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Obesity: Causes, Health Risks and Treatment Options

Created by experts, Dietitian Deepshikha who is the leading resource for families seeking evidence-based information and strategies on child nutrition and feeding.

           

Obesity: Causes, Health Risks and Treatment Options

 

Table of Content

• Obesity

• Body mass index

• Causes

• Health risk

• Factors

• Treatment

• Conclusion 

 

Obesity is defined as having excess body fat. Adults 18 years of age and older with a BMI greater than 32.5 are considered morbidly obese. In this blog, we'll learn more about obesity causes, symptoms, and treatment. Also, we'll go through daily habits on how to prevent being overweight.

It is a chronic medical disease that can lead to diseases like

• Diabetes
• high blood pressure
• obesity-associated cardiovascular diseases such as heart disease, gallstones
• Obesity and Overweight
• Overweight and obesity usually refer to weight greater than what is healthy by the height of an individual.
• While body fat is necessary for storing energy, heat insulation, shock absorption, and other functions. But an excess of the same, results into the chronic condition of obesity

Body mass index (BMI)

• It is the most reliable parameter for defining
• It is determined by a person’s height and weight. BMI equals a person’s weight in kilograms (kg) divided by their height in metres (m) squared.
• Since BMI describes body weight relative to height, there is a strong correlation with total body fat content in adults:
  • Normal: BMI of 5-24.9
  • Overweight: BMI of 25-29.9
  • Obese: BMI over 30
  • Morbidly obese individual: BMI>32.5

Causes of Obesity

Obesity results from a complex interplay of factors, including diet, genetics, inactivity, and environmental influences. Here are the causes of obesity.

• Genetics - A person is more likely to be obese if one or both parents are
  • Genetics also have a role to play in hormones involved in fat
  • Leptin deficiency - Leptin is a hormone produced in fat cells and in Leptin asserts control by signalling the brain to eat less when body fat stores are too high. If, for some reason, the body cannot produce enough leptin or leptin cannot signal the brain to eat less, this control is lost, and obesity occurs.
    • Researchers are still exploring Leptin replacement as a treatment for
    • Morbid obesity may happen when leptin insensitivity occurs.
  • Physical inactivity - Sedentary people burn fewer calories than people who are active therefore showing strong correlations between physical inactivity and weight gain in both sexes
  • Diet high in simple carbohydrates - With the intake of carbohydrates, there is an increase in blood glucose level which in turn stimulates insulin release by the pancreas, and insulin promotes the growth of fat tissue and can cause weight
    • Although The role of carbohydrates in weight gain is not clear, it is believed that simple carbohydrates such as beer, wine etc have a greater contribution than complex carbohydrates as the former has a more pronounced insulin
  • Overeating leads to weight gain, especially if the diet is high in fat as it has a much higher energy
  • Frequency of eating - This is a rather debated
    • There are reports that state that people who eat small meals with a high frequency tend to have lower cholesterol levels and stable blood sugar levels than compared to people who have larger meals with a much lower
    • An explanation for the same could be that small frequent meals produce stable insulin levels, whereas large meals cause large spikes of insulin after

• Medications associated with weight gain include
  • antidepressants
  • anticonvulsants such as carbamazepine and valproate
  • some diabetes medications
  • hormones such as oral contraceptives
  • corticosteroids such as
  • high blood pressure medications
• Psychological factors - emotions have a strong influence on eating habbits . Many people binge eat in response to emotions such as boredom, sadness, stress, or
• Diseases: Diseases such as hypothyroidism, insulin resistance, Prader-Willi syndrome, PCOS, and Cushing’s syndrome are also major contributors to
• Social issues: There is a definite link between social issues and
  • Lack of money to purchase healthy foods or lack of safe places to walk or exercise can increase the risk.

• It should be coupled with regular physical activity. Being active helps in using Regular physical activity also helps in maintaining a healthy weight.

How is obesity treated

The treatment for obesity typically involves dietary modifications, increased physical activity, behaviour changes, and, in some cases, medical or surgical interventions. 

Healthy eating plan and regular physical activity- Following a healthy eating plan with fewer calories is often the first step in trying to treat overweight and.

• Habitual Changes- Changing your eating and physical activity habits and lifestyle is difficult, but with a plan, effort, regular support, and patience, you may be able to lose weight and improve your
  • The following tips may help you think about ways to lose weight, engage in regular physical activity, and improve your health over the long term.
    • Setbacks are normal- After a setback, like overeating. regrouping and focusing on getting back to the healthy eating plan is
    • Set goals- Having specific goals helps one stay on track. Rather than be abstract, set a more tangible goal
    • Seek  support .-Help or encouragement from family, friends, or health care professionals goes a long It can either be through a virtual medium, such as a phone call, or in person.
  • Weight-management programs- In a Weight-management programs, trained weight-management specialists design a broad plan and help in carrying out as per individual
    • Plans include a lower-calorie diet, increased physical activity, and ways to help make habitual
  • Weight-loss medicines- When healthy eating and physical activity habits do not suffice, then doctors may prescribe medicines to treat overweight and
    • Though it is still important to accompany the medication with healthy eating and regular physical activity
  • Weight-loss devices- There is no long-term data on the safety and effectiveness of weight loss devices as they have only recently been approved. Weight-loss devices include
  • Conclusion  
• plenty of grain products, vegetables, and fruits.
• low in fat, and saturated fat,
• moderate in salt
• If you drink alcoholic beverages, do so in

Maintaining the ideal body weight is a balancing act between food consumption and calories needed by the body for energy. You are what you eat.

It has been established that eating proper foods can influence health for all age groups. According to research, A Diet should mainly comprise of