6 Things You Should Know About Obesity

Obesity is defined as an abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that may cause a risk to ones’ health. It is measured through the body mass index (BMI), a person’s weight (in kilograms) divided by the square of his or her height (in metres). A person with a BMI of 30 or more is generally considered obese. A person with a BMI equal to or more than 25 is considered overweight is different from being overweight. Over weight means weighing too much. The weight may come from muscle, bone, fat, and/or body water.

1. For an individual, obesity is usually the result of an imbalance between calories a person consumes and calories a person loses. Too much consumption of foods in high calories without an equal amount in physical activity can lead to an unhealthy increase in weight.

 
2. Obesity can be prevented through :

•  Maintain a healthy weight
• Limit total fat intake
• Increase consumption of fruit, vegetables, pulses, whole grains and nuts
• Limit the intake of sugar and salt

3. Obesity is generally caused by eating too much and moving too little. If you consume high amounts of energy from your diet, particularly from fat and sugars, but do not burn off the energy through exercise and physical activity, much of the surplus energy is then stored by the body as fat.

 
4. Studies have shown that you can inherit a tendencies that can cause obesity. Your chance of being overweight increases if one or both of your parents is obese. Heredity also strongly influences where you carry weight – the hips or around the middle.

 
5. Effects of obesity

• High blood pressure – Extra weight can raise the heart rate and reduce the body’s ability to transport blood through the vessels.
• Diabetes – When obesity causes insulin resistance, the blood sugar becomes elevated. Even moderate obesity dramatically increases the risk of diabetes.
• Heart disease – Narrowed arteries and reduced blood flow to the heart can cause chest pain (angina) or a heart attack. Blood clots can also form in narrowed arteries and cause a stroke.
• Joint problems, including osteoarthritis – Obesity can affect the knees and hips because of the stress placed on the joints by extra weight
• Cancer – In women, being overweight contributes to an increased risk for a variety of cancers including breast, colon, gallbladder, and uterus. Men who are overweight have a higher risk of colon and prostate cancers.
• Metabolic syndrome – Metabolic syndrome consists of six major components: abdominal obesity, elevated blood cholesterol, elevated blood pressure, insulin resistance with or without glucose intolerance, elevation of certain blood components that indicate inflammation, and elevation of certain clotting factors in the blood.
• Psychosocial effects – In a culture where often the ideal of physical attractiveness is to be overly thin, people who are overweight or obese frequently suffer disadvantages. Overweight and obese people are often blamed for their condition and may be considered to be lazy or weak. It is not uncommon for overweight or obese conditions to result in persons having lower incomes or having fewer or no romantic relationships.

 
6. The most important part of any obesity treatment program is goal setting. While you may want to lose weight for societal or fashion reasons, it may be more important to consider that losing as little as 5% to 10% of body weight will have a significant positive effect on your health.

Mbali Radebe