Causes and Effects of Obesity

Obesity refers to the condition of having an excessive amount of body fat. The worst enemy of health today is surplus fat. Obesity aggravates cardiovascular degeneration, diabetes, biliary and renal ailments, arthritis and many other disorders, and increases surgical risks and accident proneness.

Causes of Obesity :

There are numerous causes that are related to the onset of obesity like:

1. Heredity or genetics
2. Hormonal imbalances
3. Environmental factors such as cultural habits, etc.
4. Inadequate physical activity.
5. Eating habits such as overeating or improper diet.

Among the above, the major cause of obesity is improper eating habits.

Eating habits: The once great cause of overweight is overeating – taking in more than your energy output demands. Our appetite is no longer a reliable guide for eating the right amount of food. Mostly now-a-days people are exposed to large amount of rich goods, Under such conditions, it is easy to form incorrect habit of eating. Most of us have our habits fairly stabilized by the time we are twenty-five years old. This includes habits of eating as well. But as we grow older our energy expenditures are lessened, we cannot burn up all the energy value of the food we eat, and excess energy is stored in our bodies. Obesity creeps up when our activity slows down but the appetite of our vigorous year still continues. Thus, improper eating habits are responsible for causing obesity.

A person should learn to make permanent changes in dietary habits in order to remain away from weight problems, like:

1. Go easy on fats and fatty foods, particularly those high in saturates, such as butter, hard margarine, fatty meal and meat products, crisps and fried food. Choose instead lean meat, fish and dairy products with a lower fat contents such as cottage and skimmed or semi skimmed milk.
2. Be sparing with salt and sugar, and with food that contains large quantities of added salt and sugar, Highly salty food includes smoked products, savoury shocks such as peanuts and crisps, processed meat products and some breakfast cereals. Watch out for sugar in drink, breakfast cereals, yoghurt and processed foods, as well as sweets, cakes and biscuits.
3. Reduce total caloric intake by 250 to 500 Kcal per day to accomplish the desired weight-loss goals.
4. Go easy on alcohol.
5. Go out for regular work out to burn extra fat from the body.

Effect of Obesity :

Obesity can be directly related to -

1. Changes in normal body function: Changes in body vary from individual and with degree of obesity.

a) Respiratory problem are quite common among people with obesity.
b) A person become lethargic.
c) Abnormal blood clotting.
d) Enlargement of heart.
e) Congestive heart failure.
f) Lower exercise tolerance.

2. Increased risk for certain diseases: Obesity is also associated with certain chronic degenerative diseases such as

a) Coronary Disease
b) Hypertension
c) Diabetes
d) Arthritis due to extra load on joints because of overweight.

3. Detrimental effects on established disease: Obesity can contribute to further development of certain diseases and medical conditions, and weight reduction is usually prescribed as an integral part of treatment, Conditions that are generally benefit from weight reduction includes -

a) Heart attack.
b) Hypertension.
c) Congestive heart disease
d) Diabetes.
e) Orthopedic Problems.

4. Emotional Effect : Emotional or psychological problems might be caused by obesity. In our society, obesity carries a social stigma that contributes to psychological reactions for the obese people.Our media typically glamorize only people with extremely slim and lean bodies.