Overweight And Obesity

What is overweight and obesity?

For adults, the World Health Organization, WHO, defines overweight and obesity as follows: overweight is a BMI greater than or equal to 25 and obesity is a BMI greater than or equal to 30.

What are the causes of overweight and obesity?

Obesity is a complex disease that occurs when an individual’s weight is higher than what is considered healthy for his or her height. Obesity affects children as well as adults. Many factors can contribute to excess weight gain including eating patterns, physical activity levels, and sleep routines. Social determinants of health, genetics, and taking certain medications also play a role.

Obesity is a complex issue with many causes. It’s caused when extra calories are stored in the body as fat.

If you consume high amounts of energy, particularly found in high fat and high sugar foods, and do not use all of the energy through physical activity, much of the extra energy will be stored in the body as fat.

Calories

The energy value of food is measured in units called calories. The average physically active man needs about 2,500 calories a day to maintain a healthy weight, and the average physically active woman needs about 2,000 calories a day.

This amount of calories may sound high, but it can be easy to reach if you eat certain types of food. For example, eating a large takeaway hamburger, fries and a milkshake can total 1,500 calories – and that’s just 1 meal.

Diet

Diet and lifestyle factors contribute to development of obesity and overweight. Some of the most common ones are:

eating large amounts of processed or fast food – this is food that’s high in fat and sugar

drinking too much alcohol – alcohol contains a lot of calories

eating out a lot – food cooked in a restaurant may be higher in fat and sugar

eating larger portions than you need

drinking too many sugary drinks – including soft drinks and fruit juice

comfort eating – some people may comfort eat due to many other factors affecting their life such as low self-esteem or low mood. 

Physical activity

Lack of physical activity is another important factor related to obesity. Many people have jobs that involve sitting at a desk for most of the day. They also rely on their cars, rather than walking or cycling.

For relaxation, many people tend to watch TV, browse the internet or play computer games, and rarely take regular exercise.

If you are not active enough, you do not use the energy provided by the food you eat, and the extra energy you consume is stored by the body as fat.

The Department of Health and Social Care recommends that adults do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, such as cycling or fast walking, every week. This does not need to be done all in a single session, but can be broken down into smaller periods. For example, you could exercise for 30 minutes a day for 5 days a week.

If you’re living with obesity and trying to lose weight, you may need to do more exercise than this. It may help to start off slowly and gradually increase the amount of exercise you do each week.

Genetics

There are some genes associated with obesity and overweight. In some people, genes can affect how their bodies change food into energy and store fat. Genes can also affect people’s lifestyle choices.

There are also some rare genetic conditions that can cause obesity, such as Prader-Willi syndrome.

Certain genetic traits inherited from your parents – such as having a large appetite – may make losing weight more difficult, but they do not make it impossible.

In many cases, obesity is more to do with environmental factors, such as not having easy access to healthy food, or unhealthy eating habits learned during childhood.

Medical reasons

In some cases, underlying medical conditions may contribute to weight gain. These include:

An underactive thyroid gland (hypothyroidism) – where your thyroid gland does not produce enough hormones

Cushing’s syndrome – a rare disorder that causes the over-production of steroid hormones

However, if conditions such as these are properly diagnosed and treated, they should pose less of a barrier to weight loss.

Certain medicines, including some steroids, medications for epilepsy and diabetes, and some medications used to treat mental illness – including some antidepressants and medicines for schizophrenia – can contribute to weight gain.

Adult Body Mass Index

BMI is a person’s weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters. A high BMI can indicate high body fatness.

If your BMI is less than 18.5, it falls within the underweight range.

If your BMI is 18.5 to <25, it falls within the healthy weight range.

If your BMI is 25.0 to <30, it falls within the overweight range.

If your BMI is 30.0 or higher, it falls within the obesity range.

Obesity is frequently subdivided into categories:

Class 1: BMI of 30 to < 35

Class 2: BMI of 35 to < 40

Class 3: BMI of 40 or higher. Class 3 obesity is sometimes categorized as “severe” obesity.

Treatments

Self-treatment: Consuming fewer calories, making healthy food choices, getting more exercise and monitoring weight may help reduce body mass.

Seeking medical care: See a doctor to:

Get advice on nutrition and exercise

Find out about weight-loss medications that might help

Discuss weight-loss surgery.

NATURAL CURE

The use of Jigsimur natural health herbal medicine is a proven solution and prevention to obesity of any range. The level or type of obesity determines the duration of medication.

Generally, 5 bottles of Jigsimur (a treatment pack) is recommended for treating obese. Regular intake of Jigsimur at days interval (like twice a week) will help prevent the occurrence of being obese.