Obesity

Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems. Body mass index (BMI), a measurement which compares weight and height, defines people as overweight (pre-obese) if their BMI is between 25 and 30 kg/m2, and obese when it is greater than 30 kg/m2.

What is Body Mass Index (BMI)?

The 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'.

Signs and symptoms:

Being obese and being overweight is not exactly the same thing. An obese person has a large amount of extra body fat, not just a few extra pounds. People who are obese are very overweight and at risk for serious health problems.

symptoms of obesity

breathlessness; sweating a lot; snoring; difficulty sleeping; inability to cope with sudden physical activity; feeling very tired every day; back and joint pains.

Being obese increases

high blood pressure; heart disease; stroke; high cholesterol levels (fatty deposits which block the arteries); breast cancer in women; arthritis of the back, hips, knees and ankles; polycystic ovarian syndrome; reduced life expectancy.

Cause of obesity:
Obesity occurs when a person consumes more calories than he or she burns. For many people this boils down to eating too much and exercising too little. But there are other factors that also play a role in obesity.

Example:

1. Heredity or genetics 2. Hormonal imbalances 3. Environmental factors such as cultural habits, etc. 4. Inadequate physical activity. 5. Eating habits such as overeating or improper diet.

Effect of obesity:
Unused calories are stored in our body as fats. The fat droplets accumulate in fat cells beneath the skin, around the kidneys and liver. These fat cells are formed in human body at childhood stage. At this stage, additional calories form new fat cells (hyperplasic obesity). During adulthood, the fat cells do not increase in numbers; instead they expand and reduce in size depending on how much calories are consumed (hypo tropic obesity). It is this reason that childhood obesity is difficult to treat and chances are that an obese child will be an obese adult with serious health problems.

Cure and treatment:

Since obesity is generally caused by inadequate exercise with unhealthy eating habits, the treatment of obesity generally involves a check on diet and a regular exercise program. One should expect a miracle to cure obesity but rather, could seek natural cures for obesity which would help to speed up the process of weight loss.

Two type of treatment for having obesity:

A.) Anti-obesity drugs

Fluoxetine, Orsilat and Sibutramine can achieve weight loss over 12 to 50 weeks but the magnitude of loss is moderate and long term health benefits remain unclear. For diet / exercise resistant obesity, Orlistat plays a role by inhibiting pancreatic lipase and reducing intestinal fat absorption. Sibutramine is an anorectic but its safety factor for health is still uncertain.

B.) Bariatric surgery

Bariatric surgery Weight loss surgery is the use of surgical interventions in treating obesity by reducing the volume of stomach, producing an earlier sensation of satiety (by adjustable gastric banding and vertical banded gastroplasty) or by reducing the length of bowel and so directly reducing absorption (gastric by pass surgery). Band surgery is reversible but others are not.

Mode of treatment:
Obesity increases the likelihood of various diseases, particularly heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea, certain types of cancer, and osteoarthritis. Obesity is most commonly caused by a combination of excessive food energy intake, lack of physical activity, and genetic susceptibility, although a few cases are caused primarily by genes, endocrine disorders, medications or psychiatric illness. Evidence to support the view that some obese people eat little yet gain weight due to a slow metabolism is limited; on average obese people have a greater energy expenditure than their thin counterparts due to the energy required to maintain an increased body mass.

Advantages
Is obesity a good thing and how is obesity a good thing? It may sound odd and contrary to general beliefs but there are some obesity advantages out there. A few of these can't be met while at normal weight or even overweight.

Five obesity advantages:

1) Certain types of work are only catered to the obese: There are jobs where an obese individual is suited for more than a normal weight person or someone who's just overweight. 2) Stronger Bones/Muscles: This can be considered as one of the advantages of obesity. The reason being that any attempt at exercising, even a casual walk can contribute to this. Certain gym activities such as lifting weights also help with obese people having strong bones and muscles.

3) More warmth is possible: This is due to the excessive body fat alleviating heat loss from an obese person's body into the air especially in cold environments. The fat has a tendency to keep some blood from getting closest to the skin where it can lose heat rapidly. This is why excessive clothing is worn, to trap body heat for constant warmth. 4) Size... does it matter? This seems to be more of a feature than one of the advantages of obesity but there are some people who are proud of their hugeness and put it to some use. That makes it an advantage for them.

5) Even the obese can lose weight: The most important when it comes to obesity advantages is that the weight can be lost. It's more important than all the previous advantages listed combined. Even overriding the disadvantages of obesity but only if this losing weight obesity advantage is consistently applied. Obesity mostly results from consuming more calories than required consistently. The excessive weight can be lost over a period of time by frequently burning more calories through exercise while not consuming more calories than your body needs.

Disadvantages
This is a rapidly spreading epidemic, which shortens the service life and reduced quality of life. It affects children in a high degree. One in five children is said more weight. They are prone to cardiovascular diseases, hyper tension, stroke, diabetes, heart and juvenile arthritis.

Five disadvantages of obesity.

1) Health Deterioration: The health hazards linked to obesity are innumerable and the more obese you are the harsher they are. These obesity related health hazards include Type 2 Diabetes, Hypertension, Pregnancy Issues, Breathing Issues, Sleeping Issues, Heart Problems, Stroke risks, Abnormal Cholesterol Levels, Movement Problems not to mention the risk of contracting several types of cancer. The serious nature of those issues makes health deterioration one of the main disadvantages of obesity.

2) The Feeling of Depression: The obese will either show depression outright, show a hint of it or conceal it. At this point they are very aware of the many disadvantages of obesity plaguing them. They know how they look, they know the prejudice they have to endure, they know there are serious medical conditions associated with their weight, they know they can't accomplish certain goals or have a higher hurdle to jump to do so. It's very frustrating and stressful for them.

3) Sexual Issues: Many studies have shown there is a relation to obesity and sexual ineptitude. It's common for obese individuals of both sexes to suffer from lack of sexual enjoyment, performance or desire. If the individual never cared for sex to begin with, this won't be one of the disadvantages of obesity for them.

4) Social Problems: One of the major disadvantages of obesity is that the obese are generally looked down upon, made fun of or scorned by many in society. They're usually the subject of "fat jokes" from those who seem to forget that they are human beings and human beings have feelings.

5) Goals are harder or impossible to accomplish: Obese people depending on what they desire, have a much tougher time when it comes to achieving success. Obesity plays a big enough factor to undermine or stagnate progress as a whole.

Pathophysiology:
Flier summarizes the many possible pathophysiological mechanisms involved in the development and maintenance of obesity. This field of research had been almost unapproached until leptin was discovered in 1994. Since this discovery, many other hormonal mechanisms have been elucidated that participate in the regulation of appetite and food intake, storage patterns of adipose tissue, and development of insulin resistance. Since leptin's discovery, ghrelin, insulin, orexin, PYY 3-36, cholecystokinin, adiponectin, as well as many other mediators have been studied. The adipokines are mediators produced by adipose tissue; their action is thought to modify many obesity-related diseases.

The End