Obesity is a Complex Disease
It is characterized by an excessive amount of body fat. Obesity often results from taking in more calories than are burned by exercise and normal daily activities.
Obesity occurs when a person’s body mass index is 30 or greater. The main symptom is excessive body fat, which significantly increases the risk of serious health problems.
CAUSES
Obesity occurs when you take in more calories than you burn through normal daily activities and exercise. Your body stores these excess calories as fat.
In the United States, most people’s diets are too high in calories — often from fast food and high-calorie beverages. 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. People with obesity might eat more calories before feeling full, feel hungry sooner, or eat more due to stress or anxiety.
SYMPTOMS
The symptoms of obesity;
- Excess body fat, particularly around the waist.
- Shortness of breath3.
- Sweating more than usual.
- Snoring.
- Trouble sleeping.
- Skin problems from moisture accumulating in the folds of skin.
- Inability to perform simple physical tasks that one could easily perform before weight gain.
Some symptoms are even known to increase a person’s risk of developing certain diseases and disorders. In some cases, these may be life-threatening or even fatal.
TREATMENT
Obesity can happen for a number of reasons, including diet, a sedentary lifestyle, genetic factors, a health condition, or the use of certain medications. A number of treatment options can help people to achieve and maintain a suitable weight.
The best way to treat obesity is to eat a healthy, reduced-calorie diet and exercise regularly. To do this you should:
- Have a healthy eating plan.
- Change your habits.
- Weight-management programs.
- Weight-loss medicines.
- Weight-loss devices.
- Bariatric surgery.
- Special diets.
- Have regular physical activity.
Why Does My Diet Matter?
It’s no secret that diet is essential to managing obesity. Many of the foods that are beneficial for weight control also help prevent heart disease, diabetes, and other chronic diseases. Although there isn’t a one-size-fits all diet for obesity management, certain dietary choices should act as the foundation for your individual diet plan. Your diet plan should work with your body mass index in order to lose weight.
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Managing Obesity
Managing your weight is a big part of your health. When you are overweight or obese, you’re at risk for medical conditions like heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure (hypertension) and diabetes. Weight loss can often be achieved through a healthy diet and exercise. In some cases, weight loss surgeries are used, but these also involved changing your lifestyle to keep the weight off.
Jen Wagner had always been athletic, but when she got married, she stopped working out and gained 100 pounds, reaching her highest weight of 240 pounds in 2017. “I felt like a stranger in my own body. I didn’t recognize my own reflection, and when I would see photos of myself, I was disgusted. I didn’t know who that was.”
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I lost 100 pounds one small change at a time. There was so much trial and error (a LOT of error). I loved junk food, watching TV, and being as lazy as possible, so as appealing as the extreme diets were, they never stuck. For me, the key to success was one small change at a time.
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