Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Obesity and its causes

Obesity

In 1962, research statistics showed that the percentage of obesity in America’s population was at 13%. By 1980 it has risen to 15% -- by 1994 to 23% -- and by the year 2000 the obesity progression in America had reached an unprecedented 31%.

People in the United States spend millions of dollars on diet pills and appetite suppressants. Obesity seems to be plaguing American citizens even from an early age. In addition, even more Americans find themselves in the over weight category. In all instances contact a health care professional before beginning any weight loss program. You can do much of your own research on weight loss on your own before contacting a health professional. Researching weight loss programs will help you find a weight loss method that will work for you.

All of us need and have fat tissue in our bodies. However, when there is too much body fat, the result is obesity. Obesity is a complex multifactorial chronic disease that develops from an interaction of geno-type and the environment. Obesity develops because of social, behavioral, cultural, physiological, metabolic and genetic factors.

A thin line exists between overweight & obesity

Overweight is defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 25 to 29.9 kg/m 2 and obesity as a BMI of > 30 kg/m 2 . However, overweight and obesity are not mutually exclusive, since obese persons are also overweight.

All overweight and obese adults (age 18 years of age or older) with a BMI of > 25 are considered at risk for developing associated diseases such as hypertension, high blood cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, and other diseases. Individuals with a BMI of 25 to 29.9 are considered overweight, while individuals with a BMI >30 are considered obese.

Treatment of obesity should focus on producing substantial weight loss over a prolonged period. The presence of co morbidities in obese patients should be considered when deciding on treatment options.

Know obesity Facts

  • Obesity is a chronic disease with a strong familial component.
  • Obesity increases the risk of developing health related risks like high blood pressure, diabetes (type 2), heart disease, stroke, gallbladder disease and cancer of the breast, prostate and colon.
  • Health insurance companies rarely pay for obesity treatment despite its serious effects on health.
  • The tendency toward obesity is often due to our environment: lack of physical activity combined with high-calorie, low-cost foods.
  • If maintained, even weight loss as small as 10 percent of body weight can improve one's health.

A person becomes obese when more calories are consumed than he or she can burn. What causes this imbalance between calories taken in and calories used may differ from one person to another. However, obesity is more than just over-eating. Genetic, environmental, psychological, and other factors may all play a part in causing obesity.

What causes one person to gain weight while another person maintains his or her weight? However several factors that contribute to obesity have been identified. Obesity in America is a major cause of deaths. Childhood Obesity is now epidemic in the United States .

Weight gain during certain critical periods

A person commonly gains more weight during the following periods. Hence increased number of fat cells are formed. Once a fat cell is formed, you generally cannot get rid of it, this makes treatment of obesity a difficult thing.

  • Between 12 and 18 months of age
  • Between 12 and 16 years of age
  • Adulthood when a person gains in excess of 60% of their ideal body weight
  • For women, during pregnancy

Genetic factors

  • Heredity is linked to obesity. Obesity tends to run in families, suggesting a genetic cause.
  • Yet families also share diet and lifestyle habits that may contribute to obesity.
  • Studies of adopted children show that adopted children tend to have weights closer to their biological parents than to their adoptive parents. In this case, the person's genetic makeup had more influence on the development of obesity than the environment in the adoptive family home.

Environmental factors

  • Environment also strongly influences obesity.
  • This includes lifestyle behaviors such as what a person eats and his or her level of physical activity. The tendency to eat high-fat foods, to use labor saving devices and a sedentary lifestyle with lack of regular exercise are the causes behind obesity.
  • Note: you can lose weight by changing your eating habits and becoming more physically active.

Psychological factors

Psychological factors may also cause people to become overweight.

Many people eat when they are stressed, bored or angry. Over time, the association between an emotion and food can become firmly fixed. Depression and stress can lead to obesity, and are leading causes of eating disorders. Most overweight people have no more psychological problems than people of average weight. Still, up to 10 percent of people who are mildly obese and try to lose weight on their own or through commercial weight loss programs have binge eating disorder. This disorder is even more common in people who are severely obese.Most eating disorders can be traced to behavioral or psychological difficulties.

Age

  • Metabolism slows down with advancing age.
  • You do not require as many calories as when you were to maintain your weight.

Food Preferences

  • High fat foods promote obesity and too much body fat.
  • Consumption of high fat foods (e.g., "fast foods") combined with the decreased calorie requirements because of decreased physical activity promotes obesity.
  • Intake of more calories than our bodies require definitely cause the caloric balance to accumulate, for every 7,500 calories that our body accumulates the weight gain is 1 KG which leads to obesity.

Gender

  • Gender is also an important factor.
  • Males have a higher resting metabolic rate than females, so males require more calories to maintain their body weight.
  • Additionally, when women become post-menopausal, their metabolic rate decreases significantly. That is part of the reason why many women start gaining weight after menopause.

Some Illnesses

  • Some illnesses can lead to obesity or a tendency to gain weight.
  • These include hypothyroidism, Cushing's syndrome, depression, and certain neurological problems that can lead to overeating.

Medications

  • Certain medications prescribed for inflammatory conditions, seizures, and mental illness tend to increase appetite and may also decrease metabolic rate.
  • Also, drugs such as steroids and some antidepressants may cause weight gain.

Activity level

  • Sedentary lifestyle is one of the principal causes for obesity.
  • Physical activity is one of the greatest factors of the use of body energy.
  • Active individuals require more calories than less active ones.
  • Additionally, activity diminishes appetite in obese individuals while increasing the body's ability to preferentially metabolize fat as an energy source.
  • Obesity results from a decreased level of physical activity in everyday life (such as walking to a co-workers desk instead of e-mailing them).

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source: http://www.hateweight.com

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