WHAT OBESITY CAUSE TO ONE BODY

Obesity is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality world-wide. It was previously thought to be western disease and a sign of affluence or high socio- economic status. It has crept into our society with its silent epidemic of related diseases.

Obesity is a serious public health problem despite the fact that in most cases, clients are symptom free. New cases are usually discovered in the Hospital during Periodic Medical Examination (PME) and when patient comes for treatment for other ailments.

Obesity is as accumulation of excessive fat.

Some Medical Doctors identified Obesity as a predisposing factor for many chronic diseases therefore becoming a subject of public health importance. It is regarded in the context of other risk factors and co-morbidity (other medical conditions that could influence risk of complication).

It is rated according to body mass index (BMI) which is equals to weight in kilogram over weight in meters square.

Although there are genetic and hormonal influences on body weight, the bottom line is that obesity occurs when you take more calories than you burn through exercise and normal daily activities. Your body stores the excess.

Contributing Factors

Certain Medications:

Some medications can lead to weight gain if you do not compensate through diet or activity e.g.  steroid and insulin.

Genetics: Your genes may affect the amount of body fat store and where that is distributed.

Physical Inactivity:

If you are not very active, you don’t burn as much calories. With a sedentary life style, you easily take in more calories everyday than you burn off though exercise or normal daily activities. Watching too much television is one of the biggest contributors to a sedentary lifestyle and weight gain.

Unhealthy eating habits:

Having a diet that is high in calories, eating fast food, skipping breakfast all contribute to weight gain.

Effect of Obesity on Health

Obesity increases the risk of developing certain diseases. The American Health foundation a non profit research organization dedicated to finding preventive strategic to reduce chromic disease, this concerned  an expert panel which comprises of authorities on diseases that are directly associated with excess body weight.

These finding were published in the American Journal of clinical Nutrition.

Cardiovascular diseases risk increases due to overweight, elevating blood pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides and increasing insulin resistance. The location of excess body fat can further increase cardio vascular disease risk central to obesity for example a 20% reduction in body weight can reduce cardio vascular disease risk by 40%. This can be achieve by keeping BMI in the normal range, over 50% of all cases of  hypertension are simple due to overweight.

The incidence of diabetes increases with increasing weight, diabetes is three times more likely in obese individual with a BMI of 28 or greater.

Osteoarthritis symptoms are worse in men and woman with a BMI over 25 Excess body weight stresses joint cartilage.

Cancer risk can increase due to elevated hormones associated with obesity, influencing cancer development; excess estrogen is linked with reproductive system cancers.

Adipose tissue (fat tissue0 is a major site of estrogen synthesis in woman, scientist link a BMI of 28 to 30 with an increase in cancer risk.

Other diseases associated with obesity include sleep apnea, abdominal hernias, varicose veins, gout, gall bladder disease, respiratory problems and liver malfunction.

         Management of Obesity

The management of obesity consists of dieting and physical exercise. Diet programs may produce weight loss over the short term, but maintaining this weight loss is frequently difficult and often requires making exercise and a lower calorie diet a permanent part of a person’s lifestyle. Success rates of long-term weight loss maintenance with lifestyle changes are low ranging from 2-20%.

  Dieting and physical exercise are the mainstays of treatment for obesity. Moreover, it is important to improve diet quality by reducing the consumption of energy-dense foods such as those high in fat and sugars and by increasing the intake of dietary fiber. To supplement this, or in cases of failure, anti-obesity drugs may be taken to reduce appetite or inhibit fat absorption. In severe cases, surgery is performed or an intragastric balloon is placed to reduce stomach volume and/or bowel length, leading to earlier satiation and reduced ability to absorb nutrient from food.