Obesity is an international health problem. It becomes an even more acute issue among industrialized countries where there is simply too much food and coupled with the fact that there is a serous lack of discipline in terms of people’s eating habit. A person is deemed to be obese when his or her Body Mass Index (BMI) measures over 30, a situation when there is too much body fat accumulated inside the body. Although obesity is sometimes used interchangeably with overweight, they are really two separate issues. Both suggest body weight that is significantly higher than what would be considered ideal. Nevertheless, against the case of obesity, overweight does not necessarily imply that there is too much body fat; it is more commonly related to excessive body water, better developed muscles or simply “heavy” bones.
A common way to equate obesity is by way of
calorie comparison. When calorie intake is more than calorie expensed, we define that as obese case. This simple derivation let us conclude most obesity is mainly resulted form excessive food intake (and especially those junk food that is both high-calorie and fat-laden) and
physical inactivity. There are also situations where the hormonal imbalances or deficiencies inside our body (most commonly associated with hypothyroidism or Cushing’s syndrome (a hormonal disease resulting from excessive production or use of cortisol, a steroid hormone) accentuate this medical condition.
While the common perception is that obesity is nothing more than an aesthetic concern, scientists have proved that they represent significant health repercussions. Over the years, it has been proven without doubt that obesity could contribute to a number of health conditions, namely type-2 diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, stroke, arthritis, sleep apnoea and even certain types of cancer. For this reason, it is prudent for obese people to lose the extra fat: observations show that even with a decent 5 to 10 percent loss of their weight, the chance of contracting the above-mentioned obesity-related illnesses could be significantly cut down.
The treatment option for obesity involves
weight loss by way of diet, exercise, prescription drugs (for example appetite suppressants) and, in the most critical situations, weight loss surgery. Diet and exercise should always be made the default choice above everything else, for their safety and durable effects over time. As a rule of thumb, focus on diet plans that are low in fat and calories, and make sure there are sufficient amounts of essential nutrients, i.e. vitamins, minerals, water as well as essential amino-acids and fatty acids. Nevertheless it is important to note that individual’s requirement may vary greatly, hence it may be advisable to work out a sensible weight loss diet plan in consultation with your doctor or a
dietician just to be absolutely sure that the prescribed diet plan works for you. With regards to exercise, try to keep to at least
30 minutes of moderate physical activity everyday, and keep this going for a minimum of 5 days each week, according to medical experts. Not unlike the weight-loss diet plan, plan your exercise regime with your doctor, so that your specific requirement would be taken care of and the right amount of physical exertion could be dispensed safely while achieving your goal of weight loss.
As mentioned above, there are also prescribed drugs and weight-loss surgery as the other weight loss options, but they are no guarantee to cure obesity on their own. These represent optional tools we can fall back on to accentuate our weight loss but they are invariably to be used in conjunction with a proper dietary and exercise regime in order to get the desired results. Additionally, as weight loss medications and surgery are both acknowledged to present potential health risks, these are usually the last options where patients’ attempts to cut weight have failed with diet and exercise alone, or for obesity situations that are severe or for patients who have serious obesity-related health conditions.
