Assessing Obesity

One of the most common health problems suffered in recent times is obesity, which can be defined as being overweight. There are various methods through which you can assess obesity and try and understand the causes of the same. But obesity leads to various health problems, ill shaped bodies, and weighing much more than what your normal weight should be. It has been seen that in obesity there are various health risks involved. Obesity can be defined as the condition in which excess body fat has accumulated.

The reasons for fat accumulation can be various factors and this can get worse to an extent that even your health may be negatively affected. The BMI or the commonly defined body mass index is best way to determine or assess if you are obese or not. The BMI of 30 kg/m2 or higher depicts risks of obesity and you should remember that obesity can lead to various kinds of health problems and diseases, especially cardio vascular diseases that can be fatal. Hence obesity makes you prone to other kinds of diseases and ailments.

The most common side effects of obesity include diabetes mellitus type 2, obstructive sleep apnea, certain types of cancer, and osteoarthritis and many other diseases. Studies have also proven that obesity can reduce life expectancy and hence you need to treat this problem to avoid risks of life threatening diseases. Common causes of obesity are sedentary lifestyles that play a significant role in obesity. On a global basis, there has been a large shift towards less physically demanding work and more of sedentary works. On an average at least 60% of the world's populations don't get sufficient exercise.

Obesity has been rising primarily due to use of mechanized transportation and use of labor saving technologies at home. Other major causes of obesity include genetics and medical conditions. However studies show that obesity is the result of a connection between genetic and environmental factors. There are polymorphisms present in many genes and these are given the task of controlling appetite and metabolism. These components incline to obesity when sufficient calories are present.

Thus most people get over weight or obese when the favorable environmental conditions are present. Factors medical and psychiatric illnesses are also causes of obesity. Then there are many pharmaceutical substances used for treating illnesses that can increase risk of obesity. Genetic syndromes like hypothyroidism, Cushing's syndrome and growth hormone deficiency lead to obesity. Over eating, not exercising, junk food, regular consumption of soda, and other related factors also lead to obesity.

The symptoms of obesity include the visible changes in your body and you can measure it through measuring tapes and checking your weight. The measuring tape can help you measure your waist and hips and thus you can also get the hip to waist ratio through the same. Then the weighing machine can help you to determine your BMI and see if you are reaching the wrong side of the index. Eating right and exercising are the best ways to combat obesity and make sure that you stay healthy and not obese.

• Felicia Byrnes
• 07/06/2009, 12:59 AM
• 0 Comments