diagnosed when your body mass index (BMI) is 30 or higher. BMI provides a reasonable estimate of body fat. However, BMI doesn’t directly measure body fat, so some people, such as muscular athletes, may have a BMI in the obesity category even though they don’t have excess body fat. Although there are genetic, behavioral, metabolic, and hormonal influences on body weight, obesity occurs when you take in more calories than you burn through exercise and normal daily activities. Your body stores these excess calories as fat.

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Most diets are too high in calories — often from fast food and high-calorie beverages. People with obesity might eat more calories before feeling full, feel hungry sooner, or eat more due to stress or anxiety. A diet that’s high in calories lacking in fruits and vegetables, full of fast food, and laden with high-calorie beverages and oversized portions contributes to weight gain.

People can drink many calories without feeling full, especially calories from alcohol. Other high-calorie beverages, such as sugared soft drinks, can contribute to significant weight gain. If you have a sedentary lifestyle, you can easily take in more calories every day than you burn through exercise and routine daily activities. Looking at computer, tablet and phone screens is a sedentary activity. The number of hours you spend in front of a screen is highly associated with weight gain.

Obesity can affect the way your body uses insulin to control blood sugar levels. This raises your risk of insulin resistance and diabetes. Obesity may increase your risk of cancer of the uterus, cervix, endometrium, ovary, breast, colon, rectum, esophagus, liver, gallbladder, pancreas, kidney, and prostate. It increases the likelihood that you’ll develop heartburn, gallbladder disease, and liver problems.

Obesity may cause infertility and irregular periods in women. Obesity also can cause erectile dysfunction in men. People with obesity are more likely to have sleep apnea, a potentially dangerous disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep. Obesity also increases the stress placed on weight-bearing joints, in addition to promoting inflammation within the body. These factors may lead to complications such as osteoarthritis.

Obesity in adults often has its roots in childhood. In the developed world, obesity in children is growing at a frighteningly fast rate. There are more obese children now than ever before! It is very important to a child’s health to start good eating habits at a young age!

Until Next Time,

Team Doctor ASKY!

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