Obesity is a complex disease involving abnormal or excessive fat accumulation in the body that may impair human health. Obesity or overweight is not a casual concern but a real medical condition with the potential to trigger other related health problems such as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and certain cancers.
Diagnosing Obesity
In order to determine if you are overweight or obese, the Body mass index is the standard measure for classifying whether you are overweight or obese. It is defined as the human weight measured in kilograms divided by the square of his height in meters (kg/m2).
|
S/n
|
BMI
|
Weight status
|
|
1
|
Below 18.5
|
Underweight
|
|
2
|
18.5-24.9
|
Normal
|
|
3
|
25.0-29.9
|
Overweight
|
|
4
|
30.0 and higher
|
Obesity
|
The BMI measure is an acceptable indicator of the measure of overweight and obesity.
Causes of Obesity
1 Genetics
Obesity has a very strong genetic component as seen in parents that are obese are most likely to give birth to obese children while slim parents seldom have obese children
2 Junk Foods
Processed foods could be responsible for overweight and obesity because they consist of refined ingredients mixed with additives. They have little whole foods, they are tasty and almost irresistible to buy thereby promoting sales and overeating.
Processed foods are sweetened, fat-laden and addictive, when you get caught within, you lose your freedom of choice while your brain biochemistry calls the shots for more.
3 High Insulin Hormone
The Insulin level of the body can be increased by consumption of processed foods which fuels increased energy storage in fat cells instead of being available for other body uses. You can lower your insulin levels by cutting back on junk or refined carbohydrates while increasing fiber intake.
4 Certain Medications
Some medications have been found to cause weight gain as a side effect like antidepressants, diabetes medication and antipsychotics which alter the function of the body and brain,
5 Food Availability
The availability of processed food and continuous eating of it will definitely have an impact on your waistline. Junk or processed foods, candies and sodas are available everywhere and are cheaper than healthy foods. These foods are strategically displayed to grab the attention of people. However, healthy foods, fruits and vegetables are beyond the reach of some neighborhoods.
6 Sugar
Consumption of added sugar is majorly fructose and may cause insulin resistance, when insulin is elevated it leads to energy storage and fat accumulation in the body. Added sugar in the modern diet consists of a mix of fructose and glucose, when sugar is consumed in excess it changes the hormones and biochemistry of the body which contributes to weight gain.
7 Misinformation
There is a lot of misinformation about health and nutrition all over the world. Producers of foods and drugs do not fully comprehend and communicate the side effects of their wares. Many information sources are outdated while weight loss supplements food and drugs are not achieving the purpose.
According to the World Health Organisation, Obesity is one of the leading causes of premature death globally, in 2016 more than 1.9 billion adults, 18 years and older, were overweight. Of these over 650 million were obese. It was also stated that 13% of the world population are obese while 39% are overweight. Obesity is preventable but it is important to watch what you consume and seek medical help if you have a similar problem.
SOURCE: MSBM Research
IMAGE SOURCE: PIXABAY
