When your body gains too much mass. It is defined as obesity. For adults, a BMI of 30 or higher is considered an obesity marker. A morbid/severe obesity is when the BMI becomes 40 or more. This blog explains about the obesity,...
Obesity is established when too much body fat is accumulated. Not just esthetically, obesity affects individuals' medical health as well. It can cause heart diseases, high blood pressure, liver diseases, high cholesterol, sleep apnea, diabetes and other diseases.
Often obesity cannot be managed by a patient when it is caused due to genetics, physiology, or other environmental factors combined with diet, exercise or physical activity.
By managing weight to moderate levels these obesity related problems can be eliminated on a great extent. A healthy diet, behavioural changes and active lifestyle can help you lose weight.
Types of Obesity
Obesity is classified into groups based on their severity. The severity of obesity is measured by BMI. BMI ranging between 25.0 to 19.9 kg/m2 is considered an obesity category. General classes of obesity are
- Underweight when BMI is less than 18.5 kg/m2
- Normal weight is when BMI is between 18.5 to <25 kg/m2
- Overweight when BMI is 25 to <30 kg/m2
- Class 1 obesity where BMI is 30 to <35 kg/m2
- Class 2 obesity where BMI ranges between 35 to <40 kg/m2
- Class 3 obesity is when BMI is 40 kg/m2 and above
What Causes Obesity?
When the calories that you intake are greater than the calories your body burns in daily activity and exercise, especially on a long term basis, can eventually cause obesity. With time these extra calories keep growing and weight gain.
Obesity isn't always caused due to calorie intake but sedentary life also plays a major role.
Common Specific Reasons of Obesity
- Ageing- ageing causes hormonal changes due to which you can feel hungry more and crave for foods that have high calories
- Not getting enough sleep- sleep deprivation can also cause hormonal changes that might make you crave high calorie foods.
- Genetics- genetics can affect the way your body processes food and fat storage.
- Stress- taking more stress can change hormone production causing you to eat more and store more fat.
- Pregnancy- pregnancy can cause difficulty in losing weight, that might cause obesity.
Health Conditions Causing Obesity
- Metabolic syndrome causing high blood pressure, high triglyceride level, high blood sugar, low HDL cholesterol levels that accumulates fat around your waist that may cause serious health conditions
- PCOS- polycystic ovary syndrome
- Cushing syndrome
- Prader-willi syndrome
- Hypothyroidism
- Osteoarthritis (OA)
Symptoms and Effects of Obesity
Obesity can affect your body in many ways, mechanical as well as chemical changes in your body.
Metabolic Changes
Body gets the fuel by converting food into energy through metabolism. When extra calories than the amount your body requires are metabolised, into lipids, the body stores them in the form of fat as adipose tissue. Enlarged fat cells secrete hormones and products that produce inflammatory responses.chronic infammatory responses can cause.
- Type 2 diabetes
- Cardiovascular diseases
- Fatty liver disease
- Kidney disaeases
- Gallstones
Other Effects of Obesity
- Asthma
- Gout
- Back pain
- Sleep apnea
- Obesity hypoventilation syndrome
- Osteoarthritis
- Memory and cognition alterations such as alzheimer's disease
- Female infertility
- Cancers
- Depression
- Mood changes
- Pregnancy complications
- Digestive problems
Diagnosis of Obesity
BMI can provide an estimate of a person’s weight in relation to their height
Other Tests to Measure Body Fat
- Skinfold thickness test
- DEXA- dual energy radiographic absorptiometry scan
- Ultrasound
- CT scan
- MRI scan
- PET scan
- Blood tests
- Cholesterol level
- Glucose level
- Liver function tests
- Thyroid tests
- Diabetes screening
- ECG/EKG
Treatment of Obesity
Your health profile establishes an individual's treatment plan. Your treatment may include
- Dietary changes
- Calorie cutting
- Making healthier choice
- Restricting certain food like high carbohydrate or fat full foods
- Replacing one or two meals with low calorie shakes or meal bars
- Exercise and activity
- Exercise at least 150 minutes a week
- Keep moving
- Walk 10,000 steps every day
- Weight loss medicines : Medicines along with diet, exercise and behaviour changes can be prescribed by your doctor such as
- Bupropion-naltrexone (contrave)
- Orlistat (alli, xenical)
- Liraglutide (saxenda)
- Semaglutide (ozempic, wegovy, rybelsus)
- Phentermine-topiramate (osymia)
- Endoscopic weight loss procedure
- Gastric bypass surgery
- Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB)
- Gastric sleeve surgery
- Biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch.
Conclusion
Obesity is a medical condition that can persist chronically causing excess visceral fat. Excess fat can increase your chances for developing various health related conditions including diabetes, heart diseases or even cancer. Treatments may include simple lifestyle changes or might involve complex surgical procedures.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Cause of Obesity?
When your calorie intake is higher than the calorie your body news for energy production, it starts getting stored as fat that causes body fat accumulation and obesity.
How Can We Solve Obesity?
We can reduce weight by simply improving eating habits and increasing physical activity. You should include more dairy food in your diet and eat at least 5-9 servings of fruits daily.
What Are 4 Symptoms of Obesity?
Symptoms of Obesity Are
- Fatigue
- Depression
- Excessive sweating
- Difficulty sleeping
- Back or joint pain
- Dyspnoea- shortness of breath
What is Called Obesity?
Abnormal and excessive fat deposition in your body is known as obesity or being overweight that might increase your chances of developing health risks. A BMI of over 25 is categories as overweight and above 30 is obesity
Is Obesity a Disease?
When the weight of an individual increases considerably in comparison to his/her height, it is known as obesity which is considered as a complex disease. Obesity can occur in both men or women and adults and children.
What Are the 4 Types of Obesity?
Obesity is classified according to BMI into 5 major categories
- Underweight- BMI<18.5kg/m2
- Normal weight- BMI 18.5-24.9kg/m2
- Class 1 obesity- BMI 25-29.9 kg/m2
- Class 2 obesity- BMI 30-39.9kg/m2
- Class 3 obesity- BMI >40 kg/m2
How to Avoid Obesity?
You can avoid obesity by altering certain lifestyle habits such as
- Eat healthy food like whole grains, fruits, vegetables, healthy proteins etc.
- Limit unhealthy food like refined grain, sweets, potatoes, red meat, processed meat etc.
- Avoid beverages like soft drinks and sugary drinks
- Increase physical activity
- Reduce screen time and other sit time
What Are the 5 Risks of Obesity?
Health effects of overweight can ve
- Stroke
- Gallbladder disease
- Type 2 diabetes
- Dyslipidemia
- Hypertension
- Mortality
