What is Obesity?

It is the excessive accumulation of fat in the body, which exceeds the body’s skeletal and physical standards for age, sex, and height. Obesity has become a major health problem and in the UK. Near about 23% of the population suffers from this disease. This number is increasing with every passing day. Obesity has become a pandemic.

What causes obesity?

When people eat more calories than they burn in daily activity, it stores up extra energy and increase in weight is the direct result. There are multiple factors, which are responsible for causing obesity. One of the main causes is the sedentary lifestyle of people. Many white-collar jobs also require people to sit in front of a computer, which reduces physical activity to a minimum level. Average diet of people includes a storehouse of calories in the form of fats. Above all, inactivity is the main cause, as people prefer to stay indoors and watch television to a walk or run in the park.

How to determine obesity?

It measures the proportion of extra fat in the body. It considers two parameters, weight and height, for calculating fat in the body. If the BMI is more than 30, then people fall in the category of obese and should seek medical treatment. The BMI above 40 implies that obesity is severe. When the BMI is less than 18.5, then people fall in underweight category. The BMI of 18.5-24.9 is an ideal healthy weight for a person.

Obesity is fast reaching epidemic proportions. More and more people are dying to obesity than starvation. It would be better if people realize the need to respect their bodies.

Effects of Obesity

Over weight problem gives rise to many diseases and pose a major health risk. It includes:

• Type 2 diabetes: Insulin helps to regulate blood sugar levels. Obese people develop a resistance to insulin, which gives rise to high blood sugar level. It can cause serious damage to the body

• Heart disease: The heart cannot function properly if the body is over weight. It results in high blood pressure, which may cause damage to heart and kidney. It can also result in strokes

• Respiratory problems: Obesity can cause respiratory problem, which may affect sleep. It results in daytime drowsiness and headaches

• Depression: Repeated failure with dieting and constant struggle with fat results in great mental strain and pushes patients into depression

• Infertility: Obesity can diminish the ability to produce offsprings

How to control Obesity?

Obesity problem will not arise if people maintain a balance between calories they eat and calories they burn. For those people who are obese, doctors do not have quick fix methods. Overweight people have to burn extra calories. Some useful remedies are given below which can help overweight people.

• Never skip breakfast • The meals should have less sugar and fat • Avoid alcohol • Eat more fruits • Undertake regular exercises like brisk walking, swimming, cycling, and running

Apart from these methods, there are many prescription medications available like Xenical and Acomplia for management of obesity.