The Medical Health Plus

Key Strategies to Prevent an Obesity

Obesity is the most dangerous disease in the world. It is the heavy accumulation of fat in your body to such a degree that it rapidly increases your risk of diseases that can damage your health. A certain amount of body fat is necessary for storing energy, heat insulation, shock absorption, and other functions. The normal amount of body fat (expressed as percentage of body fat) is between 25%-30% in women and 18%-23% in men. Women with over 30% body fat and men with over 25% body fat are considered obese.

The foods we eat every day contribute to our well-being. Foods provide us with the nutrients we need for healthy bodies and the calories we need for energy. If we eat too much, however, the extra food turns to fat and is stored in our bodies. If we overeat regularly, we gain weight, and if we continue to gain weight, we may become obese. Weight gain occurs when you eat more calories than your body uses up. If the food you eat provides more calories than your body needs, the excess is converted to fat. Initially, fat cells increase in size. When they can no longer expand, they increase in number. If you lose weight, the size of the fat cells decreases, but the number of cells does not!

What causes an Obesity

The reasons for the imbalance between calorie intake and consumption vary by individual.

* Genes: Obesity tends to run in families. This is caused both by genes and by shared diet and lifestyle habits. Having obese relatives does not guarantee that you will be obese.
* Emotions: Some people overeat because of depression, hopelessness, anger, boredom, and many other reasons that have nothing to do with hunger. This doesn’t mean that overweight and obese people have more emotional problems than other people. It just means that their feelings influence their eating habits, causing them to overeat. In some unusual cases, obesity may be used as a defense mechanism because of the perceived social pressures related to being more physically desirable, particularly in young girls. In these cases, as with the other emotional causes, psychological intervention may be helpful.
* Environmental factors: The most important environmental factor is lifestyle. Your eating habits and activity level are partly learned from the people around you. Overeating and sedentary habits (inactivity) are the most important risk factors for obesity.
* Sex: Men have more muscle than women, on average. Because muscle burns more calories than other types of tissue, men use more calories than women, even at rest. Thus, women are more likely than men to gain weight with the same calorie intake.
* Age: People tend to lose muscle and gain fat as they age. Their metabolism also slows somewhat. Both of these lower their calorie requirements.
* Pregnancy: Women tend to weigh an average of 4-6 pounds more after a pregnancy than they did before the pregnancy. This can compound with each pregnancy. This weight gain may contribute to obesity in women.
* “Glands” (hormonal problems) are rarely the cause of obesity.
* Obesity can be associated with other eating disorders, such as binge eating or bulimia.

* Certain medical conditions and medications can cause or promote obesity, although these are much less common causes of obesity than overeating and inactivity. Some examples of these are as follows:

o Hypothyroidism
o Cushing syndrome
o Depression
o Certain medications (examples are steroids, antidepressants, birth control pills)
o Prader-Willi syndrome
o Polycystic ovarian syndrome

What problems can obesity cause?
Obesity increases the risk of many diseases and health conditions which include:

* Coronary heart disease
* Type 2 diabetes
* Cancers (endometrial, breast, and colon)
* Hypertension (high blood pressure)
* Dyslipidemia (for example, high total cholesterol or high levels of triglycerides)
* Diseases related to hardening of the arteries such as heart attack and stroke  (cardiovascular disease).
* Liver and Gallbladder disease
* Sleep apnea and respiratory problems
* Osteoarthritis (a degeneration of cartilage and its underlying bone within a joint)
* Gynecological problems (abnormal menses, infertility)

Common physical problems include:

* Difficulties breathing
* Difficulties walking or running
* Increased sweating
* Pain in the knees and back
* Skin conditions such as acne
* Gallstones.

Strategies to Prevent an Obesity

• Stay active. Simple activities, such as taking the stairs or walking to the store, can help tremendously. Many people also enjoy going to the gym.
• Watch your weight. You should weigh yourself once a week to monitor your health. If you notice that you are starting to gain weight, better do something on it.
• Drink water. Many times people will mistake dehydration for hunger signals in the body. The FDA recommends drinking eight to 10 glasses of water per day.
• Keep junk food out of your house. The lure of sweet junk food can sometimes be too much to bear and you may succumb to the temptation.
• Only eat when you are hungry. Make a schedule when you really need to eat. Keep this schedule as you daily routine.