Obesity

 

Overweight and obesity are defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health. A crude population measure of obesity is the body mass index (BMI), a person’s weight (in kilograms) divided by the square of his or her height (in metres). A person with a BMI of 30 or more is generally considered obese. A person with a BMI equal to or more than 25 is considered overweight.

Overweight and obesity are major risk factors for a number of chronic diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Once considered a problem only in high income countries, overweight and obesity are now dramatically on the rise in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in urban settings.

Key facts

• Worldwide obesity has nearly tripled since 1975.
• In 2016, more than 1.9 billion adults, 18 years and older, were overweight. Of these over 650 million were obese.
• 39% of adults aged 18 years and over were overweight in 2016, and 13% were obese.
• Most of the world's population live in countries where overweight and obesity kills more people than underweight.
• 38 million children under the age of 5 were overweight or obese in 2019.
• Over 340 million children and adolescents aged 5-19 were overweight or obese in 2016.
• Obesity is preventable.

Symptoms

Obesity is diagnosed when your body mass index (BMI) is 30 or higher. To determine your body mass index, divide your weight in pounds by your height in inches squared and multiply by 703. Or divide your weight in kilograms by your height in meters squared.

BMI	Weight status
Below 18.5	Underweight
18.5-24.9	Normal
25.0-29.9	Overweight
30.0 and higher	Obesity

For most people, BMI provides a reasonable estimate of body fat. However, BMI doesn't directly measure body fat, so some people, such as muscular athletes, may have a BMI in the obesity category even though they don't have excess body fat.

Causes Of Obesity

According to experts, here are a few common causes of obesity:

 

1. Genetics

Obese parents are more likely to have obese offspring’s than lean parents. Several studies in the past have proven that the obese genes express themselves dominantly onto the genes of their children.

2. Junk Food

Junk food is touted to be one of the prime causes of obesity. Consumption of tall greasy burgers, crispy fries, pasta, noodles or aerated sodas can take a toll not just on your weight but your heart and sugar glucose levels too. The junk food which is highly processed, made with second grade and refined ingredients are the ones to watch out for.

 

3. Food Addiction

Indulging in junk food once in a while is fine. But the constant cravings and the need to appease the temptations is a risky zone. Food addiction is characterized by people having no control over their eating behaviours or getting a sense of relief only when they have tucked in something greasy or sugary.

 

4. Side Effects of Medication

Obesity could be a side effect of certain medication too. Certain diabetes medication, antidepressants, antipsychotics have been infamously linked with weight gain in the past.

5. Insulin

Insulin hormone plays a crucial role in smooth functioning of the body. It uses sugar (glucose) from carbohydrates in the food we eat for energy or to store glucose for future use. Insulin helps regulate energy storage, and makes sure the level of sugar in the blood is never too high or low. Insulin also has an important engagement with fat cells. Impaired insulin can result in elevated insulin levels, and energy getting stored in fat cells instead of it being used for other functions. It can cause high blood glucose too, which can also trigger diabetes. This is why diabetes and obesity are closely interlinked.

6. Hormonal Issues

Leptin is a hormone produced by fat cells. The hormone sends signals to the hypothalamus (the part of our brain that controls food intake) that we're full and need to stop eating. When the leptin isn't working as it should, brain becomes resistant to the signals and the body doesn't understand when to stop.

7. Food availability

According to a latest study, children who live around in the vicinity of many cafes and food outlets are more prone to obesity. Nowadays, access to junk food is getting easier day by day. Your favourite burger and pizza is in fact just a call away. In this scenario, it becomes all the more difficult to keep obesity at bay.
 

 

8. Sugary Foods

Experts around the world have time and again reinforced the fact that sugary food does no good to the body. In fact, some of them also brand it as the worst part of modern diet. When consumed in excess sugar, it starts getting stored as fats and increases the body mass. Excess fructose consumption causes insulin resistance and elevated insulin levels too. All of these factors combined ultimately results in obesity.

 

Effects of Obesity 

1. Cardiovascular disorders

2. Diabetes

3. Hypertension

4. Chronic back pain

5. Osteoarthritis

6. Depression (due to ridicule, social bias, rejection, and humiliation)

 

How can overweight and obesity be reduced?

At the individual level, people can:

• limit energy intake from total fats and sugars; 
• increase consumption of fruit and vegetables, as well as legumes, whole grains and nuts; and
• engage in regular physical activity (60 minutes a day for children and 150 minutes spread through the week for adults).

The food industry can play a significant role in promoting healthy diets by: 

• reducing the fat, sugar and salt content of processed foods; 
• ensuring that healthy and nutritious choices are available and affordable to all consumers; 
• restricting marketing of foods high in sugars, salt and fats, especially those foods aimed at children and teenagers; and
• ensuring the availability of healthy food choices and supporting regular physical activity practice in the workplace.

 

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