Obesity And How To Beat It

Obesity is a disease in which the body stores large amounts of fats. Obese people are in great danger of a lot of diseases like diabetes, cancer, and heart diseases.
Losing weight is not that easy because of many factors such as environmental factors, inherited factors, and a severe diet.
Obese people can beat obesity in several ways like increasing physical effort, using medications, and going on a diet.

Symptoms

Obesity is determined by Body Mass Index (BMI) that you can determine whether you are obese or not. Obesity diagnosis takes place by using one of the following equations:

The following table represents the values of the Body Mass Index (BMI):

note: BMI does not measure fat amounts present in the body directly as some athletes are considered obese people according to Body Mass Index.

Causes

Obesity takes place when your body receives more calories than it burns and the excess calories are stored as fat in your body. Obese people may take a lot of calories due to anxiety and stress.

Risk factors

There are many factors which contribute to obesity like:

Life choices: Calories received in drinks, There are many drinks that contain a lot of calories like alcohol and soft drinks.
Replace your unhealthy diet with a healthy one: A diet that contains fast foods and high-calorie drinks should be replaced by a healthy diet that contains vegetables and fruits.
Inactive lifestyle: If you want to avoid obesity, you should do more exercise and not spend a long time looking at your mobile or laptop screens.
Genes inherited from your family: Inherited genes may contribute to the distribution of fats in your body. Genes also can affect food conversion into energy.
Age: No matter how old you are that obesity can occur at any age. Muscle amount decreases with age leading to decreased metabolic rate. As a result of that, a large amount of fats is stored.
Social and economic factors: Your social and economic habits can affect your body health. Some people cannot find safe places to exercise which makes them at risk of obesity more than people who can. Some people may not have been taught enough to choose healthy foods.

Medications and diseases:

There are some diseases that can cause obesity like Prader-Willi Syndrome and arthritis which can cause decreased activity leading to obesity. There are some medications that can cause obesity if you do not go on a diet or do some exercises like diabetes medications, antidepressants, and steroids.

Complications

Obese people are in danger of many health problems like:

Cancer: Obese people are in great danger of many types of cancer like breast cancer, rectum cancer, prostate cancer, uterus cancer, and ovary cancer.
Strokes and heart attack: Obese people are in great danger of having diseases like high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure which can cause strokes and heart failure.
Problems in the digestive system: People with obesity can develop digestive problems such as problems in the liver and gallbladder.
Sleep apnea: A disorder in which obese people stop and start breathing repeatedly.
Sexual problems: people with obesity are in danger of infertility as in men may cause erectile dysfunction and in women may cause irregularity in periods.
Diabetes (Type II): blood sugar level is controlled by insulin produced by the pancreas. Obesity can affect insulin production which may cause diabetes.
Life quality: obesity can affect your lifestyle that you may be unable to do things you used to do and can cause many problems like depression, feeling guilty, and work achievement deficiency.

Prevention

There are a lot of steps obese people should take to lose weight which are:

Stay consistent: stick to your plan to lose weight no matter how long it takes.
Exercise regularly: you have to exercise for 200 to 300 minutes a week to avoid obesity.
Go on a healthy diet: by following low –calorie diet and nutrient-rich foods such as fruits and vegetables and avoiding high-calorie products like sweets, alcohol, and fast foods, you can beat obesity.
Weigh yourself regularly: weighing yourself regularly can help you detect any small weight gain before it becomes a big problem.

Diagnosis

Obesity is diagnosed by performing some tests such as:

BMI calculation: your doctor should determine your Body Mass Index as the BMI of 30 or higher is diagnosed as obesity.
Health history: your doctor may review your health history including exercise habits, physical activity, and appetite control. Your doctor may also check your family's health history to find out whether you are predisposed to other conditions or not.
Physical exams: you should perform some physical exams such as measuring your heart rate, blood pressure, height, and body temperature.
Waist circumference: large amounts of body fats are stored around the body's waste. Men with waist circumferences that exceed 40 inches and women with waist circumferences that exceed 35 inches are more in danger of having heart diseases and diabetes than people who have smaller waist circumferences.
Checking for other health conditions: Your doctor should check for other health problems as diabetes and high blood pressure.
Blood tests: in which your doctor can measure your cholesterol level, liver function, and blood glucose.

Treatment

The aim of obesity treatment is to reach a healthy weight and stay in good health. This lowers your risk of obesity-related health problems.

Several ways are used to lose weight as:

Following a healthy diet: you can stay in good health if you follow a healthy diet containing low-calorie foods and avoid high-calorie foods like sweets.
Exercise regularly: by exercising, you can avoid obesity. You can stay in good health if you exercise at least 200 minutes a week.
Use medications to lose weight: some medications like anti-obesity medications can help you stick to your diet by stopping feeling hungry. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved some anti-obesity medications such as Bupropion, Orlistat, Liraglutide, and Topiramate.
Bariatric surgery: it is weight loss surgery that can lower the amount of food you can eat or decrease your food and calories absorption or both.

Weight regain prevention after surgery:

weight loss surgeries don't guarantee that you will keep your weight off for the rest of your life.
To keep a healthy body after surgery and prevent weight regaining, you should change your lifestyle and keep getting physical activity for about 45 to 60 minutes a day.

External References

Jameson JL, et al., eds. Pathobiology of obesity. In: Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. 20th ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2018. https://accessmedicine.mhmedical.com. Accessed March 6, 2019.
Jameson JL, et al., eds. Evaluation and management of obesity. In: Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. 20th ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2018. https://accessmedicine.mhmedical.com. Accessed March 6, 2019.
McKean SC, et al., eds. Surgical management of obesity. In: Principles and Practice of Hospital Medicine. 2nd ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Education; 2017. https://accessmedicine.mhmedical.com. Accessed March 6, 2019.
Perreault L, et al. Obesity in adults: Prevalence, screening, and evaluation. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/search. Accessed March 6, 2019.
Perreault L, et al. Obesity in adults: Overview of management. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/search. Accessed March 6, 2019.
Melmed S, et al. Obesity. In: Williams Textbook of Endocrinology. 13th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Elsevier; 2016. https://www.clinicalkey.com. Accessed March 6, 2019.
Vagal blocking therapy for obesity. American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. https://asmbs.org/resources/vagal-blocking-therapy-for-obesity. Accessed April 19, 2019.
Acosta AJ (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. May 5, 2019.
Losing weight. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/losing_weight/index.html. Accessed June 14, 2019.

Obesity And How To Beat It