Obesity
Obesity means accumulation of excess fat on the body. Obesity is considered a long-term disease, like high blood pressure or diabetes. It has many serious long-term consequences for your health,
Obesity is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) of greater than 30. The BMI is a measure of your weight relative to your height.
Causes of Obesity
Therefore the most common causes of obesity are overeating and physical inactivity. At present, we know that there are many factors that contribute to obesity, some of which have a genetic component:
- Genetics. A person is more likely to develop obesity if one or both parents are obese. Genetics also affect hormones involved in fat regulation.
- Overeating. Overeating leads to weight gain, especially if the diet is high in fat. Foods high in fat or sugar (for example, fast food, fried food, and sweets) have high energy density (foods that have a lot of calories in a small amount of food). Epidemiologic studies have shown that diets high in fat contribute to weight gain.
- A diet high in simple carbohydrates. Carbohydrates increase blood glucose levels, which in turn stimulate insulin release by the pancreas, and insulin promotes the growth of fat tissue and can cause weight gain. Some scientists believe that simple carbohydrates (sugars, fructose, desserts, soft drinks, beer, wine, etc.) contribute to weight gain because they are more rapidly absorbed into the blood-stream than complex carbohydrates (pasta, brown rice, grains, vegetables, raw fruits, etc.) and thus cause a more pronounced insulin release after meals than complex carbohydrates. This higher insulin release, some scientists believe, contributes to weight gain.
- Frequency of eating. The relationship between frequency of eating (how often you eat) and weight is somewhat controversial. There are many reports of overweight people eating less often than people with normal weight. One possible explanation is that small frequent meals produce stable insulin levels, whereas large meals cause large spikes of insulin after meals.
- Slow metabolism. Women have less muscle than men. Muscle burns (metabolizes) more calories than other tissue (which includes fat). As a result, women have a slower metabolism than men, and hence, have a tendency to put on more weight than men, and weight loss is more difficult for women.
- Physical inactivity. Sedentary people burn fewer calories than people who are active.
- Medications. Medications associated with weight gain include certain antidepressants (medications used in treating depression), anti-convulsants [medications used in controlling seizures such ascarbamazepine, diabetes medications (medications used in lowering blood sugar such as insulin), certain hormones such as oral contraceptives and most corticosteroids such as Prednisone. Weight gain may also be seen with some high blood pressure medications and antihistamines.
- Psychological factors. For some people, emotions influence eating habits. Many people eat excessively in response to emotions such as boredom, sadness, stress or anger. While most overweight people have more psychological disturbances than normal weight people,
- Diseases such as hypothyroidism, insulin resistance, polycystic ovary syndrome and Cushing's syndrome, are also contributors to obesity
Medical Treatment
Medical treatment of obesity focuses on lifestyle changes such as eating less and increasing activity level. There are medications that can promote weight loss. Symptomatic Homeopathy medicines treatment helps well for Obesity
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